Alice’s Late-Summer Menu is letting the last of peak-season produce dictate the kitchen as summer winds down, with Chef Dave Conn’s hyper-seasonal American restaurant in the Italian Market pulling tomatoes, Jimmy Nardellos, peaches, and other late-summer fruit straight from the source while the window is still open. It’s a menu built to disappear the moment the season does, which makes now the moment to actually go.

Where Alice’s Late-Summer Ingredients Come From

The Alice’s Late-Summer Menu produce runs through Local Bound and regional farms distributed by Baldor, bringing late-summer tomatoes and stone fruit into the kitchen at their peak rather than reaching for something out of season. That sourcing discipline has been part of Alice’s identity since Conn opened the restaurant in June 2023, following 12 years with the Garces Group leading kitchens including Amada, Tinto, and Village Whiskey.

That background shows up in the deliberate way the current menu treats technique. Alice’s charcoal oven remains the defining element of the kitchen, but Conn moves between raw preparations and high-heat cooking based on what a given ingredient actually calls for, rather than running everything through fire simply because the oven is there.

What’s on Alice’s Late-Summer Menu Right Now

Alice’s late-summer lineup includes a Scallop Crudo with local peach and parsley root buttermilk, and Coal-Roasted Shiitakes finished with guanciale, mozzarella fior di latte, and green garlic. Coal-Roasted Duck Breast arrives with grilled plums and spigarello, leaning into the same char-driven approach that’s become one of Alice’s signatures.

Nardellos with Crab pairs coal-roasted Jimmy Nardellos with a blue crab étouffée, while Rainbow Trout keeps things lighter with Sungold tomato butter and leek confit. Across the board, the dishes read less like a fixed menu and more like a working record of exactly what’s good right now.

The Bar Follows the Kitchen’s Lead

Alice’s cocktail program mirrors the same layered, ingredient-forward approach as the food. King Vidi combines rye, Campari, Cynar, and orange, while Laid to Rest brings together Jamaican rum, cacao, coffee, orange, and black walnut for something darker and more contemplative. Miss Lily rounds things out with elderflower milk punch, absinthe, and green Chartreuse — a continuation of the absinthe-forward cocktail work Alice has built a reputation for.

This kind of full menu turnover isn’t new territory for Alice. The restaurant has treated seasonal change as a genuine event before, from its midday menu shift to bringing Spaghetti & Crabs to the Italian Market Festival — the kind of neighborhood-rooted programming that comes from actually being embedded in the Italian Market rather than just operating near it.

Alice is open Tuesday through Saturday from 5 to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 5 to 9 p.m. at 901 Christian Street, with 30 seats indoors, 12 at the bar overlooking the open kitchen, and 20 more on the sidewalk patio. As the season turns, so will the menu — this particular lineup, built around a specific week of peak-ripe tomatoes and peaches, won’t be around much longer.

About Post Author

Allan Lane

Philadelphia born and bred, Allan Lane is the Publisher and Editor in Chief of digital magazines. He launched his first publication, SportBikes Inc Magazine in 2010, followed by dosage MAGAZINE in 2019. Recently, Allan launched his third online publication, Club For Man. As a journalist, Allan covers fashion, lifestyle, culture, art, and motorcycles.

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