3 PA Restaurants Among Best New Eateries In America: New List

PENNSYLVANIA — Three restaurants in Pennsylvania were named among the 50 best new eateries in America this year by the men’s fashion, style and culture magazine Esquire. All three of them are in Philadelphia, and the list includes an intimate plant-based restaurant, a former pop-up growing roots in West Philly, and a restaurant that is "sort of French" with a playful menu.

The 2023 list, published Tuesday, includes restaurants from well-known food hubs such as New York City, San Francisco and Los Angeles, as well as other major metro areas including Phoenix, San Diego, Denver, Miami, Atlanta, Honolulu, Chicago, Louisville, New Orleans, St Louis, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, and more.

Here are the restaurants from Pennsylvania that made the list, and what Esquire highlighted in their top 50 list.

Pietramala (614 North 2nd Street, Philadelphia PA 19123)

"Technical precision and intense passion" go into the dishes at Pietramala, where plant-based dishes are the stars of the show. All items are vegan, chef Ian Graye and his staff craft bites "delicious enough to make you pogo up and down." Says Esquire, “'Plants on a Pedestal'” is the Pietramala slogan—and its album title."

Honeysuckle Provisions (310 South 48th Street, Philadelphia PA 19143)

Omar Tate brings "the edible performance art" of his Honeysuckle pop-ups to this Afrocentric grocery and café, along with partner Cybille St. Aude-Tate. Provisions "provides the makings of a great day: steaming breakfast sandwiches and juicy plantain snack cakes, tubs of Haitian potato salad and a made-from-scratch turkey hoagie that’s as delicious as any American sandwich you can sink your teeth into."

My Loup (2005 Walnut Street, Philadelphia PA 19103)

This "sort of French, a little Quebecois, and all fun" spot is the creation of married chefs Amanda Shulman and Alex Kemp, where the "witty menu" showcases their talents. " Who can resist deep-fried “Philly balls” stuffed with roast pork sandwich fixings, or a dish where you’re instructed to wrap slices of cold roast beef around fries as a schoolkid would?" Esquire writes. "My Loup is guaranteed to cure any bad days."

Esquire noted that authenticity was a major theme this year among the restaurants. That was true for its Restaurant of the Year winner, Ilis in Brooklyn, where the chefs “prepared the fish as it would have been done centuries ago, wrapped in bark and cooked over flames.” It was also true across the country at Poltergeist in Los Angeles, where the chefs “gave us a wild, experimental take on the fish taco, which was dipped in masa and fried. Both felt genuine, and each was delicious.”

The magazine also named two eateries that earned Comeback of the Year titles and the coveted claim to Pizza Joint of the Year. Baroo in Los Angeles closed in 2018, but is now “decidedly all grown up,” Esquire wrote in naming it the comeback winner this year for the West Coast. On the East Coast, Superiority Burger in the East Village of New York City earned the comeback honor, with its tantalizing vegan burger offerings.

Meanwhile, sure to stir the pot among pizza aficionados is Nonno’s Family Pizza Tavern in Houston, which was named Pizza Joint of the Year.

By the way, My Loup and Honeysuckle Provisions both made Eater's Best New Restaurants list earlier in November — and My Loup was also listed on the New York Times' "The Restaurant List"this year.