Philly BYOBs

Here are some of our favorite restaurants in the city.  These are all BYOBs (unless otherwise noted) and we have been there within the last year.  We like BYOBs since, well, I have wine and I hate paying $85 for a bottle of wine that costs $15 retail.

One of the things I always struggle with is not only what type of wine to bring, but also how good/expensive a wine to bring.  Certainly, a lot depends on who will be joining you, but you also need to determine how ‘sponge worthy‘ the restaurant is as well.  So my system is based on the Burgundy wine classification–no big surprise since I am such a Burg freak. This rating is not necessarily an indication of how good a given restaurant is, but rather how good a bottle of wine I am going to take to the restaurant. I just wrote that and realized what a load of crap you must think that is.  Of course, it could be viewed as an indication of how I perceive the restaurant, to a certain extent. But honestly, we like all the restaurants listed here (unless otherwise noted), you just can’t drink Grand Cru every night.  So in descending order:

Grand Cru (e.g., ‘Chambertain’ or ‘Le Montrachet’)

Premier Cru (e.g., ‘Les Gravières’ in Santenay–one of my favorites)

Village wine (e.g., ‘Nuits St. Georges’)

Regional wine (‘Bourgogne’)

Italian

(O.K. that last one was a little mean, but hey, it’s my blog.)

Angelino’s:  An Art Museum neighborhood pizzeria that is also byo.  We went a couple of weeks ago and we had forgotten how good the pizza is!  We both agreed that it might be the best pizza in the neighborhood.  We will certainly be back, and soon.  What wine to bring?  Italian.  A nice inexpensive red with a bunch of fruit and a bit of character will do the trick.

Bibou: Without a doubt, this is our favorite restaurant in the city.  Great, imaginative food and Pierre and Charlotte are the best.  Free parking right next door as well!  I find it almost impossible to pass on the escargot and the bone marrow, but everything is incredible.  A little tough for the kids, though.  What wine to bring?  Grand Cru. Well, in my book, you can never go wrong with a good Burgundy (red or white), but Bibou also lends itself to Bordeaux or even a CA cabernet.  Bibou is one of those restaurants where you take your best wine.  The only problem: the wine still might not be good enough to keep up with the food.   Cash only.  Reservations mandatory (you will have a tough time getting one of those as well).

Bistro 7:  This is a tiny little place in Old City that we have visited a couple of times.  Has been really good at times, and just good at others.  It is a good destination before a show at the Arden.  What wine to bring?  Village/Regional.

Blackfish: Although technically not in Philly, this is usually included on every list of the best restaurants in town. With good reason. The dinning room is bustling with patrons and wait staff–there seems to be at least 3-4 assigned to each table. The menu, though far from extensive, offers three courses with several dishes per course.  There is also a five and seven course tasting menu (for $70 and $90) which to me is a complete bargain. The food is impeccable–some of the best dining the city has to offer. Even though the staff will happily open your wine for you, I would suggest bringing your own wine key and doing it yourself. Our waiter was somewhat cavalier with my bottle of 1988 Georges de Latour, broke the cork, and then carelessly plunged the remaining bit into the bottle. What to bring? Grand Cru.

Blue Cat: This is a relative new comer to the Philly BYO scene, and given that it is a short walk from our house, we have tried it a couple of times.  Good food at reasonable prices.  We had a couple of solid meals here.  The Empanadas are excellent–crispy outside and succulent inside.  The Chacarero sandwich is enormous (and no longer on the dinner menu)–too big in my opinion, and while tasty, it lacked seasoning.  The same could be said about the Fish Tacos and the Oxtail Stew–good and fresh tasting, but lacking seasoning (other than heat).  Even though our boys rarely eat off of a kid’s menu, Blue Cat only offers a cheese quesadilla for the little monsters.  We will likely be back.  What to bring? Regional/Italian. Latin inspired cuisine does not scream out for wine.  It screams out for tequilla (I don’t think they have mixes for sale) or beer.  Meh.  Bring a nice German Riesling or a dry rosé and you will be fine. NOTE: We have since been back several times and really enjoy it. This might also be a BYOSS (bring your own salt shaker).

Cochon: We have been here several times since it opened.  I am a big fan of the cassoulet when it is on the menu.  Always a couple of pork options on the menu (‘cochon’ is ‘pig’ in French) and usually some duck.  What wine to bring?  Village. Pinot is the obvious choice here given all that pig on the menu, but they do usually have a fish on the menu. Cash only.

The Farm and the Fisherman: We have only been here twice, but we really want to go back soon!  The food was imaginative and very good (although I was not as enthralled with the beet steak as others have been–I found it gritty) and everyone there is very nice.  I plan on taking a big group there this Spring.  What wine to bring? Premier Cru.  The menu changes all the time (more than the average restaurant), so it is difficult to anticipate what would work best.  Give me a call before you go and we’ll chat.

Fond: I have only been to Fond once and I really should go back.  The food was great (if a bit pricey) and this is the restaurant Charlotte and Pierre of Bibou often go to on their night off.   What wine to bring? Premier Cru.  I would certainly bring a pinot, but I always bring a pinot.  Might be the place to break out your big Napa cab, too.

Gilmore’s:  OK, this one is not in Philly.  In fact, it is all the way out in West Chester, but we got a special deal to go out there and we decided too make the hour drive on a Wednesday with the boys.  We were not disappointed.  Excellently prepared classic French food (or pretty darn close).  The dish that won the night for me was simply called “linguine with mushrooms”, so we got two–one each for the boys.  When it came, I took a bite and it was fantastic–unlike any pasta I had ever had.  No wonder.  The noodles themselves were made out of scallops!  No flour, just scallops.  Very, very good.  What wine to bring?  Premier Cru.  If it were not for Bibou, this could potentially be a Grand Cru, and if it were closer, we’d go a whole bunch more. Sadly, Gilmore’s has apparently closed….

Hickory Lane: This is the restaurant that replaced l’Oca on the corner of Fairmount and Corinthian, right next to Eastern State Penitentiary.  We will certainly miss l’Oca for a number of reasons, but HL seems to be filling the void rather nicely.  For one, their burger might be the best burger I have ever had.  Really.  My wife thinks that the chicken rivals the l’Oca version, which was her all-time favorite.  What wine to bring?  Village (for now, I imagine this will soon be Premier Cru). Given the rather diverse menu, you can bring just about anything.  Since I am likely to order that burger at least every other time I go, I will be schlepping a nice zinfandel or syrah.  Big bummer: they are going to get a liquor license.  Ugh. They now have their liquor license….BUT…they are still BYO on Mondays and they have a modest corkage fee ($10).

Koo Zee Doo: Koo Zee Doo has been open for some time now and has received great reviews both in the press and from friends of mine who have gone. It is a BYOB, not all that far from our house and it is relatively inexpensive. Yet I was hesitant to try it. Why? Basically because I am an idiot: Since the restaurant identifies itself as “Portugese (inspired) Cuisine”, I did not want to go until I had a nice bottle of Portugese (or even Spanish) wine to bring. What a dope. The food is both fun and fantastic (although my Asian wife did have a problem with their rice)–I found the calamari dish to be one of the best I have ever eaten. This is definitely a spot we will visit again (and again). What to bring? Village to Premier Cru. There is no need to fuss over bringing a geographically correct bottle here, but you might want to bring both a white (or a rosé) and a hearty red–there are plenty of seafood options and the meat dishes tend to be grilled with just the right amount of spice. Another note–buy bottled water, the tap water seems more than a bit funky….

Melograno: Several years ago, Melograno seemed to burst on to the Philly BYO scene.  It had a tiny little space (now occupied by Meme), a great and imaginative menu, and therefore it was impossible to get in on a Saturday.  They then moved to a larger space, closer to Rittenhouse.  A lot more room, but to their credit, for whatever reason, they did not also get a liquor license.  We have been a few times, and recently went back.  The food is well made, but lacks the zest that it seemed to once have at the previous location.  We were pleased with the meal, but not enthralled.  If it were within walking distance, we would likely go back, but if we need to drive, there are other restaurants more worthy of pulling our hair out while we try to park. What to bring? Village or Regional.  Obviously, given that it is an Italian Restaurant, this would be a great place to bring some Italian wine (but that does not fit with my little jab up top).  Bring a nice Chianti or Chianti Classico. Save your Brunello or Barolo for XXX (I have not found such an Italian BYO in the city yet…).

Pumpkin:  It seems as though the menu at Pumpkin changes rather regularly, so be sure to check the menu before you go.  We have always been pleased by the meals we have had here, although we have not been back in a while. I was at Pumpkin again and the food really was quite good—imaginative, great flavors, and very good service—will definitely be back sooner rather than later. What wine to bring?  Village. Village and very close to Premier Cru. For the white wine lovers out there, this would be a good choice as they seem to have a few more fish options.  Cash only.

Russet:  I had been meaning to get here since it opened, but eventually made it there.  Great flavors and imagination, but falls short on execution.  The menu was even more limited than what was shown on the website and I am not entirely sure why.  Maybe it was just an off night for the kitchen, so I would want to go back once more before saying “I won’t be back.” What wine to bring? Regional—maybe Village.

Trio: Not to be confused with Tria (a series of wine bars in the city), Trio is a neighborhood restaurant not far from the Art Museum.  They do several things very well, most of which are their takes on Asian classic dishes including Spring Rolls, Pad Thai, and Drunken Noodles.  The items that are more ‘fusion’ in nature, tend not to be as good, however.  Just about every protein seems to be slightly overcooked.  Having said all that, we like the place and tend to go there about every other month.  Van, one of the partners is a very nice guy. Kid friendly, for the most part, and take out is available. What wine to bring? Village or Regional.  For me the obvious choice would be a sparkling wine, since they are the most versatile, in my opinion.  If not, then a nice acidic wine like a pinot noir, riesling or even a sauvignon blanc.  Leave the heavy red at home, not a lot here that’s worth ordering that will pair with a big red.

Coming soon: Blackfish, Marigold Kitchen, Matyson, Mercato, Modo Mio, Umai Umai, Vietnam