The hot dog days of summer | Let’s Eat

Let us be frank: We ate a lot of hot dogs for this guide.

Also in this edition:

— Mike Klein and Kiki Aranita

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Expand your horizons beyond beef franks with mustard: We scoured the city for the best dogs, whether served on a traditional buns or topped with bonito flakes and carrot salad. Check out our map of Philly’s tastiest hot dogs.

The enduring question poses a fun, philosophical exercise. Jenn surveys Philly’s leading glizzy authorities on the great hot dog-sandwich debate.

As a bevy of bagel shops — some locally launched, others private equity-backed — makes plan in the region, Mike talked to the experts about an obvious question: How many bagels can Philadelphia eat?

Thousands of would-be Dîner en Blanc participants did not get to haul their tables, chairs, and picnics to a secret location this year as it literally rained on their parade. They made the most of things, dining en blanc at homes, restaurants, and even a cigar bar.

For years, Graduate Hospital residents had to dip into Rittenhouse or head south for treats, but a new wave of neighborhood businesses are selling everything from loaded baked potatoes and ice cream to matcha lattes and mousse cakes.

👩‍🍳 Graduate Hospital’s first restaurant week runs through Sunday, with participating restaurants offering three-course prix-fixe menus for $30 or $45 while continuing to serve regular menus. The lineup includes Banshee, L’Anima, Say She Ate, Chick’s, Château Rouge, La Sera Italiana, Old Towne & Sanna’s, Saigon Grace Cafe, and Sidecar Bar & Grille. Details/menus are here.

Beatrice Forman, a breakfast sandwich connoisseur, gets the warm and fuzzies from Chibanos’ Chino, which uses a Dodo Bakery bo lo bao as its bun. “It’s funny how a single sandwich can take me to so many places,” she wrote of its fluffy eggs, Swiss cheese, and char siu-style sausage patty.

Cantina La Martina is set to return to Kensington and debut in Brewerytown next month as it doubles down on its relationship with Human Robot Brewery, which is parting ways with sandwich maker N.A. Poe. The vendor shakeup, Beatrice reports, was precipitated in part by some untoward social media posts.

Ms. Tootsie’s former building at 1312 South St., shuttered since the 2021 death of restaurateur KeVen Parker, will become the home of Nippy’s on South. Nikia Peterson, a nurse who frequented the swank soul-food destination, has bought the building and is installing what she said will be a polished spot offering an eclectic menu, with seafood towers, steaks, Asian and Caribbean dishes, and a full bar emphasizing happy hour and weekend brunch. “Nippy” was her late grandmother; a late-September opening is planned.

Mezzanine 1909 and the Slider Co. are moving toward spring openings at 2043 Frankford Ave., now that longstanding zoning issues have been settled. Will Johnson, partnered with Anesha Garrett, tells me that they envision a quick-service burger shop on the first floor, and — accessible through a “secret” door — a speakeasy-style, 40-seat cocktail bar upstairs serving nine small plates and nine cocktails with “intentional” service. It also will be a hub for their catering. Slider & Co. had two popups nearby last summer.

Testa Rossa, the casual Italian-American concept from Fearless Restaurants, closed Sunday after 20 months in the Shoppes at Brinton Lake on Baltimore Pike in Glen Mills. “It never really resonated with the neighborhood,” said Fearless owner Marty Grims, adding that the company has offered Testa Rossa employees jobs at its other restaurants, including the White Dog Cafes and Rosalie. Fearless’ next project, a Southern Italian restaurant called Martini & Roz, is due to open in late fall at 523 W. Lancaster Ave. in Wayne.

Which two restaurants made it onto Bon Appétit’s best new restaurants list?

A) Honeysuckle and Sao

B) Mr. Edison and Tesiny

C) Emilia and Manong

D) Wine Dive and Lucky Duck

Find out if you know the answer.

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