Food trends come and go. So how can you tell which tastes are trending right this minute?
We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp and SafeGraph, a dataset of commercial points of interest and their visitor patterns, to discover which local businesses have been seeing especially high review volumes this month.
To find out who made the list, we first 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 increased their volume of reviews to identify statistically significant outliers compared to past performance. Then we analyzed foot traffic data from SafeGraph to validate the trends.
Read on to see which spots have the momentum heading into the end of the year.
Emmy Squared
Open since October, this spot to score pizza, sandwiches and burgers is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Sandwiches" on Yelp.
Citywide, sandwich spots saw a median 2% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Emmy Squared saw a striking 240% increase, with a slight downward trend from a 4.5-star rating a month ago to four stars today.
Located at 632 S. Fifth St. in Queen Village, Emmy Squared offers Detroit-style pizza (a crispy square pie with a cheesy crust), as well as double-stacked burgers and spicy chicken sandwiches. A variety of cocktails, wines and beer are also on the menu.
Emmy Squared is open from 4 p.m.–9 p.m. on Tuesday-Thursday, 5 p.m.–10 p.m. on Friday, noon–10 p.m. on Saturday and noon–9 p.m. on Sunday. (It's closed on Monday.)
Philly's Gourmet Steaks
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Old City's Philly's Gourmet Steaks, the spot to score cheesesteaks, as well as beer, wine and spirits, is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Cheesesteaks" on Yelp saw a median 1.3% increase in new reviews over the past month, Philly's Gourmet Steaks bagged a 30.6% increase in new reviews within that time frame, maintaining a mixed 3.5-star rating. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 3.7 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.
There's more that's trending on Philadelphia's cheesesteak scene: Oh Brother Philly has seen a 5.4% increase in reviews.
Open at 114 Market St. since 2017, Philly's Gourmet Steaks specializes in handheld bites like chicken cheesesteaks, burgers and chili cheese dogs. A breakfast buffet is also offered, serving up a variety of morning eats, including scrambled eggs, French toast, grits and bacon.
Philly's Gourmet Steaks is open from 7 a.m.–9 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday and 7 a.m.–10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Glory Beer Bar & Kitchen
Old City's Glory Beer Bar & Kitchen is also making waves. Open since 2018 at 126 Chestnut St., the well-established beer bar, gastropub and New American spot has seen a 5.3% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.2% for all businesses tagged "American (New)" on Yelp. According to SafeGraph foot traffic data, Glory Beer Bar & Kitchen saw visits double over the past month.
There's more than one hot spot trending in Philadelphia's New American category: Louie Louie has seen an 8.6% increase in reviews, and Bourbon Blue has seen a 1.2% bump.
Glory Beer Bar & Kitchen offers bar snacks like pork sliders, charred octopus and hand-cut fries, as well as a variety of sandwiches and pot pies. Specials include items like the roasted chicken with honey dill carrots, mushrooms and thyme gravy.
Over the past month, it's maintained a convincing five-star rating among Yelpers.
Glory Beer Bar & Kitchen is open from 4 p.m.–2 a.m. on Monday and 11:45 a.m.–2 a.m. on Tuesday-Sunday. According to SafeGraph, people visit Glory Beer Bar & Kitchen most on Fridays and Saturdays, and it attracts a quarter of its total visitors over those two days. If you’re planning your visit, you may want to try its slower periods on Mondays.
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.
