Restaurants opening, closing and pending

by Drew Lazor

	print	email	reply	rss feed

Published: Jul 22, 2008

Jose Garces' Distrito has been privy to some Dark Knight-caliber hype as of late — if you haven't seen it, or at least heard about it, you are weird and possibly blind or deaf. The 250-seat bilevel psychedelic lucha libre Mexicali, overseen by chef Tim Spinner, finally opened to the public this past Monday. Food stuff we're amped for: the pulpo ceviche, octopus, lime, Serrano chili and peppercress; and the "Old World/New World" taco list, featuring lengua (tongue), hamachi, kobe beef and chicken cooked ropa vieja-style.

 

Café Lift's Michael Pasquarello and Jeniphur Whitleigh will have this 50-seat pub — former tenant was Maker's Local/Canavan's — rolling by Oct. 1 at the latest. The bar, which dates back to the late 19th century, will feature a years-gone-by feel. "A lot of really cool bars worked in this place [in the past], so we're redecorating it in that fashion," says Pasquarello, who'll offer a seasonal chalkboard menu. Ten beers on tap with a big emphasis on local crafts; a "worldly" bottle list is in the works, as well.

Ian Moroney and Hillary Bor of Pumpkin (1713 South St.) are about a month away from opening Pumpkin Market, a local-products one-stop, at 1610 South. But waitwaitwait. Doesn't Pumpkin Market, the couple's coffee and gourmet takeout spot, already exist at 1609 South? Yes, but now that's going to be redubbed Pumpkin Café. Moroney says the Market'll carry seasonal products — as much organic stuff as possible — sourced from within a 150-mile radius of Philly.

South Philly Taproom's John Longacre and Joe Bedia are saying fall for Bierista — a 1,200-square-foot coffee shop and beer takeout that looks to become the boldest destination in Newbold. About 40 linear feet of cooler space will house hundreds upon hundreds of domestic and international bottles hand-selected by Bedia (Stoudt's, Yards, PBC). No official word yet on what java they'll brew, but Longacre says SPTR's pastry chef, known as "Cousin Mike," will provide the café side with assorted sweets.

All reader comments are subject to our Terms of Use. By clicking Post Comment, you acknowledge that you have reviewed and agree to these Terms.

Name	please enter your name
Email (will not be published)	please enter a valid email
Comment	please enter a comment
Enter the security code on the right in the textbox below.
Security Code	please enter the code
	Join the City Paper Mailing List

The Transporter
Welcome to the Rox
Baer Market
What's Cooking
Small Bites