Lifting that wallet, sliding out the credit cards, lugging those bags...holiday shopping is so much like work. Of course, work entitles you to a lunch or dinner break. When you've had it with picking out presents, here's where you can refuel.
Old City: Amid the Market Street shops are The Continental, Fork, Pizzicato and Tangerine; a few steps away, duck into Amada, Beneluxx or Bistro 7.
Rittenhouse Row: Walnut Street’s destination dining spots, which also offer quick bites, include Alma de Cuba, Brasserie Perrier, Le Bar Lyonnais and Pietro’s Coal-Oven Pizzeria; on Rittenhouse Square itself are Devon Seafood, Rouge and Smith & Wollensky.
South Street/Queen Village: The hippest shopping street in town now mixes fancier stops (Ansill, Coquette, Gayle, Overtures, Supper) with familiar, more casual ones (Copabanana, Famous 4th Street Deli, South Street Souvlaki).
Chestnut Hill: The cobblestoned stretch of the city’s Northwest is home to genteel dining, including Cake (in new quarters), CinCin, Roller’s at Flying Fish (also in newer digs) and that convivial fondue spot, The Melting Pot.
Manayunk: Mixed into the boutiques in this neighborhood along the Schuylkill are mainstays like Bella Trattoria, Chabaa Thai, Derek’s, Hikaru and Winnie’s Le Bus.
King of Prussia: Beyond the mall food court find the California Cafe,
California Pizza Kitchen, Cheesecake Factory and Legal Sea Foods or, if you have a few more post-shopping bucks left, hit the steakhouses (Creed’s, Morton’s, Ruth’s Chris).