There’s a secret in the city’s kitchens—something that is only whispered tentatively down the line, when what we need is a chorus standing on the communal table at Buddakan, yelling it out over the constant din of cocktails and clumsy chopsticks: Philadelphia’s dining scene is in a rut!
No, no, most diners would say, shaking their heads, reaching for more Angry Lobster or another Dip Sum Doughnut, the same dishes they’ve been lining up for since Buddakan opened eight years ago. And the city’s cooks might agree as they fire another order of seared scallops or prepare more gooey-centered chocolate cakes. Their response is understandable; their denial is delicious. Philadelphia’s dining scene is suffering through a delectable rut, a local, seasonal, signature-cocktail, short-ribs, baby-greens rut.
This wasn’t always true of Philadelphia, of course, and it won’t always be true. The city’s dining scene is constantly in flux, as old restaurants close and new ones open. A guarantee: Some of those new restaurants will be very good. But that may not be enough to revive the city’s food future. “You need a radical among you,” Food & Wine editor Dana Cowin says, surveying Philadelphia’s place in the national food scene. “A risk-taker, to start the conversation again, to keep people moving in a forward direction.” The question is whether we have one.
role: Author outlet:Philadelphia publication date: January 2007 category:Food
