Food trends come and go. So how can you tell which tastes are trending today?
We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to discover which eateries have been seeing especially high review volumes this month.
To find out who made the list, we looked at Philadelphia businesses on Yelp by category and counted how many reviews each received. Rather than compare them based on number of reviews alone, we calculated a percentage increase in reviews over the past month, and tracked businesses that consistently increase their volume of reviews to identify statistically significant outliers compared to past performance.
Read on to see which spots are extra cool this spring.
Cry Baby Pasta
Open since January 2019, this wine bar and Italian spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Italian" on Yelp.
Citywide, Italian spots saw a median 2.7 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, but Cry Baby Pasta saw a 64 percent increase, with a slight downward trend from a 4.5-star rating a month ago to four stars today.
It's not the only trending outlier in the Italian category: Giuseppe & Sons has seen a 21 percent increase in reviews, and Porta has seen a 7.4 percent bump.
Located at 627 S. Third St. in Queen Village, Cry Baby Pasta offers pasta and large plates of pork rib ragout and mushroom farotto, along with a selection of bruschetta. Pair those dishes with Italian wine, beer or hand-crafted cocktails.
Oh Brother Philly
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Old City's Oh Brother Philly, the spot to score cheesesteaks, burgers and sandwiches is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Cheesesteaks" on Yelp saw a median 1.6 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, Oh Brother Philly bagged an 8 percent increase in new reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a sound 4.5-star rating.
There's more that's trending on Philadelphia's cheesesteak scene: Joe's Steaks + Soda Shop has seen a 4.7 percent increase in reviews.
Open at 206 Market St. since 2018 , Oh Brother Philly offers cheesesteaks, burgers, signature sandwiches and fries. Look for the Southwestern vegan burger created with a blend of veggies and topped with Chipotle mayo, spring mix, tomato and avocado. For dessert, there's milkshakes and fried Oreos.
Veda - Modern Indian Bistro
Rittenhouse's Veda - Modern Indian Bistro is also making waves. Open since 2017 at 1920 Chestnut St., the popular Indian and breakfast and brunch spot has seen a 5.6 percent bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.8 percent for all businesses tagged "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Veda - Modern Indian Bistro's review count increased by more than 180 percent.
There's more than one hotspot trending in Philadelphia's breakfast and brunch category: Middle Child has seen a 6.8 percent increase in reviews.
Veda - Modern Indian Bistro offers small plates of seasoned potato cakes and crispy okra. There's also a selection of tandoori dishes like boneless chicken, shrimp and spicy kabobs. For a main dish, look for slow-braised lamb, tofu and sea bass. Over the past month, it's maintained a superior four-star rating among Yelpers.
Royal Sushi & Izakaya
Queen Village's Royal Sushi & Izakaya is the city's buzziest bar by the numbers.
The izakaya, bar and sushi bar, which opened at 780-782 S. Second St. since 2017, increased its new review count by 5.6 percent over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 2.1 percent for the Yelp category "Bars." It outperformed the previous month by gaining 5.0 times more reviews than expected based on past performance.
The 10-seat Royal Sushi & Izakaya offers an 18-piece nigirizushi omakase, including varieties of salmon, yellowtail and bluefin.
This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
