Restaurants are ‘Popping-Up’ Everywhere in Philly

Whats in this story

Philadelphia is known for its tasty eats. If you’re a visitor to the city and ask where you can get the best cheese-steak, grab a seat because this could take a few hours. If your taste buds are craving water ice, your throat will be dry once you have gotten a rundown of all the amazing Italian ice places that sprinkle the city. And if you like a good soft pretzel, get ready to be weak at the knees as you receive a rundown of all the delicious toppings (other than mustard) that can complement your bready treat.

While Philly has always been a strong contender in the culinary arena, consistently being named one of the best cities for fine dining, it is only natural that the City of Brotherly Love shook up their dining style with “Pop-Up Restaurants”.

Usually a one to five day occurrence, a pop up restaurant is the opportunity for a chef to flex their culinary skills and deliver a knockout menu of sweet and savories that you can only dream of. The events can take place almost anywhere, giving it an “underground” feel because it is not your traditional seating, it’s better.

One of the most popular Pop-Up restaurants happen when Ali & Sullivan come together.

Aliyah Ali and Christine Sullivan are longtime friends and classmates that shared their love of creativity and cooking to create their delectable events.  

“Christine and I love creating fresh new events for the city of Philadelphia and [we] wanted to provide our following with a wholesome experience that anyone could enjoy,” Aliyah shares. “Chris is a great cook and I have a culinary eye and palate so we decided to construct an experience that people would remember.”

When creating the dining experience Ali & Sullivan felt that people were no longer sitting at the dinner table together. “We want people to communicate with each other, not in front of a TV or a computer,” says Ali. “We seat everyone, no matter the number of the party, down at the same table making it quite hard not to talk to the stranger next to you. You are meeting new friends and networking at our events.”

What makes Ali & Sullivan unique in their mission is that as two women of different religious backgrounds (Ali is Muslim and Sullivan is Christian) they bring their common interests together so that they can add the ingredients of love and joy into each meal. “One of our signature dishes are the lollipop lamb chops and curry BBQ wings,” says Ali. “This is one of our most requested and our highly anticipated dishes. It’s seriously finger licking good because it’s made with love!”

While the experience of a Pop-Up is fairly new, it is growing rapidly and Ali & Sullivan plan to be a big part of the action but this is not all they do. “Along with the Pop-Up dinners, we have a BYOB (Bring Your Own Bag) where were we give away free produce) because we believe in paying it forward, and we also do catering and event planning,” Aliyah shares. “I think that Sullivan would agree in saying that we are blessed.”

If you are looking to whet your palette and sample some of these delightful meals, then check out Ali & Sullivan at  on these Instagram at: www.instagram.com/popupdinnerphilly