Washington Post offers praise to South Philly restaurants

In the Washington Post’s search for America’s best food cities, they’ve taken a stop in Philadelphia. While they certainly praised the food scene in the city in general, a bunch of South Philly spots of course got mentions.

While Philadelphia hasn’t yet ranked in the top 10, the article states that, “The City of Brotherly Love knows how to cook, eat and drink.” But we already knew that. From John’s Roast Pork to Noord, here are the South Philly spots that seem to have been a hit. 

The article mentions the ever-growing popularity of East Passyunk Avenue’s dining scene. Noord and Will BYOB are both mentioned.

More from the Washington Post:

East Passyunk Avenue — hailed as Philadelphia’s new restaurant row and pronounced by locals as “Pash-SHUNK” — embraces Le Virtu and its Abruzzi menu, Noord Eetcafe for what smacks of today’s Amsterdam, and Townsend for seasonal French fare. To miss either transitional neighborhood would be to miss out on why this city has become such an important part of the national food discussion.

On Noord:

Philadelphia native Joncarl Lachman, who, facing “a significant birthday” two years ago, returned to his home town after a decade of cooking in Chicago, thinks locals are drawn to BYOBs as much for their “romance” and neighborliness as for their value. For the chef-owner of Noord Eetcafe, a 38-seat Northern European retreat in trendy East Passyunk, “it’s like having people into your home, except they bring the wine and pay for the food.”

Despite the cheesesteak craze of tourists to Philadelphia, more praise is offered to John’s Roast Pork:

Outsiders think of Philly, home to the rival Geno’s and Pat’s, as a cheesesteak town. Insiders would prefer you remember the city for its roast pork sandwiches. Cheesesteaks are for when you want to fill your belly after a night on the town; roast pork sandwiches are works of art. Gut bombs vs. gustatory delights, in other words. The latter are best inhaled at the aforementioned Tommy DiNic’s in Reading Terminal Market and at John’s Roast Pork, the South Philly institution honored as an American Classic by the James Beard Foundation in 2006 (and where spinach is the green of choice inside the roll).