Name: The Inquirer Food Fest
Start: 2025-11-15T11:00-05:00
End: 2025-11-15T18:00-05:00
Location: The Fillmore

Restaurants

One day only: The Inquirer Food Fest brings together top Philly chefs for exclusive collabs, off-menu dishes, and the best bites you won’t find anywhere else.

a.kitchen

Chef Eli Collins

Chef Eli Collins turns out precise, seasonal plates that pair smartly with a glass of natural wine or beverage of your choice. Its house charcuterie program and the a.burger — one of the city’s best — are the kinds of food that keep you coming back for more.

Alice

Chef Dave Conn

Chef Dave Conn pairs global ingredients with charcoal-fired cooking that feels both comforting and luxurious. Think Portuguese octopus marinated in piri-piri with Jimmy Nardello peppers and preserved lemon, or a dry-aged beef burger with Cabot cheddar, house BBQ sauce, and caramelized Vidalia onions on challah.

Amá

Chef Frankie Ramirez

At Amá, Mexico City-born chef Frankie Ramirez reimagines Mexican cuisine through a Philly lens: swordfish tacos on hand-pressed tortillas, wood-fired octopus with black fried rice, and tuna tostada with smashed avocado. His food transports you to a sun-kissed table in Mexico City.

Amy's Pastelillos

Chef Amy Rivera-Nassar

Chef Amy Rivera-Nassar spotlights Puerto Rican heritage through pastelillos: hand pies stuffed with fillings from spiced beef to guava and cheese. Her flaky pastries pack big flavor in every bite, showcasing the bold seasonings and island flair that make her a star on Philly’s food scene.

Baby’s Kusina + Market

Owners Raquel & Tam Dang

What started as a pop-up series has evolved into one of the city’s most expressive Filipino kitchens, turning out everything from pastries to savory Filipino classics like pork belly sisig and crisp lumpia to unique coffee drinks made from Philippines-sourced beans.

FOOD FEST EXCLUSIVE

Black Dragon Takeout x Rice & Sambal

Chef Kurt Evans & Chef Diana Widjojo

The innovative chef Kurt Evans infuses Chinese-American takeout with Black soul, a tribute to the restaurants he ate at while growing up in Philadelphia. Think collard-stuffed egg rolls, oxtail rangoon, red-hued jollof fried rice, and gumbo lo mein with sausage and seafood, including a whole crab stuffed inside. It’s playful and packed with flavor — especially if you finish with the peach cobbler wontons.

Bolo

Chef Yun Fuentes

At Bolo, chef Yun Fuentes channels the flavors of Puerto Rico with plenty of Philly flair, like whole red snapper butterflied and glazed in aji dulce aioli with summer zucchini or whatever’s in season this week at the farmer’s market. You’ll want to pair these dishes with a festive Caribbean cocktail made from top-shelf spirits, like a classic daiquiri, colada, or mojito. As for what to eat? Be like Craig LaBan and order the lobster-stuffed mofongo.

Brass Monkey Bread Co.

Chef Zach Posnan

Chef Zach Posnan combines high-quality ingredients with community service in Brass Monkey, his micro-sourdough bakery that pops up (and sells out) to the delight of bread lovers. It’s not just savory that he does well (hello, tomato pie!) – his chocolate babka is also banging.

Càphê Roasters

Chef Kevin Huynh

The city’s first Vietnamese coffee roastery also turns out some of the best bánh mì in town. Càphê Roasters’ menu blends tradition and reinvention, as in a scrambled egg sando on Merzbacher’s sweet potato bread, or salty, savory, sweet, and sour tamarind-spiced fries. And it is expanding into a former roller skating rink across the street from its original space.

Castellino’s Italian Market

Chefs/Owners Cara Jo Castellino & Matthew Barrow

Hoagies sliced to order and piled high on Liscio’s rolls are what led Craig LaBan to call Castellino’s “one of the high practitioners of mindful hoagie art.” The Fig Pig is a sweet-salty homage to fig jam and prosciutto, the Aunt Lucy is a spicy tuna salad sans mayo, and even the turkey and cheddar sandwich gets an upgrade from bacon jam.

FOOD FEST EXCLUSIVE

Chef Jen Carroll x Peanut Chews

Chef Jen Carroll

What do you get when you take Philly’s favorite all-star Top Chef and give her an endless supply of Philly’s most iconic candy? Find out what chef Jen Carroll’s cooking up at the Food Fest in her only-in-Philadelphia collaboration with chocolatey Peanut Chews! We know this: It’s gonna be nuts!

Dim Sum Garden

Chefs Shizhou Da and Sally Song

Mother‑daughter chefs Shizhou Da and Sally Song present Shanghainese dim sum at Dim Sum Garden, where pork soup dumplings, steamed buns, curry chicken cakes, and crab rangoon shine. Their new Chinatown space also debuts an oversized XL soup dumpling that’s four times larger than a traditional one.

Doro Bet

Chefs Mebruka Kane and Hayat Ali

Bright, bold, and full of flavor, Doro Bet serves Ethiopian fried chicken, a genre they’ve pioneered here in Philly, to devoted customers near Clark Park. Crunchy wings and chicken sandwiches are spiced with berbere and lemon turmeric. Sides of collard greens and mac and cheese round out a meal at this spot on The 76. And the tiramisu, built around ladyfingers soaked in excellent Ethiopian coffee, is a particularly lovely way to finish.

El Chingón

Chef Carlos Aparicio

If you want Mexican food that is equal parts comforting and exhilarating, turn to El Chingón. Chef Carlos Aparicio draws from his Puebla roots with dishes like overstuffed cemitas (get the clasica with Milanese, per Craig LaBan) and ever-changing selection of ice creams and other seasonal wonders. Don’t forget to BYOT — bring your own tequila.

Emmett

Chef Evan Snyder

Chef Evan Snyder brings Levantine flair to Philly with Emmett, where wood-fired Mediterranean cooking meets bold spice blends like sumac, harissa, and hawaj. Highlights include sesame madeleines with vadouvan butter and fig jam, and dry-aged duck with smoked koginut, date malfouf, and plum.

2025 Michelin Star Winner

Friday Saturday Sunday

Chef Chad Williams and Hanna Williams

Still basking in the glow of being named America’s “Outstanding Restaurant” by the James Beard Foundation in 2023, Friday Saturday Sunday owners Hanna and Chad Williams haven’t let up: The seasonally changing plates meld classic French technique with Caribbean, Southern, and soul food influences for stunning dishes like tortellini stuffed with Benton’s country ham over collards splashed with smoky potlikker, or jerk-spiced quail with fresh coco bread.

FOOD FEST EXCLUSIVE

Fiorella x Post Haste

Chef Matt Rodrigue & Chef Ari Miller

Founded specifically as a pasta kitchen, Fiorella is chef Marc Vetri’s temple of gorgeous Italian noodles. Ravioli, rigatoni, gnocchi, fusilli, or whatever Vetri’s cooking — no matter what shape or saucing, Vetri’s attention to detail and flavor make it a far cry from the standard red sauce fare. The cocktails are also legendary, like the savory pasta water martini, or the Rhubarb’s Drag Race, with Revivalist gin, rhubarb, and a Pop-Tart.

Gabriella’s Vietnam

Chef Thanh Nguyen

Chef Thanh Nguyen celebrates Vietnam’s bold flavors and street food traditions with dishes like Viet-Cajun prawn and mango salad, vermicelli noodles with fried tofu, pork and rice patties, and catfish hot pots. The presentation is striking, the flavors nostalgic and fiery.

FOOD FEST EXCLUSIVE

Habibi Supper Club x Ūle

Chef Miled Finianos & Chef Timothy Dearing

Miled Finianos officially launched Habibi Supper Club in December 2023, featuring five- to six-course intimate dinners that he describes as “rustic Lebanese village food with a modern American flair.” The pop-up supper club, designed in collaboration with the brand consulting agency Happy Happy Creative, offers Philadelphians a place at tayta’s (grandma’s) table.

Honeysuckle

Chefs Omar Tate and Cybille St.Aude-Tate

Founded by James Beard semifinalists chef Omar Tate and chef Cybille St.Aude-Tate, this Afro-centric haven is a celebration of Black foodways serving dishes like Haitian spaghetti with crawfish and boudin, and roasted half-chicken with grilled collard greens. With Tate and St.Aude-Tate cooking, every bite tells a story.

Kampar

Chef Ange Branca

Expect Malaysian flavors with punch and purpose from Kampar, the latest restaurant from chef Ange Branca. Her menu stars a double burger wrapped in a crepe-like omelet on a potato bun, deviled chicken hearts, Hakka-style noodles in a rich gravy, and nasi lemak starring coconut cream-soaked rice that balances spice and sweetness.

Little Walter’s

Chef Michael Brenfleck

Chef Michael Brenfleck is helping old-school Polish cuisine mount a new-school comeback in Philly. Pierogi are the star of the show at Little Walter’s, but don’t sleep on classics like smoky kielbasa, blood sausage, smoked monkfish, and other comforting delicacies that dot Brenfleck’s menu and mind.

FOOD FEST EXCLUSIVE

Mawn x My Loup

Chef Phila Lorn & Chef Alex Kemp

Chef Phila Lorn, who won the prestigious 2025 James Beard Foundation award for “Emerging Chef,” is already a culinary icon in Philly, thanks to his Cambodian noodle bar Mawn. Getting a reservation might be difficult, but it’s worth it for dishes like crispy soft-shell shrimp glazed in fish sauce caramel, whole fish in hot ginger-scallion oil, refreshing salads, and “all-star seafood rice” jeweled with uni, crab, scallops, and roe. Drooling yet?

FOOD FEST EXCLUSIVE

My Loup x Mawn

Chef Alex Kemp & Phila Lorn

From the gorgeously curated raw bar (hello, pickled shrimp with aioli and Saltines!) to the now-iconic ‘Escar-roll’ — a buttery, fresh-baked potato dough roll bursting with garlicky snails and slathered in a vibrant pesto made from the day’s greens — chef Alex Kemp is cooking the food everyone in Philly wants to eat right now.

Ocho Supper Club

Chef RJ Smith

Started in his dorm, Drexel culinary student RJ Smith’s Ocho Supper Club is a celebration of Afro-Caribbean flavors through a fine dining lens — think plantain gnocchi in yellow curry, Nantucket scallop with aji amarillo, and jollof rice with shiso. Catch him at the Truist Premium Lounge, if you can.

Ogawa Sushi & Kappo

Chefs Minoru Ogawa and Carlos Wills

At Ogawa Sushi & Kappo, chefs Minoru Ogawa and Carlos Wills deliver a 23-course omakase journey rooted in the minimalist edomae sushi style. Delicacies like Hokkaido uni, red blood clam, torched wagyu, pristine sashimi, and vinegared rice showcase rare seasonal fish and refined technique.

Pera Turkish Cuisine

Chef Mehmet Ergin

Chef Mehmet Ergin channels the rich culinary traditions of Turkey at Pera, with fresh lamb and beef doner, savory manti with cooling yogurt, and irresistible dessert kunefe. Pera debuted on The Inquirer’s inaugural 76 dining guide in 2024.

Philly Hummus Girl

Chef Miranda Stephen

Chef Miranda Stephen, aka Philly Hummus Girl, turns chickpeas into craveable creations. Her vibrant, locally sourced hummus comes in rotating flavors like traditional Lebanese hummus and garlicky za’atar shiitake, each served with toppings that celebrate Middle Eastern traditions with a Philly spin.

Pietramala

Chef Ian Graye

Pietramala is cooking some of the best vegan cuisine on the East Coast, and the menu is constantly shifting. Start your meal with Lancaster Farm Fresh golden beets, paired with sour chard and crispy sunchokes. Follow with Hill Creek Farm Jersey Knight asparagus, grilled over coals. Then dive into pan-roasted Mycopolitan comb tooth mushrooms with heirloom white polenta and a jus made from four-month-aged pinto bean miso.

Porco's Porchetteria

Chef Chad Durkin

Pastry chef turned sandwich maker Chad Durkin built his Porco’s Porchetteria around slow-roasted, herb-forward porchetta sandwiches that crunch with cracklings folded into them. Will Porco’s bring their a jus game to the Food Fest? Bet.

FOOD FEST EXCLUSIVE

Post Haste x Fiorella

Chef Ari Miller & Chef Matt Rodrigue

One of Esquire’s Best Bars in America, Post Haste takes a farm-to-glass approach to beverages and a fancy-meets-comfort approach to food. Chef Ari Miller’s menu includes handcut fries with beer cheese and vegan umami mayo, duck liver deviled eggs, and local melon with Lebanon bologna.

REUBY

Chef Reuben Asaram

Chef Reuben “Reuby” Asaram blends Indian and Mexican flavors with REUBY, drawing from family recipes and fresh ideas. His pop-up creations feature tandoor-style naan, lamb kebabs with queso fundido, samosa chaat, and mash-ups like samosa lumpia with mole rosa chutney.

FOOD FEST EXCLUSIVE

Rice & Sambal x Black Dragon Takeout

Chef Diana Widjojo & Chef Kurt Evans

Chef Diana Widjojo, formerly of Hardena, has reprised her favorite Indonesian dishes at Rice & Sambal. Look for all-killer-no-filler options like ubi and potato coconut soup with king mushroom pate, and chicken dumplings with torched spicy mayo. Widjojo also specializes in family-style Liwetan feasts featuring bamboo baskets full of favorite Indonesian flavors served atop banana leaves.

Sang Kee Peking Duck House

Owner Henry Chow

Since 1980, Sang Kee has been the destination for Peking duck in Philly. The Chinatown institution earned its place on The Inquirer’s inaugural list of The 76 most essential restaurants for its duck, its egg noodle soup, its beef brisket — it’s all delicious.

FOOD FEST EXCLUSIVE

Scampi x Rougarou Baking

Chef Liz Grothe & Chefs Paige and Zach Wernick

Chef Liz Grothe is executing Italian regional cuisine by way of her native Oklahoma at Scampi. Expect well-sourced, soul-warming dishes like rock shrimp orecchiette, potato and octopus, and Grothe’s always-changing, always-intentional interpretations.

FOOD FEST EXCLUSIVE

Ūle x Habibi Supper Club

Chef Timothy Dearing & Chef Miled Finianos

Chef Timothy Dearing plays with locally sourced, often fermented ingredients at Ūle (say it “OOO-lay”). He’s as deft at cooking pork ribeye with toasted yeast and radish as he is churning up sourdough pots de creme with bitter lemon and caramel.

Bakeries

Philly’s standout bakeries are having a moment. From flaky, savory croissants to glittery, tiered cakes, taste what star pastry chefs are baking up just for The Inquirer Food Fest.

Downtime Bakery

Chef Dayna Evans and Sam Carmichael

Founded by Dayna Evans and Sam Carmichael, Downtime Bakery began with humble sourdough bagels and has blossomed into a haven for naturally leavened breads, pies, and pastries made with flour from Pennsylvania mills and produce from nearby farms. Think a maple candied-walnut loaf or a seasonal persimmon muffin, depending on the season.

Dreamworld Bakes

Chef Ashley Huston

Dreamworld Bakes, the whimsical creation of Philly-born chef Ashley Huston, transforms desserts and pastries into imaginative works of art. Adorned with edible glitter, fresh flowers, and seasonal fruit custards and curds, each treat is a vibrant narrative, including her signature cardamom-spiced Baby Spice cake and her Cosmic Brownie with bergamot ganache.

Feels Like Sunday

Chef Siobhan McKenna

From chocolate puddle cookies to coconut cream pie with a caramelized white chocolate crust, pastry chef Siobhan McKenna creates small-batch treats that channel comfort and care. With every slice of chocolate-buckwheat banana bread, Feels Like Sunday offers a moment of pause — nothing too fancy, just joyful, tested-to-perfection desserts that taste like a relaxing Sunday at home.

Flakely

Chef Lila Colello

Chef Lila Colello spins golden, gluten-free dreams from a life once steeped in flour. Trained by culinary greats like Wolfgang Puck and driven by a celiac diagnosis, Colello reimagines French pastry with exquisite technique and plenty of flavor. From impossibly flaky croissants to buttery brioche and smoked gouda scones, every bake is a triumph of craft — proving gluten-free can be as rich, indulgent, and satisfying as its wheat-based counterparts.

Isgro Pastries

Chef Gus Sarno

Making Italian pastries from real butter, high-quality vanilla, fine dark chocolate, and carefully sourced imported ingredients since 1904, Gus Sarno’s Isgro Pastries is a Philly icon for good reason. A freshly filled cannoli from Isgro is like nothing else.

Majdal Bakery

Chef Kenan Rabah

Founder Kenan Rabah blends his Golan Heights roots with culinary craft to create soulful, Levantine-inspired pastries. From tahini-maple-pecan babka to sumac-spiced chicken fatayer, each creation tells a story of heritage and heart. Whether it’s a Turkish egg safeha or a pistachio-rhubarb tart, Majdal offers a journey of flavor and belonging.

Mighty Bread

Chef Chris DiPiazza

Honoring the ancient art of natural fermentation — long before additives, machines, or commercial yeast — Mighty Bread crafts sourdough that’s rich in flavor, easy to digest, and naturally fresh for days. This South Philly bakery delights with guava-and-cheese danishes, pizza bianca, and ricotta focaccia.

Party Girl Bake Club

Chef Mallory Valvano

Mallory Valvano blends nostalgic flavors with wild creativity, offering seasonally rotating delights like black sesame-coconut chiffon cake, pretzel crunch cake, and the PB Churro Blaster — a chocolate peanut butter bomb with cinnamon dulce de leche and Swiss meringue buttercream. From custom cakes to full-scale event activations, Party Girl crafts unforgettable celebrations, one glittering, buttercream-laced creation at a time.

Performances

High-energy sets by local artists, with DJs spinning Philly
favorites — the stage is as hot as the kitchen.

Starfire

Curator of Energy & Creative Expression

Dynamic host, emcee, and Philly nightlife icon Starfire brings unmatched energy and creative expression to every mic she touches. Known for her infectious charisma and effortless crowd command, Starfire will guide guests through the day’s festivities with humor, heart, and style. Expect hype. Expect Energy. Expect vibes. (Photography by @benbowensphoto)

Zinadelphia

Performance

Rising Philly star Zinadelphia blends R&B, funk, and indie pop into lush, laid-back grooves that feel like golden hour. Her silky vocals and dreamy production have made her one to watch, according to Inquirer music critic Dan DeLuca — and an ideal soundtrack for food, drinks, and good company

Opera Philly & BWC Sounds

Performance

Opera Philadelphia’s Amanda Sheriff opens The Inquirer Food Festival with a one-of-a-kind mash-up alongside Joshua Lang and DJ Sylo of BWC Sounds — blending soaring vocals, soulful beats, and house-driven energy for a moment that transforms opera into something bold, modern, and unforgettable.

BWC Sounds

House DJ

Curator of sonic cool, BWC Sounds (Joshua Lang and DJ Sylo) spins global grooves, soul, funk, and future beats that turn any setting into a dance floor. Whether behind the decks or programming cosmic rhythms for the Bok Building, Cherry Street Pier, Warehouse on Watts — or the Inquirer Food Fest at the Fillmore! — BWC brings deep taste and smooth transitions to every set. Check out some reels on their Instagram:

SNACKTIME

Performance

Snacktime isn’t your average brass band. This high-octane, genre-blending collective fuses funk, jazz, soul, and punk with the spirit of a street parade. Their electric live sets and Philly swagger have earned them fans citywide and beyond. Watch them turn a festival into a full-blown block party. And check out this Inquirer article about where the members of Snacktime like to, well, snack:

Sessions and Experiences

From decorating cakes and rolling out pasta to chatting with chefs and catching a live podcast, there’s something exciting at every turn.

Craig LaBan x Delicious City Podcast

Session

Hosted by chef Eli Kulp and Philly food enthusiasts Marisa Magnatta and Dave Wez, Delicious City dishes on the city’s best bites, latest openings, and juiciest restaurant gossip. Their live presence at The Inquirer Food Fest means you might catch an interview, a hot take, or your new favorite place to eat.

FOOD FEST EXCLUSIVE