Philadelphia

At nearly 14-year-old Vetri, my posterity list of dishes is long, from the sublime spinach gnocchi to the wood-smoked goat and truffled-onion crepe. — Philadelphia Inquirer

Favorite local chef Eli Kulp elevates bakery and diner fare at this new destination in Old City. — Travel + Leisure

A small staff mixes and matches a melting pot of flavors for a modern Israeli menu whose highlights include house-baked laffa (flatbread). — Fodor's

One of Old City’s original restaurant pioneers, Fork offers simple elegance with an open kitchen. Menu changes often. L (W-F), D (daily), Br (Su). — Where

Award- winning Italian restaurant with a good selection of pizzas and antipasti, entrees such as wild halibut for $25–30 and delicious desserts. — Rough Guide

Though the menu takes seasonal twists and creative turns here and there, it’s grounded in the ultra-robust likes of lamb meatballs, crab-stuffed piquillos and roast pork with white beans. — Time Out

With such cool design, it's a shame such uninspired preps attend. — Not For Tourists

This Mediterannean kitchen from Marcie Turney and Valerie Safran doesn’t exactly sell itself as a pizza shop, but it manages to whip up some of the city’s most daring pizza recipes. — Time Out

One of the best fusion restaurants in Philadelphia, it brings contemporary Japanese cuisine to the table through Chef Morimoto’s blending of traditional Japanese cooking with Western flair. — DK Eyewitness

Vedge offers no animal products, but don't call it a vegetarian or vegan restaurant. This is a vegetable restaurant only. One of Philadelphia’s most exciting and attention-grabbing eateries. — Travel + Leisure

The seasonal menu offers either a tasting or a la carte experience, with chef Jon Cichon overseeing the kitchen. — Gayot

Stephen Starr's Parc channels the chic brasseries of Paris, complete with aproned waiters delivering steak frites and duck confit and the see-and-be-seen set. — Gayot

This cozy two-level eatery offers inventive seasonal dishes like Spanish mackerel ceviche venison au poive or a small-plate char-grilled octopus niçoise. — Time Out

For locally produced draft beers served up in a simple and friendly atmosphere, head to Standard Tap in Northern Liberties. — Time Out

Friday Saturday Sunday has been a labor of love for its owners since the day it opened in 1973. — BlackBook

With an indoor/outdoor space right on Washington Square, Talula'€™s Garden invites lingering. — Gayot

Located at 36th and Sansom Streets in Philly’s University City neighborhood, POD serves up contemporary Pan Asian cuisine in a sleekly modern dining room with futuristic lighting. — Afar Magazine

Dine on delicious, modern versions of traditional Mexican classics at this fashionable Center City restaurant. — DK Eyewitness

If loving their ricotta/mozzarella pasta is wrong, then we don't want to be right. — Not For Tourists

This family-owned Chinatown Cantonese does “all the usual dishes from your corner Chinese joint, but so much better”, and at “rock-bottom prices.” — Zagat