Best of Philly 2012

Philadelphia Magaznie puts together an ambition list every year called "Best of Philly." In a number of different categories, the magazine tries to describe not only the best food, but shopping, nightlife, and basically every facet of city life.

So that's a cool idea.  But I took issue with a few of the winners.  Sure, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and I'm certainly over critical.  I guess that's why I'm writing this right now.  I'm submitting a few of my own revisions.  They certainly have more categories than I could every attempt on my own.  But still...please comment:

Best Raman
Philadelphia Mag: Nom Nom Ramen
My Pick: Nan Zhou Hand Drawn Noodle House:  New location makes slurping these delicious (and cheap!) noodles even better.

Best Whiskey List
Philadelphia Mag: Village Whiskey
My Pick: JRs Place:  Sure, Garces has a great restaurant.  But JRs, despite the strange location and atmoshopere, simply has more whiskey.  And it's cheaper to boot.

Best Breakfast
Philadelphia Mag: Fitzwater Cafe: Not sure how this place won. There are at least a handful doing better breakfast.
My Pick: Carmen's Country Kitchen:  I know I'm biased towards Carmen's.  But I love the idea of this place: two sweet options, two savory. Local, fresh ingredients.  A friendly staff that always asks your name when you come inside.  Maybe Carmen's isn't the best breakfast, but it's certainly my favorite.

Best Beer Shop
Philadelphia Mag: Bottle shop at Local 44
My Pick: Go to New Jersey: I know this is for Philadelphia, but seriously, the prices on 6 packs and to go beer here are so expensive, it's just a joke.  Really for the best beer in the city, Bella Vista has the best selection but highest prices as well.  Global or Bell's are the best distributors in the city.

Food Truck
Philadelphia Mag: Pitruco Pizza: Sure, they're good, and a brick oven in a truck is a cool idea.  But when food trucks hit $8-9, it's just not the best option in that price range
My Pick: Honests Tom's wins for food, and Rival Bros wins for drink:  Both of these truck focus on one thing, and do that one thing immensely well.

Best Coffee Shop
Philadelphia Mag: Ultimo
My Pick: Oneshot Coffee: Both are excellent and this is more a matter of preference, but you'd be hard pressed to find a better looking coffee shop than the renovated Oneshot. The food and coffee is great as well.

Best Cocktail Bar
Philadelphia Magazine: Franklin Mortgage and Investment Company: This is probably the winner that prompted me to write this whole list.  Over the last few years, I've witnessed Franklin take a nose dive in terms of quality and service.  Everything that made it cool, the speakeasy feel, slick service, no sign out front, etc have all been abandoned to welcome in the masses.
My pick: I haven't been to Hop Sing Laundromat yet, but I'm sure it's better than Franklin.  For a speakeasy feel, Ranstead Room offers up great cocktails as well, and succeeds where Franklin fails.

Best Chicken Wings
Philadelphia Magazine: Jug Handle Inn
My Pick: I will soon be making a trip to the Jug Handle Inn.  But they standard they will have to live up to is Moriarty's.  Because those are the best wings in the city proper.  (Hottest goes to Monks, or possibly Ortliebs.)

Best Gastropub
Philadelphia Magazine: Alla Spina: No doubt this is a great place.  But it also only added a burger a number of days ago.  Excellent restaurant, sure.  Gastropub?  You're stretching the definition.
My Pick: Kraftwork: Great food, excellent beer list, rotating on both fronts. Late night happy hour, outdoor seating, and overall just a lot of things to life.  PS, it's a gastropub.

I could keep going, but I digress.  There's a lot of great food and drink in this city, and every business mentioned here should be proud. There's also a handful of other places that are just a notch below the best.  I'm really glad to live here.  And it looks like my food to do list just grew again.