Middle Child Clubhouse, Zahav, and More: Philadelphia Dining’s Best in 2021

You can tell by looking at the menu that the team at Middle Child Clubhouse is having a great time playing with food. In addition to the sandwiches they’ve become known for, they have a wide range of eyecatching cocktails, dinner entrées, and more. It’s dishes like their okonomiyaki topped latkes; the PEI mussels in a savory hot ham broth; and that wild foie gras and concord grape jelly sandwich that graced their specials a few weeks back that really sets the Clubhouse apart from the Center City location that started the Middle Child craze.

Aside from the food, it’s really the vibes that have made this spot a quick Fishtown favorite. The casual bar seating invites folks to stop by to enjoy a drink with friends (try the cannoli milk punch, a grown up “chocolate milk” with whiskey, orange liqueur, chocolate, and pistachio) and the pool table really makes it feel like a playful clubhouse. But, crucially, those good vibes extend to how Middle Child Clubhouse treats its staff. Even before they opened, owner Matt Cahn made it a point to rethink the way his restaurant would operate by offering competitive wages, mental health training, and limiting the number of hours staff can work each week to promote a healthy work/life balance. Cahn believes that when the staff is happy, the customers are happy, and so far, he’s been right. And doing so, he’s set a model for restaurant life in Philadelphia — and beyond.

It’s not hard to see why Zahav won the James Beard Award for outstanding restaurant in 2019. The illustrious menu explores the nuanced flavors and numerous cultural influences that make up Israeli cuisine. The five-course prix fixe tasting menu begins with a selection of salatim, wood-fired laffa bread topped with za’atar and olive oil, and Zahav’s infamous hummus with green tehina. The mezze and al ha’esh offers a selection of aromatic spiced dishes, like the smoked and fried sweet potato with caramelized onion labneh, and the chicken shashlik with saffron, orange, and pomegranate. For a main course, try the smoked lamb shoulder braised in a pomegranate molasses.

Having a tasting menu at Friday Saturday Sunday was always a goal simmering in the back of chef Chad Williams’ and executive sous chef Sashia Liriano’s minds, but it took the pandemic for them to turn the dream into a reality. The new tasting menu lets diners experience a little bit of everything that Friday Saturday Sunday has to offer.

It’s a soulful journey that shows off the restaurant’s full range, starting with a chichi morada and an empanada topped with a silky and salty royal ossetra caviar to the succulent barbecue veal cheek with yam, and ending on a sweet note with a bay leaf semifreddo with huckleberry and a crispy meringue, all plated with finesse.

Kalaya may have only opened in 2019, but the impact it has had on the Philadelphia dining scene makes it feel like the restaurant has been around forever. Owner and chef Chutatip “Nok” Suntaranon became an instant favorite in the Italian Market, serving up southwestern Thai dishes inspired by the food made by her mother, Kalaya, for whom the restaurant is named.

The menu, which Suntaranon refuses to alter in any way (so don’t ask), is as authentic as can be. Experience traditional dishes like kang ghai khao mun, southern-style chicken curry served with coconut rice, and tom yum Kalaya, a beautifully presented spicy and sour lemongrass soup with jumbo river prawns. Suntaranon also serves Royal Thai specialties, like the blue-tinged, chicken-filled shaw muang dumplings, ornately sculpted in the shape of flowers.

The food is spectacular, but Suntaranon’s service both in the restaurant and out in the community is what makes Kalaya one of the best establishments in Philadelphia. When Kalaya would have been celebrating its one-year anniversary, Suntaranon and her staff developed an outdoor market where neighbors and food industry professionals, temporarily out of work due to the pandemic, could get the food they needed. Over the course of this pandemic, Suntaranon has been incredibly generous, collaborating with chefs, preparing food for events, hosting pop-ups, and as of recently, giving space on the walls of her restaurant to artists through her new artist residency program. It’s awe-inspiring to see everything that Suntaranon has done since opening Kalaya in 2019, and with a second location due to open in Fishtown, we look forward to seeing what she will do next.

Call 215-385-3777 for more info.

For 20 years, Hardena has been serving traditional Indonesian dishes from an unassuming row home in South Philly. What started out as a way to give the Indonesian community a taste of home quickly became a Philadelphia favorite, attracting diners from all over the city for their perfectly grilled sate and flavorful rendang. The humble, family-run restaurant drew so much attention they were named a James Beard Semifinalist in 2018. Hardena is the kind of restaurant that will keep you coming back to experience more. You may find yourself making a special detour on weekends just for the goat curry.

Hardena used to be easy to miss if you didn’t know exactly where you were going, but the exterior of restaurant recently got a makeover from the Mural Arts Program. They’ve installed a new two-story mural of an ornate tapestry that tells the story of immigration to Philadelphia from the Indonesian and Southeast Asian perspective. It’s a powerful mural that not only shares Hardena’s story with the neighborhood, but also serves as a body of work that the Indonesian community can see themselves within.

Tables are first come, first served. More info here.

The BOK Building has experienced a lot of changes in the last decade. It was originally a school that closed in 2013, empty for two years before BOK Bar tested the waters of what this space could potentially become. Since then, the BOK Building has welcomed local makers, artists, entrepreneurs, and non-profits to set up shop. The building’s old classrooms are now home to over 200 local businesses. And on the 8th floor, sharing the roof with BOK Bar, is Irwin’s, an upscale Sicilian restaurant.

Chef Michael Vincent Ferreri worked under some of Philadelphia’s greatest chefs including Jose Garces, Michael Solomonov, and Joey Baldino before taking the helm of Irwin’s. Ferreri’s menu is slightly reminiscent of Baldino’s menu at Zeppoli, but with more of a focus on seafood. His command over fresh fish is apparent in the swordfish Milanese, the flavorful heat of the octopus with salsa verde, the crudo made with local New Jersey fluke, and of course, the whole grilled dorade. Make this meal a special occasion by pairing it with the natural wines or artfully crafted cocktails.

What started out as making a few pies out of a tiny shop on the corner of East Girard Avenue has expanded into the wildly celebrated restaurant, Pizzeria Beddia. Marrying his love of wine and pizza, Joe Beddia has created a dining experience that can be best described as a grown-up pizza party.

Pizza may seem simple – dough topped with sauce, cheese, and an assortment of meats and vegetables – but it’s a deceptively tedious craft, one that Beddia has mastered. What sets these pies apart from a city full of exceptional pizzas are the quality of the ingredients. The rich tomato sauce is simply Jersey Fresh tomatoes blended with fresh garlic, sea salt, extra virgin olive oil, and Sicilian oregano plucked right off the vine, and the Sicilian anchovies bring an unparalleled briny earthiness to every pie they grace. Don’t leave without try a slice of the tomato pie, a Philadelphia classic made with thick focaccia bread drenched in tomato sauce and served at room temperature – it’s actually one of Beddia’s favorites.

That same high quality and attention to detail extends to The Hoagie Room at Pizzeria Beddia where guests can experience the only hoagie omakase in Philadelphia. A variety of exciting hoagies are served alongside small plates, pizza, and a crafted cocktail. Hoagie fans come hungry because it’s a dining feat of strength!

We often think of offal as the parts of the animal that are thrown away or prepared as part of homely meals, but Ember & Ash is changing the way we think about nose-to-tail cooking. The menu pushes the boundaries of what is possible with ingredients that are usually discarded, like the lamb tongue fries with a house Dijonnaise, and, a customer favorite, a whole pig’s head served with greens, carrots, and pepper vinegar. They also find uses for parts of the vegetables that aren’t normally prepared, like the roasted celery root made into a slaw, and the tomato Collins, a non-alcoholic cocktail featuring smoked tomato shrub. The entire menu is an eloquent commentary on how we can transform food waste into something that is exciting and worthy of a fine-dining establishment.

For reservations, call (267) 606-6775.

Restaurants are more than just places to go and dine. They’re platforms where chefs express their experiences and where diners can engage with cultural traditions. River Twice not only uses their platform to create imaginative dishes with local ingredients, like the raw New Jersey scallop whose subtle sea flavors are enhanced by fermented kohlrabi and a silky trout roe, they also lend that platform to other culinary creators in the industry.

It’s definitely worth going to River Twice and experiencing their seven-course tasting menu, which changes fairly regularly. But it’s the Hidden in Plain Sight dinner series that brings in a multitude of talented chefs, and thus, expands the perspective of what “New American cuisine” looks like. Over the past few months, the series has welcomed Danny Childs, the mixologist behind The Farm & Fisherman Tavern’s locally sourced and foraged cocktail menu, and Chef Matthew Harper’s Southern-style menu. The series will continue through 2022, with Ange Branca of Kampar Kitchen (formerly Saté Kampar) kicking things off on January 11.

There is no shortage of excellent restaurants along Collingswood’s Haddon Avenue, but Hearthside is a dining destination. With their elegant wood-fired menu and welcoming open kitchen concept, Hearthside offers a dining experience that’s unlike anything else in the burbs.

The progression of flavor builds from start to finish. Small plates like the unforgettable hamachi ceviche and spicy wagyu beef carpaccio with Thai basil and jalapeño start the meal off strong. The medium plates continue the excitement with rich options like the spaghetti with butter-poached lobster seasoned with saffron and topped with trout roe. It all leads to a crescendo of expertly wood-fired large entrees, and the tricky decision between sharing your seared scallops nestled in a pool of beet puree, or just getting a whole roasted branzino for everyone at the table. Hearthside is a celebratory meal for any occasion. And it’s a BYOB so don’t forget to bring a bottle!