So South Philly dining was a little lesson in practical sociology. Besides being, on average, the best food in the city. And always more than you could eat for less than you'd pay anywhere else. Most of those old places are gone. The new Italian South Philly is likely to be white-walled and elegant, with risottos and striped bass, serious wines.
Prices are still low, quality is high.
But I miss the old feeling that I'm eating in somebody's house. This isn't PermaStone nostalgia. I just hate to see folk decor homogenized out of existence. This is updated South Philly home improvement. Candle and artificial flowers on every table, of course.