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What: The odd pairing of fried oyster and chicken salad is a classic Philadelphia lunch tradition with roots in the city’s 18th-century taverns. It’s not very common on menus today, but you can still find it in the heart of Center City.

Where: The newly renovated Oyster House (1516 Sansom St.) is a modern update of a 34-year-old seafood restaurant, the Sansom Street Oyster House, which in itself was a throwback to the oyster bars of yore. The menu revolves around (mostly) locally sourced oysters, as does the bright, open restaurant itself—the shuckers work right in the middle of it.

When: Mon-Sat, 11:30am-11pm

Order: The fried oysters and chicken salad ($13)—which are not mixed together, for the record. The oysters in question are offered two different ways: Southern fried, which entails smaller oysters fried in cornmeal; or traditional fried, which are plumper, softer oysters fried in cracker meal. Our waitress helpfully accommodated our request to have them half and half—two fried each way. The homemade chicken salad, incidentally, is excellent: flecked with chives, smooth and creamy, not too heavy on the mayo. Try some oysters on the half shell here too, with a Pennsylvania beer. Note: As of mid-2011, the Oyster House offers this dish only with Southern-fried oysters.

Good to know: The Oyster House is right below Nodding Head, a fantastic brew pub.