Massive congratulations to the 6 South Street Headhouse District businesses who have been named Best of Philly 2023!
From Food & Drink to Health & Self, South Street has some of the best local businesses in the entire city of Philadelphia! ✨
FOOD & DRINK
Best New Ice Cream
Cuzzy’s Ice Cream Parlor
“At Cuzzy Angiolillo’s charming ice cream parlor, you’ll be greeted by the scent of hot waffle cones and people who appear to genuinely love their jobs. Order a few scoops of rotating flavors like small-batch spumoni or punchy cotton candy grape sorbet, and add a house-made topping like Oreo whipped cream. The nostalgic scene (shelves of penny candy like Charleston Chews and Bazooka bubble gum) is just the cherry on top.”
📍: 618 S 5th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147
Best Rotisserie Chicken
Brazas BBQ Chicken
Who would have thought the search for the city’s best Peruvian-style rotisserie chicken would end at a former Primo Hoagies on South Street? But that’s exactly where you gotta go — to chef-owner Juan Placencia’s celebration of Peruvian party food in general and pollo a la brasa in particular. Brined for 48 hours, marinated in chili, garlic and vinegar, then spit-roasted until they’re tender and juicy all the way to the bone, his birds are a marvel.
📍: 326 South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147
SHOPPING & STYLE
Best Bookstore Without The Usual Suspects
Brickbat Books
“Sometimes all you need is a cozy spot in which to sit with a book. Brickbat provides both those things — plus records! — in excess at its low-key haunt. Its walls envelop you in new and used reads, many with eye-catching covers. Of note: The shop only accepts secondhand titles in the best condition from genres like poetry, nonfiction and genre fiction, so rather than a dog-eared James Patterson paperback, you might find a collection of journalist Martha Gellhorn’s novellas, or works by big names in lit fic like Don DeLillo.”
📍: 709 S 4th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147
Best Off-Beat Decor Shangri-La
Worms Emporium
“If you spend a lot of time on Pinterest typing words like “eclectic” into the search bar, Worms Emporium will bring the liveliness you desire to your space.”
📍: 523 South 4th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147
Best Excuse to Stop Swimwear Shopping on Revolve
Baked
“Finding a new bathing suit can be its own circle of doomscrolling hell now that most swimwear is sold online. Adrienne Volpetti, owner of sunless tanning studio Baked, has been steadily growing her in-store selection of stylish swim labels since 2020. This season, Devon Windsor swim joins L*Space, Wave Babe and SOAH, along with Eleventh Hour sunnies and Bogg Bag beach totes.”
📍: 740 S 4th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147
HEALTH & SELF
Best Waxer
Be Bare Face + Body
“Minimalist vibes, subtly scented products, perfectly warmed wax and gentle techniques set the scene at this Society Hill hair-removal studio. We left our wax with buttery, ingrown-free skin that stayed smoother way longer than we could have imagined.”
📍: 401 South 2nd Street, suites 4A and 4B, Philadelphia, PA 19147
