Before making an appearance at the UberEats “Unwrap the Holidays” pop-up at Dilworth Park, the “Therapuss” podcast host and comedian popped by Amanda Shulman’s Her Place Supper Club for lobster and celery remoulade zeppole, tete de moines citrus salad, black trumpet boudin blanc, and more.
And Philadelphians couldn’t get enough of Shane’s Philly content.
Jake Shane with Danielle Sikaffy and Amanda Shulman at Her Place.
“jake shane was in philly when i was in philly today im dead,” one person commented.
“I actually cannot believe you were at my favorite restaurant,” another commented.
“Yay! People are starting to recognize the absolutely goated Philly food scene,” another person said.
Shulman’s Rittenhouse restaurant received a Michelin star back in November for its “warm and welcoming supper club vibe” with “a real communal feel at play.”
Her Place Supper Club, one of 76 best restaurants in Philadelphia, began with Shulman cooking for friends in her Penn campus apartment. Now, it’s the hotspot on Sansom Street with ever-changing menus showcasing “a pitch-perfect collaboration of an all-female kitchen locked in sync,” as Inquirer’s Craig LaBan put it.
And that’s just the beginning of Shulman’s footprint. She and partner Alex Kemp, My Loup, opened their new Pine Street Grill in Fitler Square this week. (Perhaps it can coax Shane back for a repeat visit.)
Along with a post of him seated at Her Place, Shane also took photos with Shulman and chef Danielle Sikaffy that the team posted on the restaurant’s Instagram.
“Live pic of me realizing I listened to a song for the first time in ten years the other day and it just came on again at the restaurant I’m at,” Shane wrote on Instagram.
Do you love having someone else make wine decisions for you? We’ve got great news: Local wine clubs have been popping up all over Philly. These mostly monthly subscriptions let you avoid decision paralysis and stock your wine rack with fun, thoughtfully selected bottles. Membership in many bottle shop-hosted clubs scores you further discounts (and in one case, cheap pizza), while winery-run subscriptions often give you access to special events.
Curated wine clubs have only recently taken off in Philly. This historically came down to logistics: Independent wine-sellers can only offer packages for pickup; they cannot ship or deliver wine to your doorstep, per the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (whose state stores can ship). This is a nonissue for some consumers but can feel like yet another errand to others. Building out club packs can also be a storage nightmare for small shops that already struggle with lack of space.
Practical hurdles aside, wine-centric businesses are figuring out how to make clubs work. The customer demand is there; clubs offer a storytelling moment and reason to try wines you may never have tasted otherwise. There’s a new wealth of local options, and you can set up memberships — or snag a last-minute Christmas gift for your favorite wine lover — without having to leave your house.
Neighborhood shops
Le Virtù
This club is so well thought-out that even pickup is a fun adventure: It doubles as tasting social. Members can hang out while enjoying complimentary snacks and tastes of that month’s wines, plus a few additional bottles. Bring a friend if you’d like (non-members may join the tasting for $20). It’s one of the most fun spins on happy hour around. Le Virtu offers two-, four-, and five-bottle packages, focusing on small producers from Southern Italy. Pickup and the tasting social are the first Wednesday of every month.
The Leb Nat gold ruby (left) and the Matic pinot gris rose at Jet Wine Bar on Aug 11, 2020.
Jet Wine Bar
Owner Jill Weber has been serving wines from lesser-known regions around the globe since opening Jet 15-plus years ago. What else would you expect from an archaeologist who pulls double duty running a wine bar? The monthly club selections (two bottles for $55, or three with varying cheese pairings for $89) have the same quirky-cool range as Jet’s by-the-glass offerings. One month the wines may be from Georgia and the next, maybe Mexico or a mix from mountainous regions. Each set has a different narrative, and a blog page written by Weber gives the how, what, and why behind them. If you love trying new, often-obscure things, this is the club for you. Pickups start the first of each month.
This shop is already the go-to for many West Philly-based wine lovers, and their club offering — which rotates themes monthly — is also great. A subscription is $99 for four bottles per month, and membership also gets you a tote, wine key, and a 10% discount on any cheese and charcuterie to-go. Sign up in advance. Pickup begins on the first day of each month.
Local 44 is West Philly’s go-to bottle shop. Its wine club is worth investigating.
Fishtown Social
This Fishtown wine bar keeps its club format as simple and friendly as possible. A no-commitment $55 membership gets you two monthly bottles and a 10% discount at the shop on pickup day. An e-newsletter gives the rundown on the featured natural wines, producers, and regions, as well as tasting notes and pairing suggestions. Pickup takes place the first Monday of every month.
Sign up for the wine club at this forward-thinking coffee/wine shop and choose to get two or four bottles monthly ($75 and $125, respectively). Each month features a partnership with a different small wine importer, aka the folks who do the behind-the-scenes legwork to get small-production wines into Pennsylvania. If you prefer to curate your own, Herman’s just released a listing of specialty bottles that you can ask staff to order on your behalf.
Supérette’s wine club is French-y (but not exclusively so).
Supérette
Supérette wine director and Superfolie GM Kait Caruke and owner Chloé Grigri have been best pals in wine since 2017, a relationship that naturally evolved into collaborating on the wine programs for Superfolie and Supérette. Coucou wine club is their first venture into curating a monthly subscription, a celebration of the natural-minded producers — often French, but not always — they scoop up and pop open together on the regular. There are two offerings: a party pack ($75) to drink immediately or a collector’s club ($125) for bottles that you can enjoy now or age for later. Both clubs come with pairing suggestions, discounts in the wine shop, and early access to special events. Sign-ups close at the end of month for the following month’s pickup, which takes place the first Wednesday of each month.
This friendly wine club is so popular, there’s a waitlist to get in. For $50 per month, the Sally team picks two natural wines — chosen for their seasonality, stories, and mood — for you to take home. A cheese pizza can be added for an additional $10, which feels like a dream date night in the making. Pickup days are communicated at the beginning of each month. Membership also scores you 15% off regular wine shop purchases. Win, win, wine.
The Tibouren Rose at Vernick Wine, which runs a monthly wine club.
Vernick
This tried-and-true club has been around since 2020, continually refining and keeping the offerings classic, thoughtful, and interesting — the same ethos as the restaurant. Members receive four bottles each month for $100, as well as tasting notes and pairing ideas. Membership can be as flexible as month-to-month, but those that sign up for a full year get one month free. Pickup is the 15th of each month.
This urban winery has done a lot in a year since relocating from Oregon to Philly: classes, events, collaborations, dinners, being featured on the menus of nearly all the Michelin- recognized restaurants in Philly. Partners Tom Caruso and Sydney Adams are clearly working their tails off to share their wines all around the city, so it’s no surprise that they have an excellent wine club, to boot. This is one of the few quarterly offerings, with plans ranging $100 to $125 based on which three bottles are featured. Members also receive discounts on flights at the winery, branded glasses, and merchandise, plus first access to events. If you don’t want to trek to East Kensington, shipping is available to 38 states, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
A WAYVINE vineyard in the foreground and the WAYVINE winery in the background in Nottingham, Chester County, on Aug. 20, 2022.
Wayvine
Make your wine club double as a real-life experience. This Chester County winery’s club members can choose an annual 12- or 24-bottle subscription, split into twice-yearly shipments or pickups. Additional perks include tastings for the member and (depending on membership level) five to 10 guests, plus complimentary T-shirts and wine glasses, 5% off merchandise and artwork, and invitations to members-only experiences, including two annual pickup parties where you’ll mingle with the Wayvine family. Set in Nottingham’s rolling hills, the winery has its own Airbnb if you want to make it an overnight; members get a discount on that, too, pending availability.
This is the least traditional club offering on this list, which is also why it’s so compelling. This tiny but mighty minimal-intervention winery out in Christiana, Pa., provides memberships only to those who buy one to two cases of their wines, which you can do online. Perks include visits to their Lancaster County vineyard (members only, by appointment)as well as invitations to guest-chef events, private barrel tastings with owner/winegrower Ed Lazzerini, and complimentary samples during tasting room hours.
Even for dedicated bargain shopper, there are times where a splurge makes perfect sense. In the wine world, one of these occasions is holiday gifting, so this week we are taking a break from our usual recommendations of wines under $25 to flag this Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon as a prestige wine suitable for high-end gifting.
There are a number of reasons why wines make great presents. Fine wines are beautiful objects that are easy to wrap and just as appropriate for wine-loving colleagues or clients as for family and friends. They also have a special resonance at this time of year, in that each bottle offers the promise of a memorable experience that is best shared and can spread the warmth and conviviality of the season.
Not every wine store will carry a wealth of options over $50 per bottle suitable for someone very special, but most have at least a handful to choose from. These tend to cluster in the two most giftable of wine categories — big reds and bubbles — due to their reputations for excellence. Many wine styles can come in such a wide range of prices that no one can be sure what price was paid. Then there are “blue chip” categories, which have a special cachet and always cost more, especially when they come from a top-of-the-line winery.
Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon has the most gravitas of all American wines and is rarely found under $50. Dark, rich, and velvety, top-notch wines like this example make the quality of their ingredients and craftsmanship known with decadent flavors of black cherries and touches of both vanilla and chocolate. What distinguishes the fine craftsmanship of wines like this one, though, is not a specific taste per se — it’s the way the flavors and textures reverberate on the palate for minutes after each sip. Wines like this one, from a steakhouse-famous winery, make a perfect gift for red wine lovers who deserve a little touch of luxury in their lives.
Caymus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Caymus cabernet sauvignon
Napa Valley, California; 14.6% ABV
PLCB Item #87541, on sale for $79.99 through Jan. 4 (regularly $89.99)
Also available at: Total Wine in Wilmington and Claymont, Del. ($74.97; totalwine.com), Canal’s in Berlin, N.J. ($85.99; canalsofberlin.com), and Total Wine in Cherry Hill ($86.97)
Executives at Happy Bear, which has sold coffee online for the past two years, said they recently signed a lease for a 3,000-square-foot space on the ground floor of 1201 Normandy Place, a mixed-use lab building optimized for life-science tenants, including those who do gene and cell therapy research and development.
The Happy Bear cafe is set to serve coffee, wine, and grab-and-go food, including sandwiches, breakfast items, soups, salads, flatbreads, and tomato pie made in partnership with Carlino’s, the Ardmore-based specialty-food purveyor.
A Saquon hoagie special at Carlino’s Market in Ardmore. The specialty-food purveyor’s food will be available at the the Happy Bear Coffee Company’s first physical store at the Navy Yard.
The cafe will have indoor and outdoor seating overlooking the five-acre Central Green Park, and provide “a versatile setting for morning coffee, a quick lunch, or an evening glass of wine,” according to the news release.
“We wanted to create a place that feels like a daily ritual and a small retreat all in one,” Happy Bear cofounder Dan Kredensor said in a statement.
“With Carlino’s expertise as one of our culinary partners, we’re building a cafe that brings together wonderful specialty coffee, great flavors, and a welcoming atmosphere, right in the heart of the Navy Yard’s most exciting new district.”
An artist’s rendering shows an aerial view of the proposed development plan for the Navy Yard.
Ensemble Real Estate Investments, of California, and Philly’s Mosaic Development Partners were selected in 2020 to lead an estimated $2.5 billion redevelopment of 109 acres of the former base.
Construction of 1201 Normandy was part of Ensemble/Mosaic’s first phase of redevelopment, which was estimated to cost $400 million.
“Happy Bear represents the type of dynamic, community-focused retail that will define the Navy Yard as it enters its next phase of growth,” said Nelson Way, vice president of leasing and development for Ensemble.
Happy Bear was founded by longtime friends Kredensor and Frank Orman, who bonded by exploring Philly’s coffee shops during their college years.
The pair’s first cafe will be near a 12-acre section of the Navy Yard that’s being called the Historic Core District, combining historic buildings with new construction.
An artist’s rendering of PIDC’s vision for the Navy Yard Historic District Core district, which would combine historic buildings and new construction.
In the same area, developers have built more than 600 apartments in a mixed-use community called AVE Navy Yard, which is expected to open next year.
The Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC), an independent nonprofit, manages the Navy Yard on the city’s behalf. It has owned the 1,200-acre site since the U.S. Defense Department decommissioned it as a military base in 2000.
The Navy Yard is home to 150 companies that employ 16,000 people, according to its online directory. Its tenants include Urban Outfitters, which is headquartered at the site, and Jefferson Health.
The property also has a Courtyard Marriott, several daytime food options, and a full-service restaurant called the Gatehouse.
Navy Yard stakeholders want the campus to eventually have nearly 4,000 new apartments; 235,000 square feet of retail; and more than 4.2 million square-feet of office, research and development, and manufacturing space, according to its 2022 redevelopment plan. Developers also want to bring another hotel to the site.
All year, when dinner goes exceptionally well, a big question pops into my mind: “Is this one of Philadelphia’s Top 10 restaurants?”
That’s a lofty status to consider for any place, no doubt, but when you eat at nearly 400 restaurants a year as I do, it arises more frequently than you might expect. The quality of the cooking around here has simply gotten better than ever, in a vast range of styles and price points. So when I set out each year to define an elite group to represent that moment in Philly restaurant time, my mind is open to wherever the most magical dishes take me, to places old and new, where a kitchen’s creative touch pairs with genuine hospitality to elevate a mere dinner date into something truly special.
The process begins with the year’s first-review meal bites, then truly kicks into gear during summer, when I begin circling back for revisits through at least two dozen promising candidates. Consistency and continuous growth matters.
Inevitably, an all-star lineup emerges that I’m thrilled to present. And you’ll see it when it lands next week.
But today I offer another list: Five special places that, for a variety of reasons, are still on the cusp of making the leap to the next level. This isn’t an honorable-mention group so much as a future-cast of exciting places on the rise to watch, along with some standbys still worth celebrating. I’d leap at a dinner invite to any one of them.
The hush puppies at Honeysuckle
Honeysuckle
Honeysuckle’s bold move this year, from a West Philly market-cafe into a sprawling, art-filled space on North Broad Street, complete with an inventive bar and special-occasion prices, has given the chef duo of Omar Tate and Cybille St.Aude-Tate the room to fully realize their dynamic vision of an immersive destination celebrating the culture of the Black American diaspora. One moment you’re eating house-cured country ham over airy hush puppies, the next you’re devouring Haitian-spiced roast chicken or Mississippi Delta-style hot tamales — stuffed here with wagyu beef cheeks and oxtail. Yes, the $65 “McDonald’s Money” burger is an audacious stack of truffled, gold-foiled caviar bling, but it’s also a wry Eddie Murphy reference and a juicy emblem of Honeysuckle’s potential. An anticipated shift from the original $95 prix fixe to an a la carte menu in 2026 shows Honeysuckle is still seeking the ideal format for its new home. An expected 15% dip in check average should fill more seats, while a revival of its ambitious “UNTITLED.” tasting menus assures this uniquely creative kitchen will still be pushing boundaries. 631 N. Broad St., 215-307-3316, honeysucklephl.com
Sesame madeleines with ras el hanout butter at Emmett
Emmett
Philly already has a vibrant Mediterranean dining scene, but Emmett, one of the year’s best new restaurants, offers an original take, from warm sesame madeleines with smoked vadouvan butter to dumplings stuffed with cuminy sujuk sausage. Here you’ll find sticky toffee pudding in Turkish coffee caramel and clever nods from chef Evan Snyder to his love of Jewish deli (wagyu tartare in horseradish-dusted rye tartlets? Yes!). With polished service and a thematically tuned drink program dusted with Levantine spice, this intimate Olde Kensington corner once occupied by Cadence feels like a special-occasion destination again. If Snyder continues refining his sometimes overly busy plates, Emmett can take the next step. 161 W. Girard Ave., 215-207-0161, emmettphilly.com
Assorted dishes including the Wood Fire Pulpo at Ama on Wednesday, July 16, 2025, in Philadelphia.
Amá
Frankie Ramirez turned out some of the most memorable and beautiful dishes of the year — squash blossom tlayudas, lamb neck barbacoa — from the live fires of his chef-owner debut, a stylish, modern Mexican newcomer in Fishtown. The chef’s growth since his previous post at LMNO has been stunning, with food that is both personal and daring, like the milpa salad laced with huitlacoche and grasshoppers. The majestic grilled whole octopus that arrives beside a dish of gingery black coconut rice mixed with smoky bits of octopus head is simply a showstopper. This restaurant is large, and it’s not yet as complete as it can be, but with a little more time to hone its service and beverage program, Amá stands tobecome the upscale Mexican restaurant Philadelphians brag about most. 101 W. Oxford St., 215-933-0707, amaphl.com
Lamb with purgatorio beans and peperoni cruschi at Andiario in West Chester
Andiario
Every meal at this gem in downtown West Chester is an inspirational experience of handcraft, restraint, and intimate hospitality, as chef Anthony Andiario’s team cooks weekly-changing four-course menus that spontaneously channel the best of Pennsylvania’s seasonal bounty through a rustic Italian lens. My revisit this fall lived up to that standard, with toothy, hand-rolled rigatoni in ‘nduja-sparked roasted pepper sauce and a succulent strip steak roasted over the live fire hearth. Add in outgoing service, a cushy dining room, and exceptional wines chosen by the chef’s wife and partner, Maria Van Schaijik, and dinner at Andiario is still a delight. It hasn’t regressed at all — it was a resident on my Top 10 list the past two years — but competition this year for an ever-evolving group was simply tighter than ever. 106 W. Gay St., West Chester, 484-887-0919, andiario.com
The green salad at Meetinghouse
Meetinghouse
While many Philadelphia chefs are now ratcheting up their gastro ambitions and tasting menus to reach for Michelin stars, Drew DiTomo is focused on polishing the simple, affordable neighborhood bar — an essential source of sustenance and down-to-earth character for this city’s food soul. Meetinghouse is just that kind of place, where the candlelit vibes are warm and cozy, the drink program is impressively focused and quirky, and the “less is more” aesthetic is deliberate in revived retro dishes that are as good as they can be, from a roast beef sandwich and baked clams to turkey cutlets, broiled cod, and a destination-worthy green salad. Thursdays are baked cheeseburger nights! 2331 E. Cumberland St., no phone, meetinghousebeer.com
Ahead of Watch Party PHL opening a new women’s sports venue, The Stoop Pigeon, next year, it is teaming up with the Philadelphia Sisters grassroots organization to release a new beer — the Philly is a Women’s Sports Town Pilsner.
The beer, a relabeled version of Sterling Pig Brewery’s Shoat Pilsner, will be available through the end of January at Sterling Pig Brewery, additional participating bars locally, and online.
They also are selling other “Philly is a Women’s Sports Town” merchandise, a phrase Watch Party founder Jen Leary coined after the announcement that the city would be getting a WNBA expansion franchise in 2030. The phrase blew up after actor Aubrey Plaza wore one of the group’s T-shirts courtside at a New York Liberty game.
Watch Party PHL founder Jen Leary holds the “Philly is a women’s sports town” shirt that went viral after Aubrey Plaza wore it to a Liberty game.
With Unrivaled, the offseason three-on-three women’s basketball league, making its first-ever tour stop on Jan. 30 in Philadelphia and the announcement that Philadelphia will gain a WNBA team, 2025 has been a banner year for women’s sports in Philadelphia. Philadelphia Sisters, which is dedicated to the development of women’s sports in the city from the youth level to the pros, and Watch Party PHL are looking to keep the momentum going in 2026.
Watch Party PHL has hosted a number of watch parties for women’s sports, including the WNBA, women’s college basketball, the NWSL, and U.S. women’s national soccer team. The group is opening The Stoop Pigeon in May 2026. It will join Marsha’s on South Street, which opened in October, as the city’s women’s sports bars.
Part of Wonder’s sales pitch is that it offers something for everyone, from pizza and cheesesteaks to Mediterranean and steak.
That flexibility, with parents of finicky kids in mind, is part of what drew Eddie Jefferson to Wonder.
“The picky eater thing kind of sits with me,” said Jefferson, senior operations leader for Wonder’s Media location. “I have children who never really could settle on the same food. So it was like, ‘Oh, this makes sense.’”
Steve Skalis, of Springfield, picks up an oder of drunken noodles during Wonder’s soft opening in Media on Tuesday, December 16, 2025.
Jefferson said he wants Wonder to be more than just a chain takeout restaurant.
“I want to make sure we’re a staple of the community,” Jefferson said. “I do want to be here for a very long time.”
Wonder is donating $1 to Philabundance for every order at the Media location this week. Jefferson said he hopes that’s just the first local partnership and he will be able to be active in the community.
“Once we settle in to this community I’ll be able to be outside shaking hands and kissing babies.”
Restaurants available at the Media Wonder include:
Alanza
Alanza Pizza
Bobby Flay Steak
Burger Baby
Detroit Brick Pizza Co.
Di Fara Pizza
Fred’s Meat & Bread
Hanu Poke
Kin House
Limesalt
Maydan
Royal Greens
SirPraPhai
Streetbird by Marcus Samuelsson
Tejas Barbecue
Yasas by Michael Symon
Bellies
Room for Dessert
Wonder’s Media location brings the total to 91 sites across the Northeast, from Rhode Island to Virginia. The plan for 2026 is to more than double that, according to Jason Rusk, head of restaurant operations.
“Our plan is to grow 110 locations, so we’ll go from 91 locations to just over 200 locations by the end of next year,” Rusk said.
Eddie Jefferson, senior operations leader at Wonder in Media, reaches for one of many menus Tuesday, December 16, 2025.
Wonder plans to open locations in Drexel Hill and Roxborough in early 2026, a representative said. It is also planning a foray into Allentown and the rest of the Lehigh Valley.
Rusk said sales have been good across the Philly area’s 20-plus stores, with Cherry Hill one of the strongest openings.
“There is no sign of stopping,” Rusk said. ”I have no doubt in my mind that we will fully have a Wonder that services nearly every part of the broader Philly [area].”
This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.
Restaurants are not around forever, so it is special when a signature dish takes on new life well after last call.
Take the Milan salad, essentially a deconstructed BLT with shrimp dressed in a distinctive Italian-Russian dressing, popularized by Jimmy’s Milan. Three decades after the Rittenhouse supper club’s closing, it lives on two blocks away at D’Angelo’s. (Cofounder Tony D’Angelo was Milan’s chef.) Order the D’Angelo’s salad, take a bite, and enjoy the time warp.
Restaurateur Jeffrey Chodorow, who will open the swank Mr. Edison at the Bellevue next year, told me that he plans to revive other Philly classics, including Georges Perrier’s galette de crabe, the Le Bec-Fin chef’s take on a Maryland crab cake.
Now let’s consider shrimp pil pil, which restaurateur Dmitri Chimes introduced in the mid-1990s at Pamplona, his Washington Square West tapas bar, and later served at all of the locations of Dmitri’s, his no-frills Greek taverna. The appetizer delivered a one-two punch of chili and garlic with a burst of lemon to prep you for your entrée — perhaps the smoky chargrilled octopus or a rich bowl of cioppino.
When chefs Amanda Shulman and Alex Kemp were planning their new Pine Street Grill at 23rd and Pine Streets — which housed a Dmitri’s from 1999 to 2014 — they asked their Fitler Square neighbors what they wanted in a restaurant. “They all kept referring back to Dmitri’s,” Shulman said.
Kemp said he called Chimes, who still lives in the neighborhood. “He hand delivered us the recipe,” he said. “We’re just super-excited to keep a part of his legacy going. I will say that ours is more of an homage since we know it could never be exactly the same. We started with Dmitri’s recipe as a base and then iterated it a bit, but inherently, it has [the] same ethos and qualities.”
Kemp and Shulman have done justice to this classic.
Pamplona/Dmitri’s recipe called for large shrimp. At Pine Street, they’re going big with six jumbo shrimp, topping them with an abundant sauce that is far creamier and more herbaceous than I remember. They’re also thoughtfully adding grilled bread to ensure plate-cleaning.
Now perhaps they’ll consider adding spanakopita or baklava to the menu …
Chefs Amanda Shulman and Alex Kemp have each built distinct destination restaurants — the newly Michelin-recognized Her Place Supper Club and My Loup. This week, they opened one together.
Pine Street Grill, across from Fitler Square at 23rd and Pine Streets, is their take on a neighborhood restaurant. It’s a comfortable, restrained setting with white stamped-metal ceiling, Streamline Moderne-style schoolhouse light fixtures, white walls, and a long bar running through the narrow space. The two single-occupancy restrooms are intentionally contrasting: One is entirely pink, while the other is a tribute to the Sixers, from the photo-collage wallpaper down to the “Smells Like a Sixers Win” candle on the toilet tank and basketball-shaped soap dispenser on the sink. Fitler Square-based contractor Kaman Global built the restaurant, with Philadelphia firm Canno Design consulting.
One restroom at Pine Street Grill has a 76ers theme.
The menu, by Shulman, Kemp, and chef de cuisine Jonathan Rodriguez, is timeless American. For starters, there’s a snack plate of mortadella-stuffed cherry peppers, olives, and spelt crackers ($11); shrimp Louie served in little gem lettuce cups with avocado and pickled onion ($16); wings in brown-butter hot sauce with Stilton blue cheese ($14); and a small soft pretzel with hollandaise mustard ($10). There also are Philly Balls, croquettes filled with roast pork, provolone, broccoli rabe, and spicy relish ($12 for two) that previously appeared on My Loup’s opening menu.
Sandwiches include a turkey club with maple bacon on multigrain ($16) and a signature double dry-aged smashburger with Cooper Sharp and onion condiment on a seeded milk bun ($22).
Pine Street Grill owners Amanda Shulman and Alex Kemp.
There’s a chopped Greek salad with Persian cucumbers, marinated feta, tomato, red onion, and oregano ($15) and a root-vegetable salad with chicories, aged cheddar, cranberries, and praline vinaigrette ($16). Entrées include hanger steak with pot-roast jus ($30); half a rotisserie chicken with gravy ($28); grilled salmon with piccata and spinach ($27); and eggplant Parmesan ($26).
Desserts include a nut-free carrot cake ($13) with rum raisins, carrot jam, and cream-cheese mousse; sourdough chocolate-chip cookie skillet ($12) with vanilla ice cream — the same cookie Shulman serves at Her Place; and a sundae ($14) of malted-milk ice cream with brownie bites, spiced walnuts, hot fudge, and a cherry.
Carrot cake at Pine Street Grill.
There’s even a children’s menu, dubbed Belle’s Bites, after their daughter’s middle name: $10 each for nuggets and fries, grilled cheese, crudités and ranch, and red or white shells.
The late-night special for grown-ups, offered from 9:30 to 10:30 p.m., is any draft beer and the burger.
Co-owner Alex Kemp serves an artichoke dip appetizer at Pine Street Grill.
Jillian Moore, bar director of My Loup and bar consultant for the group, developed a cocktail list that includes a freezer martini made with local vermouth, a John Daly cocktail (a boozy Arnold Palmer) on draft, and Irish coffee. There’s Guinness, Strongbow cider, and birch beer on tap.
Nicole Sullivan, Her Place’s beverage director, set up the wine list, which draws inspiration from European tavern culture. General manager Allyson Allen has worked with Shulman and the couple’s Libbie Loup group for several years, including at Her Place and Amourette, their 2024 summer pop-up.
Buffalo wings at Pine Street Grill, 2227 Pine St.
Pine Street Grill’s corner space has had a busy history: It housed Stix, a vegetarian restaurant, from 1997 to 1999; a location of Dmitri’s from 1999 to 2014; a branch of wine bar Tria from 2015 to 2017; and most recently Cotoletta, which closed last year after a five-year run.
Shulman, a Connecticut native and Vetri alumna, burst onto the Philadelphia dining scene in 2021 with Her Place, offering versions of the homespun dinner parties she hosted in her student apartment at Penn. She and Kemp opened My Loup in 2023, three months before their wedding. Shulman has received multiple James Beard Award nominations, including Emerging Chef nominations in 2022 and 2023 and Best Chef Mid-Atlantic in 2025. Kemp, who is Canadian-born, previously worked at Montreal’s Joe Beef and New York’s Eleven Madison Park. The couple met at Momofuku Ko in New York.
Pine Street Grill, 2227 Pine St.,no phone, pinestreetgrill.com. Hours: 4 to 11 p.m. Wednesday to Monday; kitchen closes at 10:30 p.m. Half of the dining room is reservable via OpenTable for parties of up to eight; remaining tables are held for walk-ins. Happy hour: 4 to 6 p.m. weekdays, with a discounted food menu and $2 off draft beverages.
Queen Village has a new watering hole, and it’s all thanks to a classic restaurant-industry meet-cute.
In 2020, Culinary Institute of America-trained pastry chef C.J. Cheyne was delivering pastries to West Passyunk Avenue’s La Llorona Cantina Mexicana when she met Israel Nocelo, a Puebla native, longtime Philly restaurant vet, and La Llorona’s general manager at the time. The introduction sparked a romance and a collaborative partnership that’s blossomed over the last five years into an engagement and, now, a full-fledged restaurant.
Casa Oui, at 705 S. Fifth St., opened its doors Friday. The all-day spot fuses both partners’ culinary backgrounds — French and Mexican — in a contemporary American restaurant just a block off South Street and East Passyunk Avenue.
The interior of Casa Oui, a new restaurant from owners Israel Nocelo and C.J. Cheyne.
It’s open 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. for breakfast and brunch, featuring a full coffee menu, Cheyne’s pastries — doughnuts, cookies, beignets, cinnamon buns — plus breakfast sandwiches, burgers, salads, and tacos. There’s also a crudo bar with weekly rotating dishes including carpaccios and tiraditos dressed with house-made oils and seafood sourced from Philly’s Small World Seafood.
The menu shifts after 3 p.m. for dinner: There are ceviches, steak with pepper sauce and cognac, churrasco with chimichurri sauce, tacos (al pastor, asada, fried fish), cauliflower with chili oils, guacamole, chorizo, and green hummus. (“We eat a lot of hummus in Mexico, made with chili powder and veggies,” Nocelo said.) Cheyne’s desserts, including miniature ice cream cakes, will be on the menu, too.
The Asada taco at Casa Oui.
The 60-seat restaurant’s debut comes after both Cheyne and Nocelo wound down their respective previous spots: Oui Pastries in Old City and the Si Taqueria in Point Breeze. “When we knew that the leases were going to expire soon,” Cheyne said, “our goal … was to find somewhere to bring the two together — have one home.”
The couple had recently moved to Queen Village and found their new address while on a walk through the neighborhood. They took over 1,500-square-foot space that was formerly home to Umai Umai.
Once they secured the lease and a liquor license (a factor Cheyne said was their “biggest objective”), Nocelo and Cheyne started remodeling the space with different textures — marble, cement, and metal — inspired by the design of museums in Mexico City. “It’s very classy, very clean,” Nocelo said. “When you walk [into the restaurant], we want the focus to be on what you get on the table — the cocktails and the food.”
The Desesperado and La Incondicional cocktails at Casa Oui.
Expect habanero margaritas, dirty martinis with blue cheese-stuffed olives, and Rival Bros. espresso martinis on the seasonally rotating cocktail menu. The wine list includes selections from Spain, France, Italy, and California, as well as local wineries. After 10 p.m., there’s a separate menu of late-night cocktails and snacks; think Libélula tequila and prickly pear-grapefruit sipper and steak tartare tostados.
Come spring and summer, the couple plans to have 30 seats on the patio.
Nocelo explains that there are some aspects of Mexican cuisine that have long been influenced by French technique due to France’s occupation of Mexico in the 1860s. “Croissants and baguettes, all that, are French influences in Mexico, especially in Puebla City,” he said. “Without the French, we would have never had cakes in Mexico.”
The exterior of Casa Oui.
The connection between the two cooking styles is what led to the chefs’ initial collaboration. After their meet-cute, Cheyne baked pan dulce Mexican bread and other pastries for La Llorona for about a year. The couple worked together on various food and beverage events in the city. And then in 2022, they ran a pop-up at Oui with cochinita tacos and Mexican-flavored doughnuts. The concept evolved into their takeout hot spot, Sí Taqueria, where you could pick up fresh conchas (baked to order in a wood-fired oven) and al pastor breakfast sandwiches (or tacos) served on Cheyne’s croissants.
Among the former Sí Taqueria’s specialties was the El Trendy breakfast sandwich, with al pastor and a fried egg on a Oui croissant.
Casa Oui is the culmination of Cheyne and Nocelo’s cooking collaborations, the pair said.
“We want to welcome you into our house,” Cheyne said. “Our line is, ‘It’s a place to stay awhile,’ so however you’re coming — for a bite, tapas to share, or dinner — we want you to feel welcomed.”
Casa Oui, 705 S. Fifth St., 267-654-0016, instagram.com/casaouibar. Hours: 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Lunch/brunch 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., happy hour 2 to 5 p.m., dinner 3 to 10 p.m. Late-night menu 10 p.m. to midnight Thursday, Friday, Saturday. Closed Mondays.
