Restaurants opening, closing and pending

by Drew Lazor

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Published: Jul 15, 2008

NOW SEATING

Raju Bhattari, former executive chef of Tiffin, has branched off on his own with Ekta — "it means unity, because of the unity of Indian spices," he explains — on the far side of Frankford Avenue about a mile east of his former employer. For the time being, Bhattari is running takeout and delivery from the bottom floor, but says he's converting the second level into a sit-down. The affordable menu is a parade of familiar faces — $7.95 for mutter paneer or navatran korma, $8.95 for tikka masala or lamb roganjosh, $8.50-$11.50 for biryani dishes, and so forth.

Pencil in a September opening for Pub & Kitchen, a modern, U.K.-inspired ... pub and kitchen from entrepreneur Dan Clark, GM Ed Hackett (Gayle, Rae, Starr org) and head chef Jonathan McDonald (Snackbar). Though the trio has taken over the former Chaucer's for the project, the space won't lose its comfy feel — instead, a multitude of modern tweaks, including a polished-up sidewalk café and picture windows, will bring it up to speed. McDonald's menu (it'll change weekly) will feature choices like fish and chips (beer-battered hake with housemade fries), bangers and mash and a lobster BLT; an affordable wine list, classic cocktails and 12 draught beers on the drinking end.

Former Le Bec-Fin baker Michael Dolich started Four Worlds, a grassroots bakery servicing loyal "breadies" via online ordering/word of mouth, in his own kitchen in November 2006. But demand for his handcrafted loaves and buns has grown so much that he's finally taking things to another level. His new digs — an overhauled 15- by 20-foot space in Ethiopian coffee shop Kaffa Crossing — should be rolling by the end of this month. The new incarnation of 4WB will work a little differently than your average croissant 'n' bagel joint — to curtail waste, for example, the green-conscious Dolich will publish a baking schedule on his blog weekly so people know exactly how much he has in.

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