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.

Liberties

I'm afraid that the secret will get out about this place. Because on Mondays, they have an order of wings and a pitcher of (admittedly cheap) beer for $10. Liberties isn't great, but that's paradoxically what makes it good, especially for Northern Liberties. This is a low key spot, and the beer is always cheap, Rolling Rock pounders go for $2 and Kenzinger pints are only .50 more. I ate here with a bunch of friends, and its a good place for a group. It's not overrun and there's a bunch of space. Several flat screen TVs pump out sports in HD.

The food here is just okay. My friend Chris ordered a Bacon cheeseburger, which came out piled high and looked awesome, but ended up tasting average. The wings were okay, but great for the price. I ordered hot but was disappointed by the lack of heat. There isn't much atmosphere here, but its a small time joint seemingly filled with locals and served only by one bartender, who is chill and accommodating.

Bottom Line: Liberties is a breath of fresh air from the normal No Libs joints. That doesn't make it great, but I reward points for challenging the status quo.

It's at 2nd and Fairmount.

Best Of Philly: Chicken Wings

I don't need to write too much, because my best of Philly chicken wings write up is likely to be a repeat of my previous entry on Moriarty's. I won't focus on the less than finer points of this establishment and get right to the wings. They're nearly perfect. For my taste, the sauce is spot on. It's spicy, but not over done. It has the classic buffalo flavor. I want to taste it right now just thinking about it. For size, these wings are great. There aren't many places that serve up full wings, and Moriaty's serves up large, full wings. They're cooked just right, with a crispy skin and tender meat underneath. No breading. And any chicken wing is incomplete without celery and blue cheese on the side. Again, Moriaty's doesn't fail. I don't love this place, but the delicious wings make me a regular customer. These are truly the best wings I've found in Philly.

Misconduct Tavern

While I was initially thrown off by the overly enthusiastic seafaring theme at Misconduct Tavern, I do aim to try out all different kinds of bars. Coupled with their 1/2 burger Monday, it seems like a good place to try out.

Dan and I visited for lunch. It wasn't busy, and the server was pleasant and attentive. The beer list here is good and has some nice variety and smaller breweries, but not outstanding. $5.50 for Bell's Quinnanin Falls Lager (12 oz), $6 Ommegang Witte oints are slightly overpriced. I dislike bars that don't clearly advertise their prices, and Misconduct provides a tap list without any indication of price.

We ordered wings and cheeseburgers. The wings served are whole wings, I believe an order or five was $9. At that price, I expected nothing short of condor size wings in the most delicious sauce available. In short, they're more expensive and less falvorful and enjoyable than the wings served up at Moriarty's.

We both ordered medium rare burgers. We both received well done burgers. I don't like sending food back to the kitchen, so I ate and enjoyed my burger, but it was an oversight that shouldn't have occurred. The fries served alongside are okay, nothing special.



Bottom Line:

I can get better food, drink, prices, service, and atmosphere within a two block radius. On the other hand, there are far worse places in the same vicinity. If you're going to visit, at least do so on a Monday, when you can get a handsome burger for $5.

Byrne's Tavern

I heard the wings here are fantastic, so I came searching. Alas, they don't live up to my standards. I'm sure there are people who will love the style of wings here. They are quite tender. They pressure cook the wings to get the soft, almost chewy consistency. The meat almost falls off the bone. I just don't love that style for chicken wings. The wing sauce isn't anything special, either.

I went with my good friend Dan to check out a hockey game and eat and drink. The bartender here was awesome, friendly and on top of his game. We were never left with a moment without a beer in front of us. The atmosphere here is what you'd expect. The clientele is mostly old, white, Irish Catholic blue collar. Everyone seems to be jovial, just trying to have a good time.

The beers here are also what you'd expect. National brews from the US and Ireland. The best thing here is Yeungling, so that gives you an idea of what you're getting into.

Bottom Line: The wings might be your style, but you shouldn't come here for the beer or food. It's a great place to meet real people, and catch a game. Nothing more than that.

Essentials:

3301 Richmond St (Richmond and Westmoreland)

215-634-8707

Hours: 11am-2pm

Wings: 7.25 per dozen (25% off Mondays)

Cash Only: No

Reservations: Never

Monk's Spanish Flies: The hottest wings in Philly

I like spicy food. Generally, when I order wings, I ask for the hottest ones without a second thought. I'm here to tell you that if you are like me, and decide to go to Monk's, you are about to make a mistake.

The culprit (Photo by Dave Hong)

These wings are painfully spicy. I was dining with my good friend Callen, and we had a great night. It's fantastic to get someone who regularly drinks Miller Lite to enjoy a Delirium Tremens. As usual, the mussels here were fantastic. This was also my first time sitting at the back bar, and I love the atmosphere back in that little room.

The wings are a slowly growing fire in your mouth, and it sticks with you. One of the worst things is that if you have any other food or beer, you can forget about tasting it. Luckily, I saved the wings for last. By the end of the six wings I ate, I was visibly sweating and involuntarily crying. I'm not sure if that's embarrassing. These may be the hottest wings I've ever had.

Bottom Line: If you're looking for a challenge with incredibly hot wings. Stop by Monk's. Order these to go. Then take them home so people don't see you cry.

Essentials:

264 S. 16th Street (16th and Spruce)

215-545-7005

Spanish Flies: $8.50
Avg Beer: 6-8

Cash only: No

Reservations: No

Moriarty's - Best Wings in Philly?

Somewhere along the line, I heard that Moriarty's had the best wings in Philly. A quick Google search will put it near the top of a few lists, but will also provides mixed results.

Because I was only interested in the wings, I'll start there. An order costs $9 and give you 8 to 10 full wings, which isn't a bad deal. I like full wings. These were well cooked, had a flavorful, tangy buffalo sauce, and came with a side of average tasting blue cheese. I wouldn't call them the best in town, but it was really nice to have a change from the tiny little wings found most places. The wings definitely get a thumbs up in my book.

Aside from the wings, this place has an great beer selection. It has 30 taps, and I had 90 minute IPA while I was there. They have quite a few Belgians, including La Chouffe with the big guys: Leffe, Chimay, and others. There's some decent happy hour specials as well.

The atmosphere brings this place down a few notches. First of all, I'm not a fan of "Irish pubs." They seem to be generic and homogenized to a point of cultural blandness. Here, Moriarty's is

on par with mediocrity. Further, it's definitely a bro spot. Seriously, there were a bunch of guys wearing Guinness hats. I was offered a free Guinness, and when I turned it down, the incredulous promo guy gave me a hard time. Seriously?

The menu has a serious identity crisis. Moriarty's offers an extensive selection Scotch, but doesn't even advertise their Irish whiskey. With a load Mexican offerings, it leaves one wondering what this joint is trying to accomplish. Lastly, the menu prices that all end in $*.99 (ie, wings are $8.99), and it leaves you feeling like you're in nothing more than a Irish branded Applebees. And I hate Applebees.

Bottom Line: The wings here are good, and there's some decent beer too. Even the fries were likeable. But this place is too frustrating to really enjoy oneself. If you must try the wings, get in and get out.

Essentials:

1116 Walnut St

(215) 627-7676

Avg Ent: 8.99-12.99 (because one penny makes a difference)

Cash only: No

Reservations: Not a bad idea