Lil’ Kahuna burger from Tesiny

It’s been a year of extraordinary new burgers in Philadelphia, from the McDonald’s Money, the over-the-top double stack of luxury flourishes at Honeysuckle inspired by an Eddie Murphy stand-up routine, to the dessert cheeseburger with raw onions and blue cheese served alongside a chocolate sundae at Roxanne, to Ian Graye’s next-level vegan bean and smoked mushroom burger at Pietramala. Now seafood lovers can rejoice because the Lil’ Kahuna has made the scene at Tesiny, Lauren Biederman’s stylish new oyster bar in the Dickinson Narrows neighborhood of South Philly.

Perhaps you’ve had a tuna burger before. This is not one of those typically fishy hockey pucks. That’s because executive chef Michael Valent blends the richness of high-quality bluefin tuna belly with hand-minced Iberico pork shoulder, which lends both a fatty savor to the mix, as well as a meaty crumble that lets the patty take on the caramelized sear of a backyard burger over the restaurant’s charcoal grill. Set in a pillowy soft sweet potato bun from Mighty Bread with shredded lettuce, melted American cheese, and a special mayo blended with apricots and serrano chilies, the burger is so meaty, you’d be hard-pressed to guess that it wasn’t beef.

It is absolutely that savory, but also a touch lighter on the palate, with an almost fruity character from the tuna that swims up to make itself known, in the best way possible, on the finish of each bite. It’s a smart use of trim from two standard items on Tesiny’s menu — a bluefin crudo and a fantastic pork chop — which explains why it’s a nightly special limited to 8 to 12 burgers a night. I predict it’s going to become so popular, though, that Lil’ Kahuna fans may rally for it to become a fixture on its own. Tesiny, 719 Dickinson St., 267-467-4343, tesiny.com

— Craig LaBan

Chicken cutlet at Wine Dive

If you call your bar a “dive bar,” is it really a dive bar? Especially if the beers, wines, and cocktails are playfully irreverent and unpretentiously sophisticated? Probably not. But the new Wine Dive, in a former nail salon off 16th and Sansom in Rittenhouse, is a fun, boisterous hangout nonetheless, with a tongue-in-cheek attitude and a killer menu that’s many, many levels above the dirty-water hot dog/reheated pizza level at a typical dive.

Chef Scotty Jesberger goes for hearty comfort with his shrimp Lejon, roast beef sandwich, loaded baked potato, but my go-to is an almost impossibly crispy chicken cutlet for the low, low price of $10, served with what they call antipást. It’s a punchy, old-country mix of whole cherry peppers in hot oil, sliced banana peppers, capers, fresh sliced garlic and granulated garlic, slivers of roasted red peppers, whole green olives, specks of cauliflower and artichoke heart, all bound together with olive oil and cherry pepper brine and artichoke water. Everything is designed for late-night eating; the kitchen stays open until 1 a.m. Wine Dive, 1534 Sansom St., instagram.com/winedivephilly

Olive oil cake from chef Shadee Simmons

While fashioning a ceramic vessel at Duafe Natural Hair Salon’s “A Lump of Clay,” event on a recent Friday evening, I snacked on mini crab cakes, oxtail sliders, and a bit of beet salad courtesy of Chef Shadee Simmons, the man behind Khyber Pass Pub’s New Orleans-style menu. (You can try his food on the regular at the Old City bar.)

As I prayed the walls of what I hoped would be a sage burner didn’t collapse, dessert was served. All of a sudden, my poor clay-making skills stopped mattering. The culinary highlight of the evening was upon me: The olive oil cake reminded me of fluffy, not-too-sweet cornbread. The sweet blueberry-raspberry compote drizzle was the perfect consistency. And the cake was covered with a flurry’s worth of powdered sugar — a taste of fall and winter in one bite. Chef Shadee Simmons, Foodheadz Philly, foodheadz20@gmail.com, instagram.com/chefshadee. Dessert available on request.

— Elizabeth Wellington