Just booked a reservation for a weekday in mid-December; I hope Chip finds fulfillment in his next chapter.
1 Like
Had a fantastic meal at illata last night. As it feels like the byob culture in this city is shrinking and dying out slowly, they are carrying the torch right now. To me, this place is a what a byob should be. Smart, delicious cooking with a point of view, warm service and quite affordable for the quality. Also have to mention their house made sourdough as some of the tastiest Iâve had in recent memory.
6 Likes
Went to visit my youngest for her birthday. Snagged three bar seats at Friday, Saturday, Sunday. I had heard good things, but the experience exceeded my expectations. Service was professional and friendly. Drinks were interesting and well made. I think we over ordered on food thoughâŚportions were surprisingly large. We shared the bitter green salad and the potato gnocchi appetizers. Then shared the roast chicken, the halibut special, and the rib eye. Probably could have shared the two apps and two entrees between the three of us. Great vibe!
7 Likes
That chicken rocks, as does their chicken liver mousse and beef tartare. Upstairs is also very good, definitely 1 star worthy imo. They are about to do a huge renovation to the space that will transform it into an even higher end experience. Curious to see how that all works eventually. The couple that runs the place are both super talented
1 Like
itâs interesting that itâs hung on as long as it has given that most restaurants make a lot of their profits from their alcohol program. In pgh itâs mostly restaurants that donât want to bother with an alcohol program that are BYO.
Illata? It isnât that old, less than 5 years for sure. I hope they can stay in business for many more to come though
FSS has been around forever but they arenât byo and Iâm sure they make tons on their program, though Iâm guessing itâs mostly cocktails for them
1 Like
No I mean BYO in general.
1 Like
Oh, my mistake. Yeah we still have a number a solid places here thankfully. I think itâs largely a financial issue, and lets young chefs start restaurants without needing significant outside investments. Philly is the kind of city that has enough people wanting to dine out that you can survive without a liquor license, but itâs definitely getting way harder each passing year
FSS always had a liquor license. Decades ago it was the only reasonably priced wine list in CC. The food was good but it wasnât like it is now.
Sadly no longer the case. They have a decent list for Philly but the pricing is pretty terrible. Cocktails are the way to go there for sure
1 Like
The cocktail offerings are legit. Super interesting stuff and Iâm much more of a classic Martini or Manhattan guy.
1 Like
Im not a big liquor guy in general, but their cocktail program is one of the best in the city and has won all kinds of awards. Did you by chance try âThe Carouselâ?
NoâŚI didnât read about it until after the fact. I had a traditional martini.
1 Like
Any updates with current top choices for BYO? Headed up there this weekend to hunt apartments with a daughter starting grad school in fall, so Iâm hoping to be visiting with some frequency in the coming yearsâŚ
Here are some of my top spots for byo
Mawn - not easy to get in though
Illata - new American, very good
Fiore - modern Italian
LâAngolo - old school Italian
Heavy Metal Sausage - butcher shop by day tasting menu by night
Sakana - sushi omakase
Tacconellis - old school no frills brick oven pizza
Also many of the Mexican and Vietnamese spots in south Philly are byo, as are a number of places in Chinatown
2 Likes
Was able to get a res a Mawn last night, and took my brother and his gf there for his birthday. Overall it was phenomenal, with nearly every dish being very good to excellent. For parties of 4 or more they require you to participate in the tasting menu, but at the start they ask if you have any dishes that youâd really like, or that youâd like to avoid, so it seems very customizable for people with allergies or aversions. We just said, âfuck us upâ and they obliged. Full disclosure here - my brother is a personal friend of the chef and so we probably got more food than a typical meal, but I can say it was way way too much and we took leftovers home. Here are some pics
papaya salad and melon salad - both excellent
Ban Xeo - Vietnamese egg crepe - excellent
Tuna Crudo (add on) Beets and mint and crushed peanuts - very good
Grilled ribeye skewer - excellent
Scallop toast (add on) Brioche, orange marmalade, trout roe, chili oil - excellent
Wild Boar Prahok - cambodian dip with âprahokâ a fermented fish condiment. This was also excellent (a theme is developing)
Soft shell Shrimp with fish sauce caramel - eat the whole thing, excellent
Charred Cabbage - very good
Clams in a curry broth - one of the weaker dishes, was missing the acidity that was so perfect in most of the others - ok
Ribeye steak - Cooked over charcoal beautifully, but unlike the dish before this had too much lime and fish sauce for me, tasty dish but out of balance.
Khao Soi - northern Thai curry with braised chicken - This was one of the better noodle dishes Iâve had in recent memory. This is a signature of theirs and is just excellent
All Star fried rice - another signature and for good reason. Stupid amount of seafood, over the top indulgence, excellent
not pictured were 2 desserts - a banana and passionfruit rice pudding (very good) and a funnel cake with miso caramel (also very good)
I brought the wines - NV Diebolt Vallois Prestige, 2022 Max Kilburg Ohglisburg Kabinett, and 2021 Domaine de la Borde Chardonnay. Total bill for 4 after tip was $400, but I would expect this amount of food to cost closer to $500, still a a solid deal for this quantity and quality of food. I wonât really comment on the service because we were friends so it was obviously top notch and they took amazing care of us, but I will say that everyone in the packed dining room looked really happy to be there and itâs clear the staff there are of a high quality. Sorry to add to the hype for this place but it really was a great meal. Highly recommended!
8 Likes
So, pan-Southeast Asian even if nominally Cambodian? Looks like the sort of place I really wish we had here, minus the extreme difficulty getting in 
.
Yeah that is a pretty accurate description. The chef is Cambodian but was born in Philly, has cooked all kinds of cuisine before opening and so itâs more a mashup of his influences than anything else. His wife is Jewish and that sneaks in there in places too. Honestly on paper this restaurant could be a disaster, but the conception of the dishes are all smartly done and executed to a really high level.
Lunch is walk in only, so that is always an option if you canât get a dinner res
2 Likes