We will be taking a long weekend in Philadelphia the middle of August and will be staying in Rittenhouse Square (without a car) and need suggestions for restaurants in the Center City Area for both Friday and Saturday nights. We are middle-aged New Yorkers who like good food and service but don't want to pay big money for the decor only. We had made a reservation for the White Dog Cafe (we had been there before) but after reading postings, we are not sure about going there and would appreciate other choices.
Thanks to all.

What kind of food do you like?

Some suggestions:

Seafood: McCormick and Schmicks and Philadelphia Fish and Company

Italian: Upstares at Varalli and Spasso

Steak: Morton's of Chicago and Davio's

American/Continental: Fork, Friday,Saturday, Sunday (yes, that's the name of the restaurant), Twenty Manning

French: Bistro San Tropez

Also go to philadelphia.citysearch.com and gophila.com

If you like truly good Italian that's not not expensive, in a casual setting, try Spasso Italian Grill at 34 S. Front Street, right on the waterfront.

We were in Philadelphia on the 4th of July and five of us had a great meal there.

The service and the food were excellent. Our daughter lives there (in Wallingford) and that's where she's having dinner tonight, as a matter of fact.

Chowhound.com has a lot of reviews of Philly restaurants. As you probably know, it's a great resraurant city, and the locals do it justice on the PA board.

I agree with leesimmons - Spasso has surprisingly good Italian food. But it is far from Rittenhouse, and the place and area is less than attractive. We go there when we are in the area.

From Rittenhouse Square, you can walk to fabulous restaurants. Lacroix at the Rittenhouse Hotel is outstanding. My other favorites are Pasiona and Striped Bass.

In Old City, great recommendations are Buddakan.

L'Angolo is my favorite BYOB Italian in Philly, short cab ride from Ritt Square.

Lacroix is unforgettable. You won't forget the menu (fried cox comb, buffalo, rabbit) or the bill. #-o

Skip the White Dog. I think it's one of the most over-rated places in Philadelphia. Service ranges from ok to just plain awful. The place is living off its past reputation.
Friday Saturday Sunday was one of the early stars of Philadelphia's restaurant renaissance and it's still worth visiting.
Genji's on Sansom between 17th and 18th has excellent sushi and Japanese. Reservations required, especially if you want to sit at the sushi bar.
Try for an afternoon tea at the Four Seasons. Not in the Rittenhouse Square neighborhood, but walkable and worth the trip.
A Philadelphia institution for *classic* continental cuisine is Deux Cheminees. It's romantic to the max, very good service, one of those places that gets skipped over in many guidebooks but is highly regarded by Philadelphians. Set in two connected beautiful old townhomes (with fireplaces, hence the name, but you won't need those in August!).
Striped Bass has excellent seafood, but Alison, the chef who made the place into a star, is no longer there. Featured in the movie Sixth Sense.
Rittenhouse Square is a wonderful neighborhood (we lived in one of the greystones on the 2100 block of Spruce Street), one of the prettiest urban areas in the U.S. Even with the hot August weather you should have a lovely time (but do most of your serious walking early in the day--the heat builds up by about 2 pm and lasts til well into the evening)

From our long weekend in the spring, I have this list of places we really enjoyed and will definitely go back to..all gotten from the lovely people posting on these boards
Friday,Saturday,Sunday
Fork
Continental
The Plough and Star for lunch
Have fun!

Was in Philly 3 times last year and my favorite restaurants thanks to the people here were:

Pasion!
Fork
Bistro St. Tropez

Had appetizers in the bar at Buddakan and it looked really great also!

For a one-of-a-kind restaurant take a cab to Victor's Cafe in S. Philadelphia. It's a good Italian restaurant and the waiters sing serious opera.

Tangerine is wonderful - excellent food and very romantic and subdued decor - dark an atmosphereic but enough light at the table to easily see the food and read the menu. It's a Moroccan influenced menu and although the prices look just a trifle higher than one would expect for Moroccan food, the portions are very large, particularly on the entrees like the tagines. The meu suggest and the waitstaff actually recommends sharing an entree between two people (there is no plating charge - it's not a catch). We had two app's, shared an entree, each had dessert and had one large bottle of mineral water and I think it was about $90 including tax and a 20-22% tip. really a very good meal and you could easily get out of there spending less if you chose to.

Btilke-

The name, "Deux Cheminees", comes from the time of the original location of the restaurant at 251 S. Camac St. It was set in a building which had Federal style architecture, which required symmetry. There were 2 fireplaces in the main parlor, hence the name.

Thanks, Jed, but I believe I already noted almost the same thing in my post [..."set in two connected beautiful old townhomes (with fireplaces, hence the name, but you won't need those in August)]..

Buddakan is my favorite Philadelphia restaurant. The food, decor, service, music, lighting...a true dining experience. For authentic Italian, cab it to South Philly. In Old City, Cuba Libre at 2nd and Market (across from Continental) is a fun and festive Cuban-themed restaurant. On my visit there on a Saturday night earlier this summer they cleared out the dining room tables and chairs, opened the patio doors and crowds gathered inside and out as people began Salsa dancing. It was lots of fun to watch. Food is decent, mojitos are delicious, and people watching is great.
Philly's a great city. You'll have lots of fun.

Just so there would not be a misunderstanding, Deux Cheminees is now located at 1221 Locust St. (and it has 6 fireplaces)