05 March 2026
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The canon of Philadelphia food runs deep. Did you know that root beer was invented here? And the dominant style of egg-less American ice cream? Scrapple, stromboli, tomato pie, the bizarre and delicious pizzazz pizza layered with American cheese, sliced tomato and pickled banana pepper rings — all here.
Never at a loss for creativity or pride in their city, Philly’s chefs have updated and upgraded many of the city’s essential dishes. Here are four classics elevated MICHELIN Guide-style at some of the city’s top restaurants.
Roast Pork Sandwich
Chef Eli Kulp had never heard of a roast pork sandwich. “Living in Washington state, the only real exposure to Philadelphia for me was when the Eagles were playing a home game on Monday Night Football and they would show the ubiquitous shot of the ‘Times Square of cheesesteaks (in South Philly where rivals Pat’s and Geno’s sit),’” says the chef and restaurateur, whose introduction to Philly’s other famous sandwich was a revelation. “After taking the first bite of a roast pork, I knew exactly what the first sandwich I would create would be when we began talking about High Street.”Three components traditionally comprise a roast pork sandwich: aggressively seasoned, slow-cooked shoulder, either thinly sliced or fork-shredded; sharp or mild provolone; and sauteed broccoli rabe, with spinach as an acceptable substitute. The bread isn’t sacred; some shops use long rolls, others kaiser-style but, Kulp notes, “it needs an interior sturdy enough to hold up to all that juicy pork and rabe.”
High Street house-bakes sesame-seeded hoagie rolls for their version of the sandwich, whose upgrades start with sourcing pork from Lancaster County’s Green Meadow Farm and a process that includes a multiday rosemary cure and a massage with honey and roasted garlic puree before searing and roasting. Mild provolone and two treatments of broccoli rabe join the pork: traditional sauteed and a fermented rabe “kimchi,” an Italian-Korean invention Kulp had already been experimenting with during his tenure at Torrisi in New York.
“I was so confident it would take this incredible sandwich from a 10 to a 12.” The wrinkled long hot (spicy Italian pepper) served on the side turns the dial to 13.
Cheesesteak
Roast pork greatness notwithstanding, Philly’s best-known sandwich should not be ignored. It’s a holy union of shaved beef and cheese (fried onions if you like) on a long roll, invented in 1930 and well represented by spots like Dalessandro’s, slinging cheesesteaks on a residential Roxborough corner since 1960.
But over the last several years, the cheesesteak has evolved into a different animal. The squishy roll has gone crusty, dark, sesame-seeded and often baked in house, while the cheese — traditionally Whiz, provolone or American — is now, the suddenly trendy Cooper Sharp. Chef-owner Danny DiGiampietro canonized the style at Angelo’s, the South Philly magnet where the crunchy, gooey steak sandwiches draw lines down 9th Street, and it’s been copied not only in Philly, but around the U.S.
Angelo’s is worth the wait, but when Philadelphians get impatient, the call is Del Rossi’s, a little shop in the Northern Liberties neighborhood with a Philly-themed mural and a few tables for dining in. “Personally, I love an old-school cheesesteak with Cheese Whiz,” says owner Nish Patel, who greases his flat-top with beef tallow and uses a sourdough starter for his loaves. “But I love the modern takes popping up around Philly even more. Whether it’s a wagyu beef cheesesteak or one like ours finished with chipotle sauce, I’m all in on these new flavors.”
Other chefs, like Alexandra Holt of Roxanne, have reimagined the sandwich entirely. Her “Raw Cheesesteak” is a tartare in disguise. She blends a precise brunoise of Happy Valley Meats beef with classic flavors (Dijon, shallot, cornichon), forms it into a square, then blankets it with an airy, ivory cheese sauce made by aerating house-smoked gouda and four-year-aged cheddar. Some version of this dish has been with her since Roxanne’s first days, and it’s still a fixture on the menu whenever she can source teres major, the lean chuck cut she prefers. When it’s unavailable, Holt does a similarly clever version with confit tuna.
Water Ice
The antidote to a hot and sticky Philly summer is water ice, ideally served with a soft pretzel (though pretzel rods work as a contingency plan). “It’s a Philly, Americanized take on sorbetto, reflecting Italian immigration and the cultural exchange that followed,” says Chef Omar Tate of Honeysuckle.As a kid growing up in South Philly and Germantown, Tate’s favorite flavor was (and remains) lemon. Chef Cybille St. Aude-Tate, his wife and partner, goes for cherry. At their restaurant on North Broad Street, water ice keeps coconut flan and bonbon siwo, a Haitian gingerbread cake from St. Aude-Tate’s heritage, company on the dessert menu.
St. Aude-Tate says, “Our specialty water ice has appeared in many forms throughout the different iterations of Honeysuckle,” which began as a pop-up and CSA-style farm box, graduated to a grocery-café, then opened in its current location last year with a full bar, a fermentation program and thoughtful art curated (and in some cases, created) by the owners.
“When we opened on North Broad, we knew we wanted a version in constant rotation.” A cheffier approach than the usual mango and root-beer flavors you find at the neighborhood stands, Honeysuckle’s rotation is grape-based: Spring’s Champagne water ice became summer’s tart, floral rosé, with spiced, fruity mulled-wine water ice arriving for the holidays.
Hoagie
When Chef Joe Beddia was designing the much larger sequel to his cult hit, two-table Pizzeria Beddia, there was a little space left over on the blueprints. “It was supposed to be an employee bathroom and an A/V closet,” says the talented pizzaiolo and wine obsessive, who saw instead “an opportunity to still have a small, personal thing to offer to guests reminiscent of the first pizzeria.” Thus, the Hoagie Room was born.In Philly, nearly every pizza shop also does hoagies, the cold-cut (but also veggie and cutlet) sandwiches known elsewhere as heroes or subs. They just go together, though very few places do the duo at the Beddia level of detail and finesse. “I think the hoagie is the perfect blend of Italian and American culture,” he says. “It’s humble and outspoken, like Philadelphians.”
At the Hoagie Room, which is run by Chef John Walker, who’s worked with Beddia from the early days, six guests have the entire experience to themselves. Welcome cocktails lead to a reserve magnum wine list, and a specially curated soundtrack backs the three courses of hoagies: roasted vegetables with long hots, giardiniera and sesame aioli; turkey with Havarti, artichokes and sun-dried peppers; and a classic Italian with mortadella, capicola and provolone. That last one is Beddia’s personal go-to hoagie order, but for him, hold the cheese. “I don’t like sharp provolone,” he says. “No offense.”
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Hero image: Cheesesteak at Del Rossi's. © Mike Prince/Del Rossi's
This post is brought to you in partnership with Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau
