One of Philly’s oldest neighborhood has made a new comeback as America’s Hottest New Neighborhood.
Overview: Fishtown got its unique name because of fish, of course.
Fishtown is a small yet vibrant neighborhood in Philadelphia, located just three miles northeast of Center City. The history of Fishtown begins on the water (it was center of the fishing industry on the Delaware River) so its name derives from one of the original occupations of the residents.
La Colombe Coffee Roasters in Fishtown has always been my most favorite La Colombe out of their five locations in Philadelphia. Unlike any other locations, this flagship store offers such unique self-serve café experience because it is part restaurant, part bakery, and part bar. With that said, I decided to satisfy my caffeine cravings and took advantage to explore the “hipster” neighborhood on a chilly Sunday morning. Without any further ado, let’s hop along to see what Fish Town has to offer!
First thing first: coffee and breakfast!
La Colombe Fishtown has a variety of breakfast, lunch, dinner and pastry selections to choose from besides their signature coffee blends and draft lattes. I have tried everything on the menu except for their sweet challah French toast and decided to find another favorite breakfast item from the menu followed by their delicious biscuit and gravy breakfast option.
B.E.L.T, shortened for Bacon, Egg, Lettuce and Tomato tastes exactly like its name suggested: simple, straight-forward but extremely addictive. What could possibly go wrong with such combination? The smokiness from wood-fired oven-baked bacon strips, the freshness from the baby lettuce and tomato, and the perfectly cooked sunny side up egg on two pieces of toasted French challah brioche are match made flavors and textures in heaven.
La Colombe is best known for their seasonal coffee blend, nitro cold brew, and signature draft lattes. La Colombe catches up with new trends super quickly as they have just released an great oat draft alternative for their all time favorite original draft latte. My top go-to coffee orders at La Colombe are always either oat draft, ice oat latte, or nitro cold brew with lemon. Oat draft is super rich, creamy yet tasty, ice oat latte is toasty, mellow yet refreshing while cold brew with lemon is super summery and lemony which is perfect for a hot day out.
Let's explore Fishtown!
Fishtown is fondly known for the "hipster" vibes, cool vintage shops and top-rated restaurants. Walking around the neighborhood, my mind was blown away as there are so many newly built apartments, fancy townhouses, luxury boutique shops, spacious restaurants, as well as coffee shops. Fishtown on an early Sunday morning was lively yet peaceful, modern yet historic. It is no surprise that such neighborhood has became the new retail and social hub of the community as people start to take advantage of the affordability to invest in properties around the area.
Fishtown food scene wise is amazing! Do you know that Fishtown is actually home to some of the best restaurant and bars in Philadelphia? Since it is a relatively small neighborhood, restaurants are within walking distance.
One block away from La Colombe is one of local favorites - Kensington Quarters, located on 13th and Frankford Ave. Kensington Quarters' concept is very unique as they have been focusing on supporting local farmers by buying seasonal products hand-picked from farms and whole animal freshly butchered from local butcheries.
Two blocks aways we have Suraya, located on 15th and Frankfort Ave, which is listed in one of the must-visit restaurants in Fish Town. Suraya is best known for their diverse tasting menu as well as their ambitious effort of bringing their authentic Lebanese market/cafe/bar/restaurant concept to a whole new level. Risky yet promising, Suraya is definitely one of the fastest growing business in the Fishtown neighborhood.
Stock Restaurant, located on 308 E Girard Ave, is just a 5-min walk from La Colombe. Stock Fishtown was named in one of Eater Philly's 38 essential restaurants in the city and where to eat Vietnamese food in Philly. Chef-owner Tyler Akin has brought the fast-casual dining concept to a whole new level as this Fishtown BYOB offers a variety of Vietnamese and other Southeast Asia dishes that you cannot find elsewhere. All of their ingredients start with sustainable proteins and well-sourced veggies.
While waiting to be seated, I decided to do a quick research about the restaurant. Luckily, we didn't have to wait for too long and were seated right away. Without any second thoughts, I've decided to try Stock's most famous Chicken Pho and Basil Chicken Banh Mi. I'm telling you, I cannot describe how excited i was while waiting for our food to come (even though i had breakfast just 2 hours ago).
Our food came out very quickly, which I'm impressed. Banh Mi here was very untraditional and different, however, I was not mad about it. In other words, this is a cheffed-up version of our traditional Banh Mi (originally served with pate, Vietnamese-style pork sausage, pickled carrots, mayonnaise, and cilantro). Basil chicken was tender and flavorful, pickled red cabbage was perfectly acidic, and fried shallots was a great add-on to enhance the flavor of the Banh Mi. Overall, I would definitely recommend you to try it out!
Stock's Chicken Pho served with onions and fried shallots blown me away with its flavorful broth. To be honest, I was not expecting much about their pho in the first place, given the fact that this is not an authentic Vietnamese restaurant. However, i'm glad that i tried their Chicken Pho because it was mind-blowing. The broth tasted like Chef had simmered chicken bones for hours, chicken was perfectly cooked, and the noodles were nice and tender. This trip to Fishtown ended on a really good note.
Final thoughts...
It is amazing to see how drastically Fish Town has changed in the past couple of years. Personally, I love the vibes and authenticity Fish Town has to offer! How about you? Let me know in the comment section what your first impressions are and if you want to put this charming neighborhood into your bucket list!
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