• Trey Popp posits that Privé will be the one. The one to save a “stale” Old City dining scene, that is! Not entirely free of new restaurant hiccups, there’s still an “admirable variety and ingenuity in Privé’s small plates, all of which are big enough to give a party of four several bites.” The question is, will it be the one shining new opening that keeps things alive, but doesn’t quite resuscitate them? Or will it be the start of a new wave?
• Haverford’s Philadelphia outpost, Du Jour @ Symphony House also gets a City Paper write-up. Although quite a few dishes are found to be cloying, it is, for the most part a good little place: affordable and sophisticated. We wanted to make a joke about reverse white flight here, but couldn’t figure out how to do so without being awkward.
• Oops, a bit of a Philly Weekly repeat with the pumpkins beers! Dogfish Head, Elysian, and Weyerbacher all make a second showing. Wolaver’s and Smuttynose are new.
