Restaurants in Echelon

Gianfranco’s has been feeding famished Philadelphians fresh fare from their extensive menu of pizzas, pastas, sandwiches, and more for more than a decade. The aroma of Gianfranco’s specialty pizza pies—like the caper, anchovy, and romano puttanesca pie ($11+) or the aromatic broccoli rabe and garlic white pie ($10.50)—will summon the book club even more effectively than shining its Book Signal. Gianfranco's namesake pie ($18.50) blends prosciutto, salami, mushrooms, and onions, while Hawaiian pizza ($16.99) puts a grass skirt on the crust with pineapple, ham, and your choice of red or white sauce (additional toppings of coconut husks, gaudy shirts, and leis cost $2.50 each). Gianfranco’s selection of warm and cold sandwiches, calzones, veggie wraps, gyros, and burgers will supply even the most ardent pizza-protester with a satisfying supper of stromboli ($12.80+) or a midday meatball sandwich ($6.75) covered in your choice of cheese.

At any hour of the day or night, patrons can slide into Darling’s Diner’s modern, orange booths and order breakfast specialties or homestyle lunches and dinners—many with low-cal and vegan options. The cooks whip up favorites such as club sandwiches and three-egg omelets 24 hours a day as an homage to the classic diners that tirelessly fed humanity’s ancestors. On the more modern side of the spectrum, they man a full bar that’s open until 2 a.m., mixing vintage-themed cocktails and doling out beers. The indoor seating’s cozy glow of warm pendant lights is juxtaposed by the patio, where diners can nibble on cheesecake-stuffed french toast or grilled corned beef reubens—with slow-cooked kraut on Kaplan’s Rye bread—in open air. In addition to its diner dishes, the kitchen is known for its Philadelphia-style cheesecakes, which range from classic to berry cuvee with guava.

Fogged-glass light fixtures illuminate the wood-paneled walls and the polished granite bar tops that span the length of Bliss's multileveled dining room. These elegant decorative touches combine with a menu of contemporary American specialties for a sensory experience that led Esquire to praise Bliss as one of the Best New Restaurants of 2004. The magazine noted in its review that, like a schoolyard court drama or a Hawaiian-print tuxedo, the aptly named restaurant strikes "just the right balance between casual and serious." This balance is especially apparent in the Bliss kitchen, where staffers play with flavors to produce entrees such as duck breast in a spiced wine reduction and red snapper with shrimp-mousse dumplings. Other specialties include a pork tenderloin with bourbon-apple butter sauce and a filet mignon with red-wine butter sauce, both of which pair exquisitely with a freshly milked cocktail from the bar.

At Sapori Trattoria Italiana, Chef Franco Lombardo celebrates the flavors of his native Italy, and every inch of his restaurant reflects his vision for an authentic trattoria: he designed the dining room himself, from its stone walls to its wrought-iron balconies. Within this rustic, terra-cotta-hued space, Chef Lombardo plates traditional Northern and Southern Italian cuisine. If diners choose to partake in a “tasting dinner,” they’ll be treated to a visit from the chef himself, who’ll examine the shape of each diner’s taste buds and then tailor a five-course menu to suit them. Otherwise, diners can choose from an ample menu of pastas, seared meats, and sautéed seafood enhanced with fresh, all-natural ingredients—the veal is grass-fed, the seafood is never frozen, and pastas are rolled from scratch.