All Ausbildung

A deluxe hotel like The Rittenhouse deserves a deluxe restaurant, a fitting description for Lacroix, named “Restaurant of the Year” in 2003 by Esquire magazine.

Located on the second floor of the Rittenhouse Hotel, Lacroix features elegant décor and a broad view of Rittenhouse Square, which combine to make the ambiance at Lacroix as enjoyable as the meal itself.

The creative French menu changes with the season and in the past has included favorites like pumpkin soup with fried shallots and tuna steak with salmis sauce. The wine list is excellent and extensive – thanks to the 4,000-bottle wine cellar .

The tasting menus can be catered to your preference – three-, four- and five-course selections are offered at set prices during lunch and dinner.

Sunday Brunch at Lacroix – which features such delectable dishes as baby lamb chops with garlic crust and banyuls sauce, niman ranch smoked bacon, quail eggs with artichoke, golden beet and shiitakes, and french baguette toast with apple, raspberry and rosemary jam – is also highly recommended.

The Fountain Restaurant in the Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia has received seemingly every type of accolade there is, from top honors in Gourmet magazine to Forbes Travel Guide´s 2010 Five Star award to a perfect Five Diamond rating from AAA. It´s been a Philadelphia favorite for special occasion meals for decades.

Additionally rated as the best restaurant in Philadelphia by Zagat´s, the Fountain Restaurant overlooks the majestic Swann Memorial Fountain sculpture by Alexander Stirling Calder in the center of Logan Square. You´ll also enjoy sweeping views of the grand Benjamin Franklin Parkway and its gorgeous Beaux Arts architecture.

Fountain is definitely an incredibly romantic restaurant, so if you´re visiting with a special someone, you will surely impress them with a meal at Fountain.

You can order a la carte or select the prix fix option to enjoy the “spontaneous tastes” menu which gives the chef control of a few courses. The menu changes regularly, but you can expect to see globaly influenced items like Pan-fried Veal Sweetbreads, Braised Dover Sole Roulade, Sautéed Venison Medallions and Roasted Australian Lamb Saddle.

If you love Paris in the springtime, Parc is a veritable grand cru.

With Parc, famed restaurateur Stephen Starr brings a certain je ne sais quoi to Rittenhouse Square. Parc offers an authentic French bistro experience, fully equipped with a chic Parisian ambiance and gorgeous sidewalk seating overlooking the Square.

Cuisine

Parc menu encourages a joyful dining experience, where croissants, champagne and conversation are enjoyed in equal measure.

Sample hors d’oeuvres include salade lyonnaise with warm bacon vinaigrette and poached egg, escargots served in their shells with hazelnut butter and a crispy duck confit with frisée salad and pickled chanterelles.

Outstanding entrées include boeuf bourguignon with fresh buttered pasta and steak frites with peppercorn sauce. A variety of plats du jour are also offered, including a seafood-rich bouillabaisse on Fridays and a sumptuous coq au vin, perfect for Sunday night suppers.

And what´s an authentic French meal without wine? More than 160 expertly chosen varietals are offered by the bottle, with more than 20 available by the glass.

See and Be Seen

With seating for more than 75 at its sidewalk and window seating, Parc has instantly become one of the best places in Philadelphia for alfresco drinking and dining.

The awning-covered seating wraps around the restaurant´s two sides and overlooks Rittenhouse Square, one of Philadelphia´s most popular public spaces.

Atmosphere

The aroma of freshly baked breads fills the air as one enters Parc´s casual front room, which is clad in hand-laid Parisian tiles in shades of ecru and green.

Red leather banquettes flanked by frosted glass offer subtle intimacy, while well-worn wooden chairs, reclaimed bistro tables and mahogany paneled walls give the room a sense of place.

The more formal dining room provides a slightly more sophisticated experience while maintaining the energy and emotion of a bustling brasserie.

To put it simply, Parc is nothing short of an authentic Parisian dining experience – right here in the heart of Rittenhouse Square.

Zavino is a new pizzeria and wine bar located at the epicenter of the city´s trendy Midtown Village neighborhood. The restaurant features a seasonal menu, classic cocktails, an approachable selection of wine and beer and some of the best late night menu offerings in the area.

The restaurant´s interior looks great – it has a simple, rustic feel with an original brick wall, large picture windows, a long bar and a large outdoor cafe coming this spring.

And the menu is great too – it boasts affordable snacks ranging from pizza to pasta to charcuterie to satisfy diners’ hunger, and then cocktails, including Italy´s venerable Negroni and Bellini, and an ever-evolving assortment of wine and beer offerings, to quench their thirst.

Menu items vary seasonally, as is customary in Italy, and may include: House-Made Beef Ravioli with brown butter and sage; Roasted Red and Golden Beets with pistachios and goat cheese; Roasted Lamb with fried eggplant and mint; a delicious house-made gnocchi; and traditional Panzanella, a tomato and bread salad. There is also a nice selection of cheese and charcuterie available a la carte.

The Pizza

The gourmet pizzas are baked in a special wood-burning oven that reaches temperatures of up to 900 degrees. The pizzas are approximately 12 inches in diameter. And Chef Gonzalez describes the crust as neither too thin or too thick, but rather somewhere right between Neapolitan and Sicilian, “crunchy and tender, and just exactly right.”

Three classic pizzas will be available year-round: Rosa, with tomato sauce and roasted garlic; Margherita, with tomato sauce and buffalo mozzarella, topped with fresh basil; and Polpettini, tomato sauce and provolone cheese with veal mini-meatballs.

The specialty pizzas that are on the opening winter menu include: Philly, with bechamel, provolone, roasted onions and bresaola; Kennett, with bechamel, claudio´s mozzarella, roasted onions with oyster, cremini and shitake mushrooms; Sopressata, with tomato sauce, claudio´s mozzarella, sopressata olives, pickled red onion and pecorino; and Fratello, with bechamel, broccoli, roasted garlic and claudio´s mozzarella.

Pizzas vary in price from $8 to $12.