Il Mercato, 5475 Spring Garden, 422-2866
Why doesn’t the best Italian restaurant in town take reservations? “Customers are always telling us it was worth the wait,” says Il Mercato manager Steve Arsenault. And what are they waiting for? The most popular dish on the menu is the ravioli—roasted chicken, wild mushrooms and a sherry cream sauce. You only get a handful of the delicious little pockets, but that’s OK, because they’re rich. But you don’t have to be. “It’s not expensive to eat here and we have real quality food,” says Arsenault. “We use real bacon bits and real parmesan cheese.”