Restaurants in Camden

Lee's Hoagie House traces its origins back to 1953, when a small storefront at 19th Street and Cheltenham Avenue in Mount Airy, Philadelphia, began to lure in a dedicated clientele with its addictively delicious hoagies and cheesesteaks. Over the years, the popular sandwich shop has blossomed into a Philadelphia-area institution, spreading out to 17 locations throughout the region, all turning out tasty sandwiches with roast beef, turkey, chicken, and Italian meats, as well as veggies, fresh cheese, and the restaurant's secret oil recipe. Far more than a mere walk-in sandwich joint, Lee's can cater social gatherings and lunch meetings with delectable sandwich plates or fuel parties with spicy chicken wings and fresh salads.

The chefs at Gigi Restaurant & Lounge draw upon the culinary traditions of America, Spain and Thailand. For example, the eatery’s empanadas—traditional Spanish stuffed pastries—burst open to reveal the shredded beef, mushrooms, peppers, and cheddar of a Philly cheesesteak. Stir-fry coated with a sweet chili teriyaki glaze hails from Asia, and seafood paella crafted with shrimp, calamari, and mussels pays further tribute to the dishes of Spain. Meals unfold in an expansive al fresco dining area or an indoor dining room where the latest sports flicker across flat-screen televisions every day until 2 a.m. Along with game nights, Gigi entertains patrons with karaoke, live music, Sunday brunch, and VIP tasting events, where visitors might finally have a chance to steal a lock of hair from an alderman.

Matthew Corrin was fashion designer Oscar de la Renta's marketing manager, which meant a lot of long hours at work and a lot of hurried lunches at local delis. After his umpteenth greasy sandwich, Corrin began wondering why there weren't more healthy and convenient lunch alternatives. This rumination and a resignation letter to de la Renta begot Freshii, a fast, casual eatery that serves healthy meals and has graced the pages of various publications, including the Chicago Tribune and Inc.'s 30 Under 30 list. Environmental awareness also plays a big part in the business model—even the food packaging is made from eco-friendly vegetable starches.

Every Freshii kitchen is stocked with base ingredients of brown rice, rice noodles, romaine lettuce, field greens, and spinach; toppings such as carrots, broccoli, grilled tofu, and candied walnuts; and an array of dressings and sauces. Using these ingredients, the chefs create bowls, wraps, salads, soups, and burritos for lunch and dinner. During morning hours, when the sun is still busy curling its rays, they scramble eggs, serve house-made oatmeal, and top fat-free frozen yogurt with a choice of fruit. Customers can bring their own bowls and the staff will wash them and fill them with fresh ingredients hailing from environmentally responsible farms that fairly compensate their workers.

Marhaba Blue Bell occupies an unassuming location just past the entrance of a Super Fresh market, but those who enter find Middle-Eastern dishes featuring flavors bigger than the restaurant's physical footprint. Using local ingredients, chefs whip up lemon-infused hummus and baba ghanouj and bake pitas fresh for each order. Lamb, beef, and chicken kebabs make savory meals or edible drumsticks for touring musicians, and the Marhaba meat extravaganza, with chicken, Middle-Eastern meatloaf, lamb, and gyro meat provides a multitude of proteins to pair with a BYOB beer or wine. A hookah's snake-like coils loop beside a cash register and multicolored lamps cast light across the ceiling's wooden rafters.

Within a warmly lit exposed-brick interior, the flavor mavens at Manakeesh Cafe Bakery prepare a bounty of Lebanese-American fusion dishes lauded by ABC-6 news and Philadelphia magazine. Halal meats share the menu with vegetarian and vegan options as well as savory starters. Freshly baked manakeesh flatbread sandwiches journey through an open-flame oven, allowing guests to detail each movement with their own suspenseful voiceover narration. Diners can opt for a yogurt-cheese-spread labneh sandwich or invite the shawarma, which tucks sirloin into a fluffy flatbread coverlet, to a mouth sleepover party. A piece of the café's signature baklava soothes sweet teeth, and a strong Turkish coffee can fortify an extended stay inside a Trojan horse.

Executive chef Erick Jones incorporates the characteristic mesquite flavors of a wood-fired grill into the fresh seafood, meat, and breakfast dishes that earned the Timber Wood Fired Grill’s three from-scratch menus OpenTable's Diners' Choice award in 2011. Rustic wood-grain décor cultivates a comfortable atmosphere and distracts interloping beavers from the tasty menu of wood-grilled entrees, such as a garlic-marinated rib eye or braised fennel and shrimp pasta. On Sunday mornings, the cooks take inventive turns whipping up brunch provisions with ingredients ranging from caramelized peach toppings to a cool smoked salmon. Handmade desserts including crème brûlée and orange-infused cheesecake wait at the conclusion of every meal with the best challenge to ambitious appetites since the invention of the word bottomless.