At long last, Philadelphia magazine has announced that Trey Popp will be its new restaurant critic, according to the Restaurant Club. Popp, a well-traveled writer who has written for Slate, Outside and the San Francisco Chronicle, has been reviewing restaurants regularly for the Citypaper since 2006. His first review for Phillymag will appear in the September issue. Popp’s hiring comes after a whirlwind couple of months for the city’s fooderati.
The whole food writers’ shuffle began back in February when David Snyder, then one of Citypaper’s two reviewers stepped down. In March Phillymag’s restaurant critic Joy Manning left for a job at Tasting Table, and in April the magazine’s food editor Ashley Primis accepted a position with Starr Restaurant Organization. Grub Street’s Kirsten Henri quickly filled that vacancy. Now with Popp filing in the void at Phillymag, who will be Citypaper’s new restaurant reviewer? One obvious choice is former critic Elisa Ludwig, who recently reviewed El Rey for the paper after an almost two year hiatus. Drew Lazor, Citypaper’s Food and Restaurants Editor says that while Ludwig’s byline will turn up more frequently in the near future, she will not be Popp’s replacement. “I’m not yet ready to announce our new critic but will be in the next few days,” Lazor said in an email. [Restaurant Club]
Update: Philadelphia Weekly’s Brian McManus just chimed in to tell Grub Street that PW critic Adam Erace will be Citypaper’s next restaurant critic. His exit interview will appear in tomorrow’s print edition, but is live on the website now. [PW]