The 2011 22nd & Philly Scarpetta Awards

Welcome everyone to the first-ever 22nd & Philly Scarpetta Awards!

Why the Scarpettas? On the About 22nd & Philly page, we detail why we started this blog and how we define a good food experience: "at the end of the day, if Bradd cleans his plate with a piece of bread, you know it was a good meal." Little did we know there is an Italian phrase for using bread to clean your plate, Fare La Scarpetta. We learned about the word from Anthony Bourdain's show, The Layover, when he visited Rome.

What better way to characterize our own "Best Of" awards for Philadelphia?

The Scarpettas are based on the eateries we visited in the past year, food quests, local events, readers and friends we’ve met, among other considerations. It's our way of pointing out some of our favorite - and least favorite - discoveries within local food scene during 2011. Either our plates were clean, or something was left to be desired.

And the 2011 Scarpettas go to...

Year in Review: Top Posts of 2011

It's recap time! 2011 was a huge year for 22nd & Philly, with our readership increasing as well as our Twitter/Facebook following. Thank you to all our visitors, commenters and fellow foodie pals for keeping this blog on its toes. We cherished the opportunity to get to know you better, both in person and online. Looking forward to more foodie adventures in 2012!

Here are our top seven posts for 2011 based on pageviews:

Guapos Tacos Truck

Guapos Tacos Food Truck: Bringing Jose Garces to the People: Garces' traveling tacos exemplified the burgeoning popularity of food trucks in Philly. Chasing down Guapos Tacos in its opening nights was one of our most exciting food adventures of the year.

Review of Pamcakes, a Philly cupcakery: One mention of Pamcakes in an earlier post and the crowd went wild. When we had to the chance to give it a try, Pam's delightful desserts did not disappoint.

2011 Philly Beer Week Cheat Sheet: There are hundreds of events scheduled for Philadelphia's annual Beer Week. We wanted to help readers by picking out a handful to attend. From the Philadelphia Cheese Experiment to hot dog pairings at Doobie's, this year's Beer Week was chock full of fun. Can't wait for June 1-10, 2012 when Beer Week returns.

Manakeesh: Best Baklava in Philly? Wow. Who knew Philadelphians took their baklava so seriously? Check out the comments section for the all-out war that ensued over who serves the best baklava, the treat's cultural origins and more.

2nd Annual Best of Philly To-Do List: Philadelphia Magazine's "Best of Philly" list each August provides a great starting point for new foodie outings. So far we've checked off Monsu, Pizzeria Stella, Beck's Cajun Cafe, Blackfish and Khyber Pass Pub. Reviews to come and more to try in the next six months.

Taconelli's Signature Pizza

Ten Things You Need to Know about Tacconelli's Pizzeria: Also an instigator for quite the discussion on who serves the best pizza in town, our advice on how to approach the non-traditional ways of Tacconelli's struck a chord with many readers. We welcome all suggestions on other pizza to try, but we still love our Tacconelli's :-).

Stephen Starr Goes Gastro: Dandelion: 2011 was another big year for the venerable Stephen Starr with Frankford Hall, Il Pittore, Talula's Garden, Route 6 and of course, Dandelion. Like most Starr openings, Dandelion generated a ton of buzz and lived up to the hype, though we still favor Pub & Kitchen as our go-to gastropub.

Wishing you a happy and healthy new year!

Manakeesh: Best Baklava in Philly?

It’s been three years since our hunt for authentic baklava in Philadelphia began. Both of us still dream about the Ottoman-era pastry we had while sitting on the curb of a small street in Santorini, Greece, one sweltering summer day. The deliciousness haunts my memories.

The search has been disappointing and frustrating to say the least. The baklava at the Greek stands in Reading Terminal Market did not seem fresh and was below average in taste. Sadly, the Greek restaurants we've been to (Kanella, Effie's, Dmitri's) either didn’t offer it or we found it to be nowhere close.

It was therefore with much anticipation and trepidation that we approached Manakeesh Cafe in West Philly, who many claim has amazing baklava. Could our three year search finally end? YES!

While still not as good as Santorini's baklava, the Manakeesh rendition was certainly close enough to become our new go-to spot to rekindle one of our fondest foodie memories.