A New Era of Philadelphia Stars
Three establishments made the grade.
Amanda Shulman, executive chef and owner of Her Place Supper Club, called it a “surreal experience” when her restaurant received a Michelin star last November.
In a video on the Michelin Guide website, she said she was “overwhelmed, in a great way.”
It’s understandable given the beginnings of Her Place, a small building that sits on Sansom Street, with no fanfare but for a small neon sign.
Her Place was born out of Shulman’s love for preparing elaborate meals for groups, which she started doing during her college days. According to her bio, “What began as an email invite to 50 friends eventually amassed a following of 600 strangers”.
That’s not exactly to say Shulman hosted a few dinner parties with friends, who suggested she open a big city restaurant because she made an above average omelette. She had, by this point, become an accomplished chef in her own right, including having worked with Marc Vetri in his restaurants.
Shulman and her husband Alex Kemp, a high-end Philly chef himself, even started their own company, Libbie Loup Hospitality. Their other restaurant, My Loup, is just steps away on Walnut Street.
You wouldn’t know any of that, though, either from her humble reaction to the award or from the Her Place Supper Club experience.
The tiny restaurant features just two seatings a night, with 24 seats. The menu is a blend of French, Italian, and American Jewish cuisines; they work with local farmers and butchers for the best possible ingredients.
During their meal, designed as an elaborate dinner party, patrons are treated to a seasonal menu that changes frequently. Shulman even shares stories and explanations of courses with her guests.
Michelin praised the atmosphere, calling it a “welcome lightness of touch”. They also gave high marks to the balanced cooking, excellent sauces, and specific dishes like trout with barigoule and brioche crumbs, or homemade chitarra pasta with clams and beurre blanc.
Diners agree; Her Place scores 4.9 on OpenTable for food, ambience, and service. The customers probably weren’t as surprised at the award as Shulman was.
If you’re not familiar with the Michelin Guide…which is fair, since it hadn’t awarded any stars to Philadelphia restaurants until November 2025…you might wonder why anyone would turn to a tire company for restaurant recommendations.
But it makes perfect sense from a marketing standpoint. André and Édouard Michelin founded the Guide all the way back in 1900. There were, obviously, very few cars on the road in those days. The Michelin brothers correctly thought the Guide would encourage people to travel more, to wear out their tires finding gourmet food, and come back to Michelin for new ones.
Guides were originally about 400 pages long, with maps, gas station locations, instructions for changing tires, and most importantly, restaurant and hotel recommendations. In 1926, Michelin awarded a star to 46 establishments they considered especially worthwhile.
Since then, the Michelin Guide’s aura has grown such that the star is a highly sought after recognition. Interestingly enough, though, as of 2022 the Michelin Guide only covered six American destinations: New York City, California, Colorado, Florida, Chicago, and D.C.
So, why so long to come to Philadelphia, a city no one could reasonably call lacking in fine dining?
Well, the local tourism board has to invite the Michelin people. More correctly, a city needs to pay for it. Probably with the upcoming semiquincentennial in mind, the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau decided to make the partnership happen in 2025.
It’s not cheap; not because Michelin is charging for the considerable prestige, but because it’s a hefty undertaking for the company. They send their anonymous diners (Where was “fine dining judge” on Career Day?), who are professionals with years of experience in the industry. Michelin covers their expenses, which are considerable given the typical price tag at establishments in the running for a star.
Michelin’s standards are such that even in Philly, just three restaurants took home the award: Her Place Supper Club, Provenance, and Friday Saturday Sunday.
Amanda Shulman was pleasantly surprised by the star. Nicholas Bazik opened up Provenance expecting one.
It’s bold enough to open a restaurant anywhere. Even bolder in a large city well known for fine dining. To go in almost with the express goal of a Michelin star? That requires a special kind of chutzpah.
But as Muhammad Ali said, “If you can do it, it ain’t bragging”.
An 18-year veteran of the industry, Chef Bazik decided to pour everything imaginable into Provenance, with the goal of making it a Michelin star-worthy destination.
He emptied his bank account and convinced a business partner to invest in a second-to-none experience from top to bottom, including a custom Molteni stove that costs more than a luxury car. Diners sit on $1,200 chairs, so there are “no chair-related distractions”. When you’re shooting for a Michelin star, you cover everything.
Provenance is in a rowhome on 2nd Street, a short walk from Penn’s Landing. It features just 25 seats, specifically to create more space for an exceptional kitchen. The dining experience is French seafood-focused cuisine, with Korean and Japanese influences.
Michelin called Provenance “a high-wire, high-stakes performance defined by precision, harmony, and of course, taste…the ideas are original, the flavors bold.” They cited the Japanese tuna with whipped tofu, puffed sorghum and chili oil, and the brown-butter hollandaise with country ham, caviar and cauliflower.
Diners are similarly impressed. People love the entire ambience, the unusual combinations on the menu, impeccable service, and a front row seat to watch a supremely skilled staff at work.
There’s much more to the story than space permits, but Bazik’s gamble paid off. Following the award, Provenance is now booking full a month ahead; each new batch of reservations disappears in approximately six minutes.
Begin with the end in mind.
Sometimes you need a push from your better half, especially if she’s willing to propose what you initially think is a “bats*** crazy” idea.
That’s what Hanna Williams did when she suggested to her chef fiancé Chad that they buy the existing Friday Saturday Sunday, a rowhome on South 21st Street near Rittenhouse Square.
The restaurant itself, actually, had existed since 1973; it was known for chicken Dijon and mushroom soup. Hanna persuaded a reluctant Chad to buy the place in 2014. The couple gutted and rebuilt it, taking a brief break to get married in the restaurant kitchen during the chaos.
They kept the name, Hanna told Philadelphia Magazine, because “A lot of people had first dates here or got engaged here or had whatever celebrations. There was a lot of romance attached to it.”
Today, the romance that goes along with a visit comes with a Michelin-star worthy dining experience. Michelin declares that Williams’ dishes “fill the mouth with flavor and succulence. His delicious crispy sweetbreads will convert any skeptic; quail with pâte plays with texture, and the New York strip is a lesson in expert seasoning.”
Restaurant patrons agree, offering universally high marks for the short rib. One Reddit reviewer claimed to still think about it months later. Talk about romantic. There’s a pastry chef too, Amanda Rafalski, who concocts playful desserts including a canelé that requires three days of preparation.
All in a luxurious, intimate dining room.
Upon receiving the star, Chad of course credited Hanna with convincing him to take on the bats*** crazy idea.
But like Nicholas Bazik and Amanda Shulman, Chad and Hanna knew instantly what it means: keep doing what you’re doing.
“It kind of puts a little more fire under us,” Chad told Philly Voice. “We keep doing the work every day, and that’s all we really want to do.”
The Michelin Guide has exceptionally high standards for a reason. After over 125 years of recommendations, they have a reputation to strongly protect. There are no guaranteed stars. Boston only scored one in Michelin’s first visit; Tampa scored zero for theirs.
To operate an exceptional restaurant is enough of a challenge. To stand out among just three in a city with close to 4,000 of them takes fanatical dedication and standards of excellence…along with a willingness to swing for the fences…that most humans aren’t willing to commit to.
The buildings housing Her Place Supper Club, Provenance, and Friday Saturday Sunday are all remarkably humble. But inside these otherwise indistinguishable rowhomes, one can not only enjoy a spectacular dining experience, but also witness true exceptionalism at a profession that a nation born here has been celebrating for two and a half centuries.
It’s a casual view of greatness we Americans should be damned proud of.
The Green Star – Pietramala
In addition to stars and Bib Gourmand awards, in 2020 Michelin created the Green star, a separate category for restaurants that highlight sustainable practices. That means meeting ethical and environmental standards, working with sustainable producers and suppliers, and taking steps to minimize waste.
In their first visit to Philadelphia, Michelin found a place worthy of the honor: Pietramala, which bills itself as “Intentionally Vegan”. It’s a restaurant on 2nd Street known for its dedication to serving quality food while devoted to a greener planet.
Chef Ian Graye is quoted in the Michelin Guide describing their practices: “We are entirely vegan and source all of our produce from independent, organic farms in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. We practice total utilization with our fermentation and preservation program, using our waste in creative and delicious ways.
“We’ve also worked with local producers to utilize their waste or excess, using spent yeast from a local brewery to make garum, tomato seconds to make tamari and spent sunflower seeds from a local oil mill to make miso.”
Indeed, the menu even includes which farm the ingredients come from: Lancaster Farm fresh Rosa Bianca eggplant, Castle Valley Mill sourdough focaccia, and Campo Rosso Farm Oxheart tomatoes are among its selections.
The food is high enough quality that, as Michelin points out, “the restaurant is always busy and the atmosphere contagiously convivial, so do book ahead.”
Having the Michelin recognition probably won’t make booking a table easier, but Pietramala is worth a visit to see what can be accomplished with a sustainable mindset.
Star Dining on a Budget
The Michelin people understand that not everyone has the budget to schedule a triple digit priced meal that usually accompanies the star.
That’s why they created the Bib Gourmand award, which is presented at each destination to eateries that offers high-quality food at moderate prices. The award is named for Bibendum, the Michelin Man mascot. Yes, he has a name.
Here’s the list of Bib Gourmand winners in Philly, with a bit about why Michelin likes them:
4th Street Delicatessen: “A lineup of hefty sandwiches like Reubens, roast beef and pastrami… meat is generously portioned, well-seasoned and tender, and the sandwiches are stacked with care.”
Angelo’s: “Serious, hefty cheesesteaks bound with Cooper Sharp cheese or “long hot whiz” are built on long, warm, sesame-seed hoagies.”
Dalessandro’s: “A long, soft hoagie roll arrives packed with tender chopped steak bound with melty Cheez Whiz and topped with a smattering of fried onions.”
Del Rossi’s: “Sesame-seeded sourdough arrives with finely seared and salted chopped steak tossed with fried onions, bound with creamy Cooper Sharp American cheese.”
Dizengoff: “Hummus with brown butter, crispy garlic and urfa is a classic start and comes with fresh-baked pita bread. Chicken schnitzel with sumac onions is a solid follow-up.”
El Chingon: “The heart of this menu revolves around hearty cemitas, Puebla-style sandwiches stacked high and built on sesame-seeded buns made in-house.”
Fiorella: “Think pitch-perfect cacio e pepe with tonnarelli or cloud-like orbs of ricotta gnocchi bathed in brown butter. Do you have room for mezzelune stuffed with sweetbreads and veal?”
Pizzeria Beddia: “The crust manages to stay crisp yet chewy…the combination of quality mozzarella and Old Gold cheese ensures every mouthful is rich and succulent.”
Royal Sushi & Izakaya: “Think hamachi turbocharged with ponzu, cucumbers fortified with miso and buckwheat, and cod grilled until the skin is crisp as a chip.”
Sally: “Start with a plate of meatballs to kick off the meal in classic style before pizza with a perfectly thin crust that stays crisp even under pressure from generous toppings.”
If the choices of cheesesteaks or pizzas in Philly overwhelm you, which is understandable, you can at least start with what the Michelin folks like. We doubt anyone would argue with Dalessandro’s being on their list.
