The August Hit List: Friday Saturday Sunday, Cheu Fishtown, and More

Bing Bing Dim Sum’s sister restaurant Cheu expanded to Fishtown back in 2017, where regulars followed for ramen and black garlic wings — original recipes from Cheu back on 10th Street. Sticking to its formula of a Japanese love letter with playful Philadelphia twists, Cheu Fishtown’s menu also boasts Italian hoagie eggrolls, twice-cooked pork belly make-your-own bao with nectarine ssamjang barbecue sauce, and of course beloved brothy noodle bowls and soups like brisket ramen and miso ramen. Happy hour is every day. So snag a sidewalk table for ideal people-watching along Frankford Avenue, if the weather obliges.

The Hyatt Centric Hotel’s Patchwork restaurant is designed to bookend a visitor’s day — whether it’s for a meal, remote working session, Summer Sips happy hour on Wednesdays, Drag Brunch (final summer event happening August 5), or second-floor patio hangs overlooking 17th Street.

The menu mixes modern American classics and Italian trattoria favorites introduced by new chef de cuisine Mark Williams. Highlights include Swiss chard ravioli; a peach salad with arugula, chicory, walnuts, and blue cheese; ​​steak Diane; and the Everything Philly Muffin breakfast sandwich. Post up at the bar for a Salamander cocktail with mezcal, Ancho Reyes, passion fruit, lemon, IPA, and chile salt, or Tonic Youth with Roku Gin, housemade lemongrass tonic, and aromatics. This month, a collaboration menu with local chef Kiki Aranita of Poi Dog will feature various dishes highlighting her new line of Hawaiian-inspired sauces.

For six years and counting, Love & Honey has been the neighborhood takeout joint for fried chicken with honey drizzle, tenders, and chicken sandwiches, plus Southern-style sides like tater tots, potato salad, and pimento cheese dip. (They sell upward of 750 pounds of tenders per week, so clearly Philly is a tenders town.)

Family-sized portions and weekend biscuit sandwich specials like The Biscuit Jawn with fried chicken, pimento cheese, hot pepper jelly, and honey butter are popular options. Plus, Culinary Institute of America grads and co-founders Todd and Laura Lyons are enthusiastic about every detail — every chicken is hand-breaded and fried to order, the kitchen makes all hot sauces in-house, and three sweet pickles come on the Nashville hot chicken sandwich so that there is a pickle in every bite. Definitely indulge in banana pudding for dessert while you’re here, too.

Available for take-out and delivery only.

A newer addition to Rittenhouse’s cocktail lounge scene, Andra Hem stands out for its innovative approach to Scandinavian food and drink using Pennsylviania-area ingredients. Examples include seasonal smörgås open-faced sandwiches, vegan Swedish meatballs, and potato pancakes with beet horseradish sauce. (Their desserts are a sleeper hit worth sharing.)

Cocktails are artisanal takes on classics with housemade syrups — their rooftop beehives yielded 50 jars of honey this past year! — and fresh herb garnishes. Try the Nothing Beets a Dala Horse (a delicious version of Passover in a glass); You’re Turning Violet, a summer favorite with blueberry-infused bianco vermouth, amaro, and aged rum; or Love in Åmål, a boozy iced tea with lingonberry. For a more intimate experience, head upstairs to the small, dimly lit, art-filled lounge where the sole bartender is at your service.

A neighborhood staple for over 20 years, Twenty Manning has been reimagined as a seasonal, modern Middle Eastern restaurant full of casual elegance by the proprietors of Rouge and Charley Dove.

Savory elements are used in both food and drink. Try the garlicky zhoug hummus, brisket hummus with berbere spice, za’atar-spiced pita, beef manti with mushroom and Turkish butter, or baba ghanoush. Savory notes appear in drinks too, like the za’atar-spiced margarita, turmeric vodka spritz, and spice route sour with Zucca Rabarbaro amaro, pineapple-fennel shrub, coriander, and caraway. Swing by for happy hour Tuesday through Friday 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. (when brunch is also available) to try a little bit of everything.

Austin transplant Scott Hanson, aka North By Texas, has made a name for himself popping up at PHS Pop Up Garden South Street, Mike’s BBQ, and Herman’s Coffee. His Tex-Mex barbecue platters are a greatest hits menu inspired by what he grew up eating and cooking, like chili con queso, carnitas with ranch-style pinto beans and chopped brisket over Spanish rice, and of course, central Texas-style smoked brisket. Plus, the smoked brisket burnt ends are used to make two specialty breakfast tacos: the OG with eggs and cheese on a flour tortilla (available at Taco Heart in South Philly on Fridays) and the Smokin’ Carinne with refried beans, cheese, and avocado. To boast, Hanson only sources ethically-raised local meats, uses an offset smoker for large volumes of oak wood, and only opens for his full menu on Saturday mornings (March through December once a month starting at 9 a.m. outside The Mermaid Inn in Chestnut Hill), typical of traditional Texas barbecue culture. Show up bright and early on August 5 as he regularly sells out by noon.

We in Philly already knew why Friday Saturday Sunday is one of the best restaurants in the country but we’re thrilled the James Beard Foundation agrees. Since its re-opening under Hanna and chef Chad Williams in 2016, the atmosphere is always buzzing with an eclectic mix of guests and industry friends enjoying a romantic tasting menu format upstairs and a lively casual bar downstairs.

French techniques and local farm-sourced products adjoin cultural-rooted dishes influenced by their diverse staff — like blood sausage pasta (thanks to chef de cuisine Sashia Liriano’s Dominican upbringing); beet cappelletti with barbecued blackberries, chamomile, berbere, and nigella seed; casarecce pasta with littleneck clams, lobster butter, and XO breadcrumbs; charcoal-grilled jerk quail with curried liver pâté and coco bread from sous chef India Rodriguez’s recipes; crispy sweetbreads with a mushroom and plantain ragu, egg-yolk jam, and mushroom vin blanc.

At the bar, let Paul MacDonald and his team introduce you to The Big Red Button, a swizzle with housemade watermelon syrup — perfect for cooling off in this heat.

Before the summer ends, book a treat-yo’self meal and pool date care of Heirloom at The St. Laurent — Lita’s older sister restaurant, open six days a week. In its first year, it’s become a summer haven for Jersey locals and beach dwellers, tucked away from the boardwalk crowds of Asbury Park.

The bright and airy dining room can easily transport you elsewhere (think Miami vibes) while the menu remains seasonally focused yet Jersey at heart. Daytime dining at The St. Laurent is full service with an à la carte menu including crudos, sandwiches, and salads. Current favorites are the “Jack Attack” burger for lunch (Pat LaFrieda dry-aged beef, special sauce, bacon jam, cheddar, pickled pepperoncini, shredded lettuce, fries) and for dinner, the New Jersey Point Pleasant black bass with confit fennel, navy bean, smoked garlic, saffron, and sugar snap peas. Or opt for the three-course prix fixe menu at $89 per person. Grab a piña colada milk punch at the cocktail lounge up front for a nightcap on your way out.

Francis Cratil and wife Catherine Lee have lived in South Philly for over 27 years, operating their trattoria Le Virtù for the past 15. Here, the food and drink menu celebrates Abruzzo and Italy’s villages across central and Southern regions. Must-have pastas include spaghetti alle vongole, single-strand maccheroni alla mugnaia from the Fino River Valley (where Francis’s grandfather was born), and taccozzelle with Abruzzese sausage, mushrooms, black truffle, and saffron — a dish derived from the village of Pescocostanzo. Other highlights include arancini, cheeses from Marcelli sourced from small farms in Abruzzo’s interior, plus over 20 styles of rosati wines and other under-the-radar selections. Outside, the patio turns into aperitivo hour Sundays once a month from 11:30 a.m. til 2:30 p.m. — fun, casual guided tastings of seven to 10 wines by wine importers and producers (pay-as-you-go by the glass), plus unlimited buffet-style snacks and small plates ($25) are on offer.

Call 215-271-5626 for reservations.

Perhaps you were a regular at Fond or frequented BYO brunch at The Dutch over in Pennsport. Now, get the best of both restaurants at 11th and Tasker Streets. Chef-owner Lee Styer has teamed up with chef Kevin Watters to serve brunch (pro tip: Skip the long weekend lines and do weekday brunch instead), lunch, happy hour, and dinner.

Watters puts his personal spin on continental brunch standards with the occasional international flair like huevos rancheros, chorizo hash, savory scallion waffles, and fried chicken and waffles. Styer leads the brasserie-style dinner menu utilizing French techniques plus central Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania Dutch) recipes best enjoyed in a three-course tasting menu (under $60 per person). Bonus: O.G. Fond favorites are still up for grabs, like the chicken liver mousse with pickled red onions on housemade sourdough and pork belly pâté. But also consider mussels with Thai curry, burrata with white peaches and balsamic, and the passion fruit and coconut sorbet to beat the heat.

Call 215-551-5000 for reservations.