I found Tapestry to be very boring. Adsum was a gem.

Tapestry is very much just slightly above average in every category, but the neighborhood was dying for a pub like this at this price point. They are busy every night and even though I don’t love anything about Tapestry, I end up there quite a bit.

@ Andrew: this area isn’t a destination? You mean the area that now has Ela a couple blocks away to the east, bistrot la minette around the corner, cochon and little fish just to the south, and chick’s to the west?

few areas are as rich in foodie places in philly. i *wish* my part of the art museum were such a non-destination for foodies!

In Andrew’s defense, the McDonald’s and DQ/KFC on South Street near that area closed some time ago. If I recall correctly, that area may have lost a Subway too.

@Alex, the problem isn’t that the area isn’t a “foodie” draw, but that it doesn’t draw enough people willing to drop dollars on an expensive dinner. Many of the places you list, and others in the area one could list, are not really in the same neighborhood (Supper and that stretch of South), are actually cheap neighborhood destinations (Royal), are only breakfast/lunch destinations (Beau Monde, Famous), or are small owner-operated BYOBs that probably aren’t making very much money money and don’t have to pay out a lot of salaries to stay afloat (Cochon, Little Fish).

The only real exception to the rule that this area has failed as an upscale dinner destination is Bistrot la Minette. Southwark has some draw, but the bar area is easy to fill and the dining area is barely every full. Ulivo and Ela are new so their existence is meaningless… I think Ela will be the bellwether to see if this neighborhood can really support a higher-end destination restaurant, which needs to draw from other city neighborhoods and the suburbs. The problem is that people don’t like to deal with that part of South Street on weekend nights, and I don’t blame them.

I don’t disagree but I was responding to the post that it wasn’t a destination for foodies, so pointing out that many of those places aren’t high dining is a bit of straw man argument. Nothing in the definition of foodie requires pricing to be on par with Vetri or Lacroix. I quite like the dining options in the area, mostly affordable and in the aggregate some of the best food for the buck in the city. It’s an area full of older working class Italian families with mostly young professional and bohemian types as well so it’s mostly good food at decent prices. Even La Minette is fairly affordable considering the quality of French food they prepare. It wouldn’t make much sense to expect it to become a Rittenhouse like dining scene without six figure demographics pushing out all the middle class folks from the area. Very high dining establishments generally follow demographics changes, not vice versa.

Oh and lest we not forget Bibou is in Bella Vista (and on the edge of dumpy Wash Ave at that); I believe they’re doing quite well, even before their recent review, it was one of, if not, the hardest res to get in the city.

Straw Men!! Twice in one day on Foobooz. Internet debate at it’s finest

Stephen Starr is right.

South Street in general is disgusting and has been neglected, especially east of 10th street. If an ambitious restaurant succeeds in that neighborhood it will be in spite of the area, not because of it.