Feeding Frenzy

Restaurants opening, closing and pending

by Drew Lazor

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Published: Jun 18, 2008

>> NOW SEATING

Eighteen-year industry vet Mohammed Islam owns Joy Indian Restaurant in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. So what's he doing down in Fairmount opening King of Tandoor? "Customers [from Philadelphia] loved all our food," says Islam, "So they would say, 'Why don't you have one down here?'" Now he does. The restaurant, built out of a warehouse space, has a fine-dining feel and seats 49; it's currently BYO, but Islam says they're going through the liquor license application process. Tandoori dishes cooked over the charcoal barbecue are an obvious focus here (think kebabs, mixed-grill platters, etc.), but the menu also extends to Indian classics (biryanis, vindaloos, curries, masalas), homemade breads and house specialties like the meat pie-esque dumpakht, which features spiced lamb and sauce in a pot sealed with flaky dough.

>> WAITING LIST

David Katz, who cheffed at the well-loved but short-lived Restaurant M, will be back this fall with Mémé (may-may), a neighborhood space taking over for popular Italian BYO Melograno (which is moving to 20th and Sansom). Katz doesn't have a whole lot to say regarding concept yet, but lets on that it will not be Moroccan-driven, despite his heritage and the project's name. ("Mémé" is what kids in Casablanca call their grannies.) The place will have a liquor license, but no bar, and the seating will be structured a bit differently than Melograno, with more interior room and fewer seats outside. Check out the restaurant's Web site for a peek at Mémé's logo, designed by renowned gonzo artist Ralph Steadman.

>> LITTLE VITTLES

>> Seasons 52, "a casually sophisticated grill and wine bar" with locations in Florida and Georgia, is working on a Cherry Hill, N.J., location. More on this soon.

>>Joe Palombo's Mirabella Café (Barclay Farms Shopping Center, 210 Route 70 East, Cherry Hill, N.J., 856-354-1888) has added an additional dining room with room for 50 people; the chef's niece, Alexis, is working on a wall mural of the Palombo clan's hometown of Mirabella, Italy.

 

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