The Best Dishes of 2023 | Let’s Eat

It’s the last gasp of 2023, and so time for reflection. What were the best new Philly restaurants of the year? Craig LaBan has some thoughts about that, plus a round-up of all the very best bites, including barbacoa and khachapuri. Not to mention the many bottles of mezcal and tequila he recommends for your end-of-year celebrations. Mike Klein is out on a much-deserved holiday so it’s me, Margaret Eby, your trusty Inquirer Deputy Food Editor, filling in.

— Margaret Eby & Mike Klein

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It was a very good year for Philadelphia restaurants. Friday Saturday Sunday, Ellen Yin, and Kalaya’s Chutatip “Nok” Suntaranon all won James Beard awards, and Philly restaurants popped up on all kinds of national bet of lists. But if you’ve been following Craig LaBan, you won’t be surprised — he’s been singing the praises of some of these key players in the restaurant scene all year. Here, he picks the best new restaurant, restaurant of the year, two great spots in the suburbs, plus four chefs to keep your eye on. But there’s too much good stuff to fit in one list. Craig also singled out the best dishes of the year, including a burger worth traveling for, creative ice cream, and next-level pasta.

Sampling 40 bottles of agave-based spirits is a tough job, but someone has to do it. In this case it’s our very own Craig LaBan, helped on by a panel of testers and Dan Suro. Craig recommends the 16 best bottles of additive-free tequila and mezcal as a holiday gifts, an excellent option for procrastinators and the “No, I totally got something for you!” crowd. But honestly, there’s no reason you couldn’t seek out one of the superb and surprising bottles all year long. Forget Champagne for New Year’s — how about margaritas?

A new Kensington nonprofit, Philly Bridge & Jawn, aims to give teenagers a safe, productive environment and battle food insecurity by teaching them how to cook. As my colleague Nate File reports, the program has been wildly popular — by the last day of the pilot program, teenagers were lining up three hours in advance to secure a spot in the program. As teen Lamar Dancy said, “You get paid to cook... Who wouldn’t do it?”

Paloma Restaurante. One of the oldest destination BYOBs on Collingswood’s restaurant row, The Tortilla Press, closed in March after 21 years as owners Mark Smith and Lydia Cipriani decamped to their Pennsauken bar-restaurant, Tortilla Press Cantina.

When restaurateur Tim Dedja, 28, who also owns the Boiling House in Cherry Hill, planned to open a Mexican restaurant in the same location, he checked the map and found Oasis Mexican Grill and La Catrina, both within two blocks, as well as Los Jalapeños Bar & Grill five minutes away in Oaklyn.

So he went with what he calls a “new-age Mexican” approach at Paloma Restaurante, which opened in September. The interior, designed by fiancee Aurora Vojnika, is done up in lots of neutral colors with wood accents and framed prints. A line of uplit cacti topping the banquettes in the main dining room adds a pop. The playlist is mainly American.

Chef Ivan Reyes, 30, who’s from Morelos, brings a wealth of experience from such diverse New York City restaurants as Upland (American), Oceana (seafood), and Avra (Greek). His first executive-chef role, Paloma is closest to the contemporary American-Mexican fusion he was cooking at Empellón in Midtown. Reyes is Paloma’s second chef, having recently replaced Jorge Reyes (no relation).

Although there are traditional, house-made corn tortillas for the taco section, as well as familiar fajitas, enchiladas, and a burrito, there’s a selection of distinctive, Mexican-inspired dishes, such as Maya pumpkin hummus, lemon butter shrimp (shown above), and seafood paella (a top-seller, Dedja said).

There are mixers for those who bring their own bottles, as well as nonalcoholic drinks.

Paloma Restaurante, 703 Haddon Ave., Collingswood. Hours: 3-9 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday. Wheelchair accessible through side door. Reserve on OpenTable.

Satay Bistro. When you want to go out for Indonesian food in the Philadelphia area, you typically head to South Philadelphia — home of Hardena, D’jakarta Cafe, and Ramayana — all south of Washington Avenue.

“That’s where our community is,” said Fenty Triany, who like her husband, Indra Cipto, is from Jakarta.

Earlier this month, the couple opened Satay Bistro at 13th and Spring Garden Streets, in a section of town sometimes referred to as the Loft District. The spot was previously Bufad, a pizzeria, and it’s only been lightly redecorated.

This is Indonesian home cooking, with familiar dishes such as chicken satay (shown above) as well as udang kentang pete (shrimp and zator, or “stinky,” beans) as you build your own rice platters. Prices are great, too, under $20 a person.

— Mike Klein

Shaved ice and smoothies are on the beverage side. It’s BYOB. I run down the menu and offer wine and beer suggestions here.

Satay Bistro, 1240 Spring Garden St. Hours: noon to 8 p.m. daily. Delivery on Uber Eats, Grubhub, and DoorDash. Two steps at front door.

Weckerly’s Ice Cream in Fishtown, which closed two months ago, will reopen Jan. 6 with a new owner.

Donna Kelce, mother of NFL stars Jason and Travis, shares her chocolate-chip cookie recipe, which Aramark baked as a fundraiser. See it here.

Chick-A-Boom, the Philadelphia chicken chain that got a major investment over the summer from retired NFL great Randy Moss, is changing its name to Crisppi’s Chicken. He and founder Brittany Tolliferreo (shown below) recently opened a location in Moss’ hometown of Huntington, W.Va.

Just fact-checking: Chef Jacob Trinh, who will head the kitchen at Little Fish from Jan. 2 to Jan. 20 in the absence of executive chef/owner Alex Yoon, will assume Little Fish’s chef de cuisine title when Yoon returns. I erred on his title last week.

— Mike Klein

Pennsylvania reportedly had the largest average increase in grocery prices of any state in the last 12 months. How much are prices up?

A) 15%

B) 12.2%

C) 8.2%

D) 6.8%

Find out if you know the answer.

📮 Have a question about food in Philly? E-mail your questions to Mike Klein at mklein@inquirer.com for a chance to be featured in my newsletter.

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