Where the burgers are | Let’s Eat

We just may have found the Burger Capital of the Main Line.

Also in this edition:

— Mike Klein

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Where’s the beef? It’s in Ardmore, where no fewer than 16 eateries (plus three fast-food spots) offer burgers in just 2.3 square miles. Let’s go on a tour of smashburgers, pub burgers, a steakhouse burger, and even a burger topped with fried shrimp.

Uber Eats has started rolling out robots to deliver food in Center City. There’s at least one plus to this trend: No tipping.

A wave of sleek new bistros showcasing oysters, wine, and small plates has bloomed across the city. Critic Craig LaBan reviews Banshee on South Street, from the former team behind Cheu Noodle Bar and Bing Bing Dim Sum.

Triumph Brewing Co.’s New Hope location closed without warning Monday after nearly 23 years, a move founder Adam Rechnitz said reflects industrywide pressures rather than a collapse of the company, as the Princeton and Red Bank, N.J., locations remain.

Rechnitz founded Triumph in 1995 as what was widely described as New Jersey’s first brewpub after he helped push for changes in state law. Triumph expanded first to New Hope in 2003 and then to Old City Philadelphia in 2007. (The Philadelphia location, which closed in 2014, became 2nd Story Brewing and is now 117 Restaurant.) Triumph opened in Red Bank in 2018, and moved its Princeton flagship from Nassau Street to a renovated former post office on Palmer Square in 2024.

Singling out New Hope as the poorest-performing location, Rechnitz cited post-pandemic shifts in dining habits, rising labor and insurance costs, and declining alcohol consumption. “As for the abruptness of the closing, I don’t think there’s ever a good way to do it,” he told me. “I agonized over the decision for quite a long time. In the end, I felt I just had to rip the Band-Aid off.” He said he would pay every employee for an additional pay period beyond the last day worked. “It’s not a huge sum, but we hope it helps with the transition,” he said. Meanwhile, a supporter has set up a GoFundMe for the workers.

Our food team has been making the rounds. We feasted on granola-topped duck in Delaware (shown above), bagels in Cherry Hill, an enormous breakfast platter down the Shore, and a special oatmeal in Center City.

Sue-vignon blanc? Philadelphia’s oldest wine school has taken a competitor to court, alleging that it is attempting to erase its existence from the internet through a “cyberbullying” campaign and trademark infringement. Abraham Gutman and Beatrice Forman spill the details.

Summertime vibes are returning to North Broad Street on June 11. Nico Diaz, former head bartender at the Ranstead Room, will open Philly Surf Club as a permanent cocktail bar at the Annex in the Divine Lorraine, in partnership with Underground Concepts and chef Natalie Maronski. The concept grew out of last summer’s two-day Philly Surf Club pop-up and its winter flip to Philly Ski Club. The draw: technique-driven cocktails and small bites from Maronski’s kitchen.

Mi Vida, a splashy Mexican restaurant with moody lighting and rich pops of color, has opened in East Market, just off 12th and Market Streets. High points: about 130 tequilas and mezcals at the 23-seat bar and a contemporary-meets-traditional menu priced for everyday patrons as well as those seeking a splurge — as in, a 40-ounce Roseda Farms tomahawk served with charred onions and chiles toreados for $149. Read on for the details.

When you order French onion soup at Percy in Kensington, boy, do you get onions. Executive chef Chris Stilwell, now rocking an over-the-top, all-day-diner menu, tops the crock with onion rings. Messy? Sure. Crunchy? Oh, yes. Also new is an Elvis sundae, made with peanut butter cup gelato, banana, caramel, and a strip of candied bacon running along the inside of the glass.

Blank Street, a coffee and matcha chain, has announced it will open its first Philly location on the University of Pennsylvania campus.

Chon Tong, which had found a following on Vine Street for its Central Thai specialties, has closed, as its founder moved back to Thailand.

Chef Tim Dearing is turning grief into action. On March 19, he’ll host a dinner honoring chef Rye Crofter, a longtime colleague at Boston’s Menton, who died of an overdose in January 2023. The five-course dinner at Fleur’s in East Kensington will bring together Dearing and Fleur’s George Sabatino, plus Kevin McWilliams, Katrena Kanney, and Steve Haftel, and former Menton coworkers. The event benefits the Everywhere Project, a Philadelphia nonprofit focused on harm reduction, access to services, and support for people affected by substance use. Tickets ($95 plus tax and tip), menu, and details on Resy.

Fishtown Social will mark its 10th anniversary party on March 31 with a ticketed tasting similar to its annual “Drink Like a Fish(towner)” events. Owner Vanessa Wong opens up every bottle in the building for tasting. It’s free for its wine club members, while others pay $55 per ticket on Fishtown Social’s website. Admission times are 5 to 6:30 p.m., or 7 to 8:30 p.m. Proceeds benefit Project Home.

Ghigiarelli’s, a pizzeria in Old Forge, Pa. (aka the Pizza Capital of the World), is supposedly reopening after nine years. Why had it shut down?

A) owner retired

B) owner was murdered

C) owner skipped town

D) owner sold it

Find out if you know the answer.

A question on restaurant-arrival etiquette: Just because someone has a reservation, does it give them the right to bump themselves to the front of the line at the host’s stand after asking those who are waiting if they are walk-ins and then finding out they are?

To me, a reservation is a hold on the table — not a waiting-line fast pass. My dining partner feels they deserve to cut the queue, since extra minutes taken to seat walk-ins may set their own reservation back, and possibly create potential issues for the kitchen and servers alike. (For the record, we simply let the hurried guest go ahead of us.) Any thoughts? — Ken A.

I like your view. A reservation holds your place for a table, not for instant access to the host stand. If there’s a line to check in, the polite move is to wait your turn. Once you reach the host, your reservation should put you ahead of walk-ins for seating.

Your dining partner’s logic is understandable. If reserved parties are delayed behind walk-ins, the whole flow can back up. But that’s for the host to manage, not the guest. Asking people in line whether they’re walk-ins and then stepping ahead reads as entitled.

The basic rule: Wait your turn to check in, then say, “We have a reservation under [your name].” From there, the restaurant should sort it out.

Only exception: If there’s no real line and the host is informally calling up reservation parties. In an actual queue, cutting is bad form.

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