Yelp has released its annual list of the top 100 restaurants in the country, and Pennsylvania has not one, not two but three restaurants that made the tally. This shouldn’t be surprising, as Pennsylvania has a ton of fantastic locally-owned restaurants across the state.
According to Yelp, the list was put together by reaching out to Yelpers and asking them to share their favorite dining spots. Then, according to Yelp, it “ranked each by total number of submissions, ratings, reviews, and geographic representation, among other factors.”
The No. 1 restaurant in the entire U.S., according to the list, is Los Angeles spot called Broken Mouth. That restaurant, a Hawaiian-Korean cafe from chef-owner Tim Lee, scored five stars across more than 1,000 reviews for food such as Spam Musubi (“sushi” with canned meat and purple rice) and Meat Jun, a traditional fried beef dish.
The No. 1 spot in Pennsylvania is Lancaster’s Chellas Arepa Kitchen, which came in at No. 11 on the list. Yelp says, “This roadside trailer is like a portal to South America, thanks in large part to its delicious take on Venezuelan arepa sandwiches. The traditional corn cakes are stuffed with a wide array of Peruvian-Venezuelan ingredients, influenced by owner Luis Quiroz’s upbringing in Peru. Customers line up for faves like the Lomo Arepa, which is loaded with grilled steak, sauteed red onions, tomatoes, and fried yuca, then drizzled with a house-made chimichurri sauce.”
The next spot is Two Birds Cafe in West Chester, Pennsylvania, at No. 51. “People flock to Two Birds Cafe for breakfast and lunch made from scratch, right down to freshly baked breads and pastries with a ‘just-out-of-the-oven vibe.’ Culinary couple Jess and Justin Minchak opened this welcoming spot in their hometown in 2019 after dreaming about launching their own restaurant for more than 5 years. While cozy and small—there’s often a wait to dine— but fans agree it’s worth it.” Finally, the third is Pitaland, Pittsburgh, at No. 96. Find the full list here.