"Scoring a table at this two-story restaurant just off of Rittenhouse Square is a feat—and those who manage it are rewarded with one of the city’s top dinners. James Beard Award-winning chef and owner Greg Vernick’s cooking is deceptively complex, and what sounds like modern American cooking with a regional focus is far more intriguing when it arrives on the table. Start your dinner with a few of the seasonal toasts, which, depending on the season, might be topped with anything from marinated mushrooms with manchego, to sea scallops with black truffle butter. Then, move on to small plates like grilled corn agnolotti with clams, fennel, and tarragon; and finally prepare yourself for the half or whole roast chicken, which is brined, steamed, and injected with juices before being roasted in a wood-fueled fire. Cocktails here are seasonally inspired, and are divided up into categories like 'stirred,' 'shaken,' and 'clarified.' For some of the drinks, the bar team clearly raids the kitchen pantry: Look for ingredients like chile de árbol and salted rhubarb. The rule is fairly simple: If you can secure a table at Vernick, go." - Devra Ferst
