Walnut Street Café
Start your morning at this instant University City landmark, and it’s “thoroughly possible” to imagine staying until the 11 p.m. close, said Craig LaBan in The Philadelphia Inquirer. Located at ground level of the new 47-story FMC Tower, the airy but comforting restaurant rates in this city as “one of the most beautiful new dining spaces in years,” and the food, smart service, and fantastic cocktails could keep you from ever leaving. At 7 a.m., you’ll want Melissa Weller’s kouign amman, a flaky, onceobscure Breton pastry that Weller stuffs with a “dreamy” core of chocolate hazelnut cream. You can watch the office crowd pop in for macchiatos until it’s time for lunch and a cheeseburger made of house-ground beef, then enjoy cocktails with oysters, and a dinner built around the elevated American fare of star chef Daniel Eddy. The place was created by the partners behind New York City’s Michelin-starred Rebelle, so the exciting wine list shouldn’t surprise. This restaurant, right on the Schuylkill River, could be the one that finally knits Center City and West Philly together. It “feels like a potential game changer.” 2929 Walnut St., (215) 867-8067 soon be a magazine as well as an all-day restaurant and market, and it was designed for people wealthy enough to spend $50 on lunch and to sit for three hours talking movie deals while sipping a natural wine. “Like so many other places of its ilk, Botanica might irk anyone outside of its intended audience.” But the co-founders and their staff are “welcoming at every turn,” and the lifestyle they’re selling is “all quite fabulous.” Grab a table in the rear garden patio and order. Most everything arrives in wide, heavy bowls—think juicy lamb kofte kebabs under a pile of herbs or