The 16 Best Italian Restaurants In Philadelphia - Philadelphia - The Infatuation

"Philly has a long, bizarre legacy of members-only clubs, many of which are still around today. To get into this cash-only Italian social club in East Passyunk, you need a membership or a friend who has one and is willing to let you be their shadow. But it's not nearly as expensive or soul-sucking as the famous members-only club on Broad Street you're probably picturing right now. Imagine an uncle's basement on Snyder Ave. from the 1950s that stays open until 3am and serves very good amaro, spaghetti and blue crab, and late-night stromboli. You can try emailing them nicely to ask about memberships (these cost less than $50), though it might not work. But once you're in, you’ll want to bring every out-of-towner here to show off." - candis mclean, alison kessler