Our critic's favorites

Keeping up with a diverse and ever-shifting local restaurant scene, The Inquirer's Craig LaBan has updated his list. It's from his new Philadelphia-area dining guide.

By Craig LaBan

Inquirer Restaurant Critic

LAURENCE KESTERSON/Inquirer

With items such as Tortilla Espanoly, Amada on Chestnut Street upholds the traditions of the Spanish tapas bar.

• Craig LaBan's 76 Favorites
• Order LaBan's book

I'm always at a loss to pick a single favorite Philadelphia restaurant. So you'd think the opportunity to choose 76 (a nice Philly number, no?) would be a much easier task.

Not so.

It wasn't easy choosing those favorites in 2002, when I wrote my first guidebook to local dining (Savoring Philadelphia). And it was even harder four years later as I began this completely new edition, The Philadelphia Inquirer Restaurant Guide (Camino Books), with literally a couple of hundred new restaurants under my belt to pick from.

The restaurants included here are intended to represent a true picture of my personal favorites - not simply the latest or fanciest upscale eateries, but a richer collage of the places I believe reflect the breadth and diversity of Philadelphia dining. There are times when I covet the elegance of four-bell finery at Vetri or Le Bec-Fin. And then there are days when my cravings are just as strong (maybe even stronger) for a cheesesteak at John's Roast Pork or some made-to-order dim sum at a Chinatown haunt such as Lakeside Chinese Deli.

When I began to work a year ago in earnest on this project, I was amazed by just how much our dining scene had changed.

There were exciting tapas restaurants, wine bars and gastro-pubs to account for, including Amada, Ansill and N. 3rd. There was continued growth in BYOBs, with newcomers Matyson, Pumpkin, Marigold Kitchen and others. Suburban dining had taken a decidedly sophisticated turn, especially in the west, with new Chester County favorites such as Nectar, Sovana Bistro, Restaurant Alba and Majolica. And Philadelphians' insatiable taste for Italian cucina had cultivated worthy new entries like L'Angolo, Radicchio, Sovalo and Paradiso.

And there were other exciting new ethnic flavors - South Indian at Devi, authentic Mexican at La Lupe, and tongue-numbing Szechuan at Szechuan Tasty House - that also needed to be represented.

More than half of these 76 favorites are new. But over the many courses of my research - about 60 extra meals in addition to my usual work diet for 10 months - I earned an even greater respect for the classics that have endured.

Veterans Susanna Foo, Le Bec-Fin, the Fountain, Jake's, Friday Saturday Sunday, and Savona, not to mention a stable of six Stephen Starr restaurants, still represent some of the best dining experiences the region has to offer. Set against the backdrop of more than 600 other restaurants, cafes and retailers mentioned in this book's capsule index and other features, to maintain a continued distinction among the 76 favorites is a notable honor indeed.

Of course, compiling any comprehensive guide to a restaurant scene as vibrant as Philadelphia's is like trying to still a moving river. In the few months between when my initial manuscript was completed and when the book hit store shelves this week, at least four of the original 76 had to be replaced due to closings (including Fuji in Cinnaminson) and chef changes (such as Lacroix at the Rittenhouse). And as I look to the coming weeks, more than a dozen intriguing new restaurants are poised to open. Perhaps a few new favorites waiting to be born? Maybe even in South Jersey, which has healthily gained restaurants but lost a few favorites due to closings.

Sigh. Loosen the belt another notch. And let's savor, for a moment, just how lucky we already are.