Originally Posted by flygirl
I am going to be in Philly later on this month and am looking for a restaurant recommendation for dinner. There is a GLBT event there and it looks like the restaurant of choice is Bistro St Tropez, so that will be one evening...the menu looks fabulous. I was hoping for some carpaccio...so an Italian restaurant would be wonderful. Anybody able to assist?
Flygirl: Welcome in advance to Philadelphia.
We basically have two styles of italian in the city (this is an oversimplificaction). There is the "South Philly" italian which has the traditional veal parm, pasta and "gravy," baked manicotti, etc. Some very good places for that include Villa di Roma and Dante & Luigi's. These would be about 10 minutes max by taxi from the main center city hotels.
There is also the more mediterranean style. We have an excellent array of BYO restaurants, where you can bring wine and get a very nice meal. Some of my favorites in Center City include Melograno and La Viola. Melograno does take credit cards but La Viola does not. Places like Pompeii, La Buca, Tutto, and Monte Carlo living room have reputations, but I think they have more style than substance. Saloon is a hybrid high end place but in South Philadelphia and a Philly power scene - good if you are on expense account.
Feel free to send me a note if you need more info.