Vernick Food & Wine (2031 Walnut St., Philadelphia) opened in 2012 by Chef Greg Vernick, who won the Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic by the James Beard Foundation in 2017. He serves “an honest, no-fuss menu featuring his version of new American cooking.” The menu is divided into small and large plates with some sides to supplement. This is a place where a tasting menu would be fun – to have more dishes in smaller quantities. There are a couple outdoor tables but otherwise dining is in a relatively small room upstairs across from the 2 windows to the kitchen. They offer dinner only with a few seasonal specials and you have a 2 hour window for your reservation. The full bar downstairs offers lots of cocktails to those at the small light wood tables in lowered lighting. Music is in the background. Service was helpful and friendly but pacing of service felt hurried with the small table getting crowded. Continue reading
It’s been a year since we visited (and 2 since I’ve written up) Galatoire’s and we were excited to be vaccinated and out once again. The food is just as good but a few changes include well spaced tables, masked staff and required reservations – even for dining on the first floor. Even with 75% dining capacity the room still got really noisy but part of the place is the energy in the room. Less waitstaff are on for each shift so you also may need to stray from your usual person. The menu is on line and in past write-ups but it hasn’t changed except for a price increase here and there. The fresh catch is updated daily and the food and service is consistently excellent. One caution, don’t fill up on the hot bread and butter while waiting, which is really easy to do. 
Dametra Café specializes in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food. The small cafe opened in 2008 and is even smaller now having only outdoor dining due to Covid 19 restrictions of California. The same table set up runs along the street in front of the building with tables divided by planters and heaters and separated from the street by a wooden fence. The narrow, small tables are covered with bright yellow oil-cloth tableclothes and set at street level rather than sidewalk. It makes some difficult to get in and out but didn’t seem to keep the crowd away. It’s reputation is that there is often a line for walk-up guests but we were lucky and got a table when we arrived. They offer the same menu at lunch and dinner but add sandwiches to the lunch offerings. They also have a more limited menu for curbside pickup. Service was friendly, helpful and efficient. Even with an ever-changing supply of table guests they did not rush us to finish up our wine so they could reseat the table. 
Our second evening at Restaurant Beck we got a table next to the window and the view was spectacular. The tables were configured slightly differently to accommodate the guests, but they were still well distanced from one another. 
We visited Good Thyme Restaurant again on a Friday but this time opted not to have fish fry and instead try things off their regular menu. Nothing had changed in the physical facility and the service was friendly and efficient. 
