Best of Philly- AOL CityGuide

AOL CityGuide Philadelphia is collecting votes for their "City's Best 2006" poll right now. Below are links to several of the categories where Lady and I have dined and reviewed over at Messy and Picky, the food blog. And for the rest of the categories, I suggest voting for a local place. Who the hell cares about generic burgers or salads? Show your love for Philly by eating at, voting for and supporting Philly's great dining establishments.

For breakfast, Messy suggests Sabrina's. A review isn't up [yet] for them, but she's dined there and said it was splendid.

For cheesesteak, I'd say Abner's Cheesesteaks - oh wait they didn't list it! What the fuck! The only review we have up that corresponds to the chioces they have up is Pat's King of Steaks which I still say is better than Geno's and I voted for them simply to fuel the war.

For Chinese, I'd say go for Lakeside Chinese Deli, they got some incredible dim sum. No review up on M&P [yet].

For desserts, the only spot we've been to on the list is Capogiro for some gelati. Good stuff. But I must admit that I voted for Franklin Fountain simply because I'd love to see them get the distinction even though I haven't been there. I want it to still be around for us to haul our lazy asses to Olde City for a homemade rootbeer float. And for the record, I've tried one of the much lauded Isgro's cannolis and was less than impressed.

For family-friendly, you can read our take on Buca di Beppo, they have some horrible food there. We've also dined [eaten dessert] at More Than Just Ice Cream [no review] and we can say that their ice cream is delicious, the "More Than" part, haven't tried it.

For late night grub, you can't beat Little Pete's over on 17th St. 24 hours! Can't get any later than that. We've also dined at Ten Stone, but they actually close, so...

For Mexican food, while El Vez has the glitz and glamor, we both liked Pico de Gallo and Taqueria la Veracruzana better. But Pico de Gallo is quite a hassle with all their á la carte extras and beverage fees. Can't beat Taqueria la Veracruzana's gigantic burritos, homemade and very fresh.

Pizza. From their list those that made me gag: Franco & Luigi's and Joe's. Decent at Gianfranco Pizza Rustica and a little better at Lorenzo's. I genuinely liked the slices at Pietro's Coal Ove Pizzeria and NYPD Pizza.

For Thai, while Pad Thai Shack has some good quick take out options and My Thai is a cutesy place with some interesting décor, we both loved Siam Lotus on Spring Garden/9th Sts which has the total package of great food, nice ambiance and agreeable prices with some nice big Thai iced tea as well.

For vegetarian, it starts ands for us with Gianna's Grille. They also go as far as to have an extensive vegan menu as well. And AOL may want to update their poll since Sunwishes has closed up shop.

For brunch, we've been to Valanni, but only for dinner, an INCREDIBLE dinner which may very well have been the single greatest meal either of us have EVER had so we can only imagine their brunch fare.

And then it's on to the bars/nightlife section of the poll. We haven't reviewed bars/lounges on M&P, but we may start to do so and it's not to say that we don't go to them, we do.

For best bars we've been to Continental Restaurant and Martini Bar, but just the restaurant part, not for martinis. For a more "bar" bar, try Fergie's, in my opinion, the best pub in town [that I've been to at least].

For best beer selection, I [since Messy isn't much of a beer drinker at all] head to The Foodery for their incredible selection, but it's not a bar [if it was, I'd be there every night]. But Nodding Head has some wonderful in-house brews. Their Grog is my favorite beer in town. Independence Brew Pub's own Oatmeal Stout is quite a drink as well.

For dive bars, we've frequented Tattooed Mom, Bob and Barbara's Lounge and Dirty Frank's. We seem to end up at Tattooed Mom the most often, but that my simply be a too close to our place to walk further thing. If you get there at the right time, you can snag the under the stairs cul-de-sac booth.

For music clubs, we've been to the Trocadero, The Khyber, World Cafe Live and Tritone. I favor Tritone, especially nice in the summer when they have their backyard patio open. World Cafe Live was a little to old person-y for us.

Since we're a duo, we can't really comment on the singles scene, but we've eaten at Continental Midtown and seen the scene there.

Comments

[dmac]

I agree with Nodding Head, though 700 Level Ale is my favorite.

[ralph]

Pat's sucks. Geno's much better.