Pizza Rustica Restaurant & Bar
Pizza Rustica may not grab you with its name alone, but one look at the menu and a whiff of smoke from the hardwood-fired oven should do the trick. The atmosphere is casual, and the menu is extensive and authentic. You may start with one of eight or more appetizers including gorgonzola crostini with roasted red peppers and capers. Salads include traditional antipasto, as well as a tomato carpaccio on mesclun. Try a crusty panini filled with soppressata, fresh mozzerella, lettuce and tomato, or choose from more than a dozen others. If you've come for the wood-fired pizza, you'll have plenty of choices there as well including a couple served "a la Cocca"--with a fresh egg baked in the center.
Pizza Rustica Restaurant & Bar
3602 Chestnut St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104
(215) 895-3490
www.pizzarusticaonline.com
Penne Restaurant & Wine Bar
At the Hilton Inn at Penn near the U Penn campus and the Annenberg center you'll find one of newest additions to the Italian dining scene in Philly. The Penne Restaurant & Wine Bar offers handmade pastas by chef Roberta Adamo. One is ravioli filled with pumpkin and house-made ricotta in roasted onion sauce with duck prosciutto and pumpkin seeds. Despite the fancy ingredients, prices for the handmade pastas are reasonable, all hovering around $20. Ask the sommelier to recommend something from Penne's extensive wine list. Set the price you're comfortable with, let him know what the table has chosen for dinner, and allow him to find you the perfect wine to accompany your meal.
Penne Restaurant and Wine Bar
3611 Walnut St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104
(215) 823-6222
The Italian Trattoria at The Restaurant School
For an experience a bit out of the ordinary, and a bargain to boot, pay a visit to the Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College in the heart of University City. Here, culinary and hospitality students operate four restaurants as part of their professional training. One of them is the Italian Trattoria. The menu changes daily. As of 2009, dinner here costs a mere $13.95 per person, exclusive of wine and dessert. The kitchen is overseen by a professional chef, but the food is prepared and served by students. The impressive wine list is also reasonably priced, with most bottles less than $30 and a few less than $20. Wines are also available by the glass. Go be surprised.
The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College
4207 Walnut St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104
(215) 222-4200
Article Written By Lois Lawrence
Lois Lawrence is an attorney and freelance writer living and working in Stonington, Conn. She has written on many subjects including travel, food, consumerism, relationships, insurance and law. Lawrence earned a Bachelor of Arts in economics from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1976, and a Juris Doctor degree from Boston University School of Law in 1979.
