Restaurants help make Phila. unique

Penn students come here from all over the country, completely convinced that the place where they grew up is the best place in the world. And yet, they manage to make Philadelphia their temporary home ... yes, even New Yorkers like me. But how?

Let's face it. It's the food.

As much as our families would like to think so, we didn't come to Philadelphia for the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall or the National Constitutional Center (sorry, Mom). For most of us, the idea of wandering around Center City conjured up bad memories of elementary-school field trips.

But eventually, we caved and braved SEPTA or learned how to hail a cab. And with the exception of the obligatory visit to Condomania, most of us had our first true Philadelphia experience at a Center City restaurant. Whether it was going to Restaurant Week fall of our freshman year or finally venturing downtown when frat parties started to get old, it was that first meal outside of 1920 Commons (and no, Beijing doesn't count) that hooked us on our new home.

To love Philadelphia is to love the restaurant scene. Italian BYOs, traditional fine dining at Le Bec Fin, cheesesteaks at Pat's and trendy Asian fusion at Buddakan -- we love it all. Everything is accessible if your wallet is big enough, and for us poor college students, there is Restaurant Week twice a year.

They're probably going to take away my New Yorker card for writing this, but I have to admit: There's something special here that you just can't find anywhere else. Not even in New York.

But, unfortunately, the line between New York and Philadelphia is starting to blur. Stephen Starr, the golden boy of the Philadelphia restaurant scene, has recently opened branches of Buddakan and Morimoto in Manhattan.

It is impossible to deny that expanding into the lucrative New York restaurant market is good business sense. But Philadelphia can't afford to become New York's stupid cousin; it needs to maintain its own restaurant identity. And as someone who wasn't particularly worried about Starr's financial success before he expanded, I have to admit that I feel a little bit betrayed.

Philadelphia made Stephen Starr ... a star (excuse the pun). And while none of his 12 Philadelphia restaurants shows any signs of closing as a result of his expansion, he has made the restaurant scene we love less special by bringing his empire, one of the most unique, well-known and beloved parts of Philadelphia's restaurant culture, to New York.

It would be unfair to hold Starr single-handedly responsible for the decay of the Philadelphia dining scene. After all, when Philadelphia and New York share restaurant trends, they usually move in the opposite direction. For example, Haru, a New York chain of sushi restaurants, has recently opened a location in Philadelphia.

But you don't have to expand to bigger cities to succeed in the restaurant business. Judy Wicks, owner and founder of the White Dog Cafe, has never considered opening restaurants in other cities. Instead, she has launched numerous projects in her community, including a mentoring program that introduces inner-city high schoolers to the restaurant business.

And in addition, Wicks has done quite well for herself: White Dog Enterprises Inc. grosses more than $5 million each year.

"I believe in having a local economy and a sense of place," she said, adding that White Dog is "very rooted" in Philadelphia. "I would not do a restaurant in someone else's community."

While we should all be so lucky as to have all Philadelphia restaurateurs be as socially conscious as Wicks, I'd settle for them having even a fraction of her devotion to the city that made her a success.

If Philadelphia wants to maintain its reputation as a hub for innovative, unique and accessible dining, it can't afford to serve as a jumping-off point for businesses who will then shuttle their successes to New York. It must also protect itself from being saturated by New York restaurants. For Philadelphia to lose the crowning glory of its modern restaurant scene and to start accepting New York trends instead of creating its own would remove one of the most defining characteristics of the city.

We New Yorkers are trained from birth to believe that we have a divine mission to spread New York wisdom everywhere we go. True, I think all cabs should be yellow and that everyone around here could stand to learn to walk a little bit faster.

But even I have to admit that the Philadelphia restaurant scene is fabulous, and while New York's dining culture may be equally so, it should stay put and let Philadelphia's develop on its own.

Liz Hoffman is a sophomore political science major from New York, N.Y. New York Minute appears on Mondays.

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