Ellen Yin’s most controversial opinion: Central Jersey is, in fact, real.

“It’s like the middle child and kind of neutral, but of course Central Jersey exists,” said Yin, the founder of High Street Hospitality Group and the restaurateur behind some of Philly’s most enduring eateries.

Though Yin and her 28-year-old Old City restaurant Fork are credited with establishing Philly as a place for destination dining, Yin still reps Jersey hard. She credits the Fromagerie — a now-shuttered French bistro in her hometown of Rumson, N.J., where she worked in high school — as the first place that made her feel home in the kitchen. During college at the University of Pennsylvania, she’d even visit on weekends to help out where she could.

“It was the first place where I felt like I was part of a team,” said Yin. “I just kept coming back and thinking, ‘This — the restaurant business — is what I love.’"

And yet it took Yin a decade after graduating from Penn (and a stint in healthcare consulting) to open Fork at 306 Market St. in Old City. Almost immediately, it came to define the neighborhood, and eventually Philly’s dining scene as a whole, its constellation of alums bringing Fork’s penchant for shareable plates, local ingredients, and the occasional tasting menu to kitchens across the city.

Yin and her business partner Roberto Sella would go on to open two other vital Philly restaurants: High Street, which jump-started the all-day café trend and revitalized the Franklin Residences when it moved from Old City; and a.kitchen, the Rittenhouse Square hotel restaurant with an acclaimed natural wine program and a French-ish menu that captivates regulars. The Bread Room, their latest opening, churns out classic pastries with a wink, like pop-tarts stuffed with kumquat cream cheese or a crueller topped with candied fennel.

Yin claims she doesn’t have a favorite. Fork however, “feels like my house,” she said. “I never get tired of looking at it.”

The same can be said for the rest of Philly.

Yin has embedded herself in city. She sits on the board of the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation and administers the Sisterly Love Collective, a mentorship community for women entrepreneurs in hospitality.

Her next project: Bar Cicci, a 20-seat Italian bar set to open in mid-June at 1620 Sansom St. Don’t expect pasta, Yin said, or much cooking. The restaurant is inspired by northern Italy’s aperitivo culture and will serve a mix of pastries, sandwiches, and cicchetti alongside coffee and cocktails.

“In Italy, a bar is a place where you get coffee in the morning, meet up with neighbors, and have panini or a cornetto for lunch,” said Yin. “It’s not just drinking.”

So, how does Yin, who lives in Washington Square West, spend a perfect day while juggling what’s soon to be five Philly restaurants? By shopping for Japanese stationery, riding on an Indigo bike, and clearing her head on a balcony where Abraham Lincoln once stood.

My day starts with a walk to Thank You, Thank You for a hot latte with whole milk. The baristas are so efficient but also great at building a little community; everyone talks to everyone.

Then, I walk to sit at the benches behind Carpenters Hall [in Independence National Historical Park]. I love it over there because of the juxtaposition: You’re looking at the back of a historic house surrounded by all this lush greenery, but the backdrop are all these modern buildings.

On the way there, however, I will probably stop in the Curtis Building to look at the [The Dream Garden], the Maxfield Parrish and Louis Comfort Tiffany mosaic. It’s thousands of tiles and utterly gorgeous, but the story reminds me a lot of my own life.

I’m a business person who works with a lot of creatives. Creatives and business people don’t always see eye to eye. And I think Parrish and Tiffany didn’t necessarily either, but they still created something beautiful.

Next, I make my way to Omoi in Old City. I could spend just hours looking around that store, but ultimately, my favorite thing to buy is a new notebook. There’s just something about Japanese notebooks that I love; they’re not that expensive and you can get them in, like, a jillion different formats. I go through about one per month, mostly writing to-do lists and journaling.

I also like to pop across the street to Menagerie Coffee for a chocolate chip cookie before heading to Fork for lunch. They bake the cookies fresh at Menagerie. It’s funny, I always have coffee and cookies at home, but both are just taste better when someone makes them for me.

At Fork, I check in with my team and have a light lunch — maybe a baby beet salad with labneh and some blood oranges while sitting outside. A restaurant is kind of like a movie set in the sense that things have to be in the perfect spot. The flowers, for example, can’t be dead and need fresh water. That’s the sorts of thing I look for.

Now is when I stroll. The day is my oyster. I could get a haircut at Moko with Monique Mason since I go about every three weeks. Or I might stop into Stickball, one of my favorite vintage shops. I’m not a super sophisticated vintage shopper, though I did pick up some stuff for the Bread Room there before. I love things that are functional with clean lines, bold colors, and absolutely no patterns.

Still, there are two things that I’m going to do for certain: Go to the [Delaware River] waterfront, pick up an Indigo bike, and ride it to my florist, Seasons Flowers.

The tip of Race Street Pier is one of my favorite places to be, mostly because you can see New Jersey. And at Seasons, my florist [owner Yoon Kim] makes her own pottery. The shop is so inspirational. If I don’t control myself, I will leave with so many plants I’d end up killing.

Now, I’m riding my Indigo bike over to the Bread Room. I love Indigo bikes. I don’t have to worry about anyone stealing it, and they match my riding style. I don’t ride if it’s under 50° [outside], and I mostly go short distances. Like, who needs to ride a bike from 11th [Street] to Third [Street]? I do, because it’s whimsical.

I hope nothing is left by the time I get to the Bread Room, save for maybe the cardamom bun because that’s my favorite pastry. The whole thing is basically soaked in spice, so it’s super flavorful. After chatting with the teams there and at High Street, I might sneak up to the balcony at the Franklin Residences [where both restaurants are located] to do some work.

The balcony is such a hidden gem with so much history. There’s a plaque inside that said President Abraham Lincoln gave a brief speech there on the way to his inauguration, and the building shares an architect with the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

I head over to Rittenhouse Square to check on construction at Bar Cicci, which has finally started to look like something real over the past few weeks. After, I’ll pop into a.kitchen to snack with my friends who live around Rittenhouse Square since they’re sometimes loath to cross Broad Street. We’re definitely getting a round of crispy oyster mushrooms — they’re a staple — and French fries. I love French fries.

I’m getting dinner with [my partner] Wayne at Honeysuckle and riding there on his vintage Lambretta, which is way cooler than a Vespa. I’m embarrassed to say that I haven’t been to Honeysuckle yet, but I’m a big fan of chef Omar Tate’s storytelling.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.