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Menu Time
As we mentioned in our ramen notebook post this past Friday, the noodle artists formerly known as Roundeye will host their third (and final, at this location) pop-up at Matyson (37 S. 19th St.) on Sunday, April 1. Ben Puchowitz and Shawn Darragh — the partners are now going by Cheu Noodle Bar — have developed a bunch of new menu stuff, including a snack section and a tweaked-out ramen broth. The full Cheu rundown is after the jump. Same rules as the last event — they'll seat from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. and reservations can be made by calling 215-564-2925 no earlier than 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 31. Cash only.
Last night marked the debut of Popolino (501 Fairmount Ave.), the new BYO from most-Italian-Irishman-we-know Peter McAndrews. Translating to "commoner" in the Roman dialect, Popolino is a trattoria focused on both recognizable dishes from The City of Seven Hills and age-of-empires preparations reinterpreted. "It felt like Rome," McAndrews says of the former Lafayette Bistro's existing interior columns and touches. (Gesturing toward a mythological relief on the wall: "Look at that, freakin' Zeus!") It's the unrecognizable-to-most ancient era of Roman cooking that excites McAndrews the most. "You would be surprised how much food you can actually do when you're doing Roman," he says.
If you peek in the windows of Square Peg at the glass-encased corner of 10th and Walnut, it doesn't look like too much has changed since the space was (like two months ago!) part of the Marathon Grill chain. (Designer Owen Kamihira is dotting the bricked-up high-ceilinged room with large-scale photos of locals.) But it's a new week, and the GuestCounts Hospitality team of Larry Cohen and Barry Gutin (Cuba Libre) and executive chef Matt Levin (Adsum) are getting ready to preview Square Peg’s menu, with a two-week test run for dinner starting next Wednesday, March 21 at 4:30 p.m. (Lunch runs begin April 5.)
The weather is slowly getting warmer, and we all know what that means: shad. (Just us?) As a restaurant precursor to the fourth annual Fishtown Shad Fest (to be held April 28), Oyster House (1516 Sansom St.) is hosting what they're calling Shad Week ("kinda like Shark Week, but totally different"). For those who've never sampled what some refer to as "poor man's salmon," shad is an oily critter from the herring family. Its roe is considered a delicacy and is usually cooked in the egg sac. From March 12 to 17, Oyster House will be offering a three-course shad tasting menu for $40 per person in honor of the fish that gave Fishtown its name. Details after the jump.
View galleryWalking the no-man's-block that is the east side of 20th street between Walnut and Locust, we noticed that Yamaki Sushi was no more. The shop is under new ownership since its previous owner, Patrick Yuen, has retired. He's sold it to John Zheng, a longtime neighbor who's converted it into Machi Sushi ("city sushi"). It's not just Yamaki with a new sign — the interior has been redone, the menu has been revamped and there's a brand-new staff, including chef Eric Xue.
The menu features standard sushi bar fare, including a three-roll special, but they've added their own ornate specialty rolls as well as much-sought-after tuna dumplings (stuffed with avocado and crab meat). Zheng says popular rolls so far include the Halloween Roll (spicy scallop, avocado, tempura flakes, tuna, salmon, red and black tobiko, chili sauce, eel sauce) and the Sexy City Roll (spicy salmon, crab meat, tempura flakes and avocado wrapped in rice paper and topped with black tobiko and eel sauce).
For thrifty sushi-ites, Machi is offering 15 percent off orders through March 31. They're open Monday to Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 10 p.m. Full menu after the jump (click to enlarge).
Robert Amar, whose last post saw him running front-of-house at Fare in Fairmount, has pulled a professional 180 with the opening of Underdogs (132 S. 17th St.), a subterranean paean to locally sourced forcemeats in what was the Moroccan restaurant Argan.
Though it's easy to contrast the organic- and calorie-conscious cooking of Fare with a concept as comfily meaty as Underdogs, Amar's approach to this concept reminds us that not all wiener setups are nitrate death bombs. The hefty 100 percent beef Dietz & Watson dogs he's using as a base frank run 170 calories a pop, the Cacia's rolls he's using to stage his "haute" dogs and sausages are fresh-baked and preservative-free, and all his toppings and fry-dip sauces are made in-house. He's working with Philly sausage landmarks like Fiorella's, Czerw's and Martin's to provide links for options like the "9th Street" (Fiorella's hot Italian, sautéed peppers and onions), the "Warsaw Packed" (Czerw's kielbasa, sautéed onions, spicy mustard) and the "Brats" (Martin's pork sausage, kraut, horseradish mustard). Combos, which include a dog, house-cut fries with dipping sauce and a drink, top out at $8.25. Full menu after the jump (click to enlarge).
Underdogs is open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. right now, with plans to introduce late-night service (to 4 a.m.!) on Friday and Saturday in a few weeks.
The toweringly masculine Reserve (123 Chestnut St.), a top-tier steakhouse, had its grand opening on Saturday night. It's an interesting idea, opening this caliber of meatery in this part of town. First, there’s the pesky job market and that (thankfully waning) recession of ours. Reserve is taking advantage of the upturn, cooking prime cuts from Lancaster and Montgomery County purveyors without taking too much advantage of your wallet ($24 to $34). Secondly, there's the fact that Reserve is in Old City, which has long had a bad reputation as Philly's ruckus-raising trouble spot. But I love Old City. I lived there when it was just me, two coke dealers, four FBI agents, the Khyber Pass before beer was crafty and Rick D's at Upstairs at Nick's before 32 Degrees. It was great then — and it is great now.
Last night marked the official relaunch of Chick's Café & Wine Bar (614 S. Seventh St.) as Chick's Social. Chef/owner Jim Piano wanted to get away from the joint's reputation as a glass-of-wine-and-go stop, so he's upped his kitchen's game considerably to coincide with a light-and-bright makeover of the bar and dining room. "I really wanted to focus on the food," says Piano, who's now overseeing a taut selection of cicchetti (marrow bone topped with celery/fennelradish salad), antipasti (Brussels flatread with bacon, mustard seed and fontina), panini (the wild boar burger remains), housemade pasta (shortrib rigatoni) and large plates (salmon with horseradish, beets and farro). Piano's wife, Kristen, who's the pastry chef at Capital Grille, is looking over Social's desserts, favorites like lemon-curd bombolini and mascarpone cheesecake scrawled on a roll of butcher's paper studded to the wall.
In lieu of a chef's tasting option, Piano's offering timpano, an over-the-top specialty familiar to anyone who's seen the Stanley Tucci flick Big Night. It's basically an enormous baked dough mold with multiple layers — ziti and bechamel, sausage and red sauce, broccoli rabe, sharp provolone — that's sliced like a deep-dish pizza to feed big groups. For $32 a head, Chick's Social will bake one up for a table of six to eight, bookended by antipasti and dessert. (Piano used to work for chef Gianni Scappin, who actually served as the culinary consultant for Big Night.)
Chick's gorgeous original bar, which has outlasted multiple owners since the era when the reputedly mobbed-up Cicalese clan ran the place (liquor license No. 376!), remains intact, save for some new Edison bulbs. The by-the-glass vino options, which once sat at around 40, are down to a more digestible 16, but the bottle list has been bumped up. Full food/drink menus after the jump (click to enlarge).
NoLibs' Sonata (Liberties Walk, 1030 N. American St.) has just rolled out a new menu. Fittingly, it's a reflection of the winter, but given the relative mildness of the current season, chef/owner Mark Tropea is experimenting with using cold-weather elements in lighter preparations. You can still find in-season offerings like chestnut purée and blood orange curd, plus hearty dishes like butter-poached lobster "pot pie" and braised short rib, but look for a delicate touch throughout the menu.
The well-loved bacon-wrapped chicken is taking a hiatus, but it'll be back in the spring; taking its poultry place for now is a simple pan-roasted chicken breast served with rich chicken jus, escarole and ricotta dumplings. "The idea is a nod to my Italian grandmother, who would make pots of chicken escarole soup throughout the winter," says Tropea. Check out his full new menu after the jump (click to enlarge).
Don't worry, the Churchill and Parliament burgers haven't gone anywhere, but they've got some new neighbors on chef Jonathan Adams' freshly pressed menu at Pub & Kitchen (1946 Lombard St.). From kale salad with cherries, pear and walnut vin to parchment-baked cod with soft polenta, check it out in its entirely after the jump (click to enlarge), though it's probably hard to go wrong with Adams' two new favorites, the blackened young octopus and the sautéed foie gras."The garnish on the [foie] is a lot of fun," he says. "Cakey-style housemade gingerbread, pickled red currants, raw gooseberries, white wine-poached kumquats and a white wine syrup. The flavors and colors wore well together for the cold time of year."
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