Where to get Philly’s best chicken wings | Let’s Eat
We’ll help you make your Thanksgiving plans, find a new restaurant, and answer your food questions.
Time to dig into our favorite chicken wings.
Also in this edition:
Thanksgiving meals: Maybe you want to go out, or perhaps you would rather bring in. We have you covered.
New restaurants: Here are November’s highlights.
News: Something big is coming to Bridgeport. Read on!
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Wings! We love them hot, mild, naked, fried, baked, and smoked (including these smoky beauties above from Sweet Lucy’s in Northeast Philly). Allow us to share our favorites.
🍄 Here’s our guide to vegan wings
A new month means a new rundown of new restaurants. The openings include:
🐶 Fetch Park: Dog lovers had it ruff since Bark Social closed its Manayunk dog park last year. Fetch, out of Atlanta, debuts Thursday in the same footprint, er, paw print. Sit, stay.
🍣 Uchi: The high-end Japanese chain out of Austin has set Nov. 17 for its opening at 1620 Sansom St. Shown above is a crispy halibut that will be on special.
🍕 Scusi Pizza: Chef Laurent Tourondel is looking at Nov. 21 for this new concept, an upmarket pizzeria in the Piazza Alta in Northern Liberties, next to his forthcoming Terra Grill.
🍔 Huda Burger: Yehuda Sichel, of Center City’s Huda, says “two weeks” for his long-in-the-works shop at 1603 Frankford Ave. in Fishtown-Kensington specializing in smash burgers on pillowy milk buns.
Our Thanksgiving guides include:
Where to order takeout: No cooking!
Where to dine out. No cooking or cleanup!
Scammers have been flooding the Google pages of noted Philadelphia restaurants with one-star reviews, dragging down their scores and causing all kinds of headaches. I chatted with one of the alleged schemers, who calls himself a “professional one-star removal provider.” (I won’t tell you what the restaurant owners call him.) Read on for this troubling tale.
Scoops
The Avery, at 117 Chestnut St., which shuttered over the summer after only a few months, will be reflagged 117 Restaurant & Brewery under new operators, possibly this month. Follow the process on Instagram.
Old City’s Lucha Cartel (207 Chestnut St.) has closed, and the transition to Tun Tavern begins Friday. New owner Montgomery Dahm is reopening with a menu of Mexican grub from Lucha Cartel along with Tun Tavern pub fare; the sign will be unveiled Monday. Dahm also owns the Tun Tavern in Atlantic City as well as the trademark to the name. A nonprofit group, meanwhile, wants to open a Tun around the corner, and the issue is in court.
Biederman’s, the Jewish-style appetizing shop, will take the former Audrey Claire BYOB corner space in Rittenhouse for a new location. Lauren Biederman promises more prepared foods at this one.
The Pierogie Kitchen, which left Roxborough earlier this year, will debut its retail counter at Ridge Hall, the food hall in Ambler, on Saturday. Its prepared-food counter is still in the works.
Restaurant report
Things are looking up at Attico, the rooftop lounge atop the Cambria Hotel at 219 S. Broad St. It’s returning to its pre-pandemic roots as a casual bar with small plates and cocktails — ditching the full-service restaurant approach. Chef Nick Desiato offers a lineup of shareable plates (jerk chicken skewers are above) with only a few entrees (steak frites, bone-in pork chop with mole). The action happens earlier in the evening nowadays, and Attico has even added Saturday daytime DJs to meet shifting habits.
Greens & Grains, the plant-based specialist that recently opened in Ellisburg Shopping Center in Cherry Hill, debuts Monday at Rowan University (320 Rowan Blvd.) in Glassboro.
Austrian Village, on Huntingdon Pike in Rockledge, announced its closing after 53 years, three months after the death of longtime chef Tony Bohen from cancer at 62. The restaurant posted a goodbye message on Facebook that included a promised reimbursement of unused gift certificates.
Briefly noted
La Colombe’s shops are entering the millennium and are starting to offer Wi-Fi.
Brewery ARS’ Sean Arsenault is hosting a fundraiser for the Michael J. Fox Foundation starting at 4 p.m. Friday at the South Philly location in honor of his father, Wayne, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. At “Wayne’s World,” he’ll pour Wayne’s English-style pub ale, Double Dry Hopped Wayne’s Pale Ale, and Fruited Sour IPA Wayne’s. Wow Burger will sell food.
Veterans Day programming from Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia in South Philly: Taylor Grieger, who stars in the Amazon Prime documentary Hell or High Seas, will appear at 8 p.m. Friday to launch a specialty cocktail made with his Cape Horn tequila. For every cocktail sold, a cut will be donated to Skeleton Crew Adventures, which helps veterans and first responders living with post-traumatic stress.
Chef Telly Justice of New York City’s HAGS, a queer-owned fine-dining restaurant, and chef Ari Miller of Post Haste will collab on a pay-what-you-can dinner from 5-10 p.m. Saturday at Post Haste, 2519 Frankford Ave. (Miller is the husband of Inquirer reporter Kiki Aranita.) A portion of proceeds will be donated to the Ali Forney Center, supporting LGBTQ+ youth. Reservations are available on Resy.
The Inquirer Food Fest, a full day of fun Nov. 15 at the Fillmore and Punch Line Philly, is close to a sellout. See the schedule of exclusive chef collaborations, off-menu dishes from 30+ restaurants and bakeries, and live conversations and performances from Zinadelphia, Snacktime, Opera Philadelphia with BWC Sounds, and more.
The Tasties, the Philly-theme awards show produced by chef Eli Kulp and the Delicious City Philly Podcast team, will return for a second year on Feb. 1 at Live! Casino. Tickets are now on sale. Proceeds will benefit Philabundance.
❓Pop quiz
A picnic over the weekend in FDR Park gathered fans and creators of a popular food. What was the dish of honor?
A) pie
B) pizza
C) ice cream
D) cupcakes
Find out if you know the answer.
Ask Mike anything
Word on the street is that the people behind Blue Bell Inn bought Bridgeport’s Taphouse 23. True? False? Locals miss the food and the vibe but are hopeful. — Eric P.
True. Taphouse wrapped a 10-year run in May, and the partnership that owns the landmark Blue Bell Inn as well as the more casual Copper Crow in Horsham are taking over. Co-owner Scott Dougherty told me that the project, at Fourth and Grove Streets, has a name (Cecilia), a designer (Judi Goodman), and a rough projected opening (March 2026). Though the concept is still being determined, Dougherty said the menu would be closer to the structure of the Crow — e.g. a dozen or more small plates, a half-dozen salads, a couple of pasta and poultry dishes, three or four fish, two or three steaks, and pizza. Along with wines and cocktails, “we will still have plenty of draft beer, though we won’t be screaming ‘tap house,’” he said.
🗞️ Two weeks ago, I asked y’all for the name of the restaurant that preceded Jose Garces’ Amada at 217 Chestnut St. in Old City. One unnamed reader came up with the correct answer: Adriatica, a stylish Mediterranean seafood restaurant that ran for about two years. Its chef, Mustapha Rouissiya, went on to open Figs in Fairmount.
📮 Have a question about food in Philly? Email your questions to me at mklein@inquirer.com for a chance to be featured in my newsletter.
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