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Openings
Stephen Wagner and chef Sam Jacobson still haven’t decided on a name for their new restaurant coming to 14 S. Lansdowne Avenue in Lansdowne, but the space is coming along nicely, with March as the word for the soft opening.
Wagner has outfitted the former hardware store, more than quadruple the size of his nearby Sycamore, with honey-toned wood planks, box chandeliers awaiting fabric wraps, doing much of the construction and refinishing himself. Repurposed factory windows serve as room dividers, cordoning off intimate seating vignettes that make the lofty space feel cozy, while a massive wooden slab discovered in the basement has become a communal dining table for the restaurant’s back room.
Flanked by a pair of high-tops at which Jacobson will serve casual, off-menu tastings, the open kitchen acts as the room's focal point. Once the last of the hardware is delivered, he can get cooking in the space, putting ingredients to the fire for the Mediterranean menu he's been developing since the summer. Stay tuned to Meal Ticket for the opening menu.
Every day that goes by is another day closer to spring, and Revel, the gorgeous, curvaceous glass fortress housing a new hotel and casino at the tippy-top of Atlantic City's boardwalk, isn't wasting any time letting people know what to expect from its dining portfolio. Within the past couple months, they've announced three concepts from our very own Jose Garces (Amada, Village Whiskey, Distrito Cantina); a steakhouse by Michelin-starred New York chef Mark Forgione; Mussel Bar, an outpost of Robert Wiedmaiere's "Belgian roadhouse" in DC; and the French Riviera-inspired Azure by Allegretti from Alain Allegretti, who operates Les Promenade des Anglais in NYC. Eat your heart out, Nuck.
The casino has tapped Manhattan again for its seventh restaurant (of 14!), a branch of the bustling Midtown brasserie, Lugo Caffe. Chef Stefano Chiaruga will be making his own mozzarella and firing Neapolitan pizzas in a brick oven, cornerstones of menu at this grand, gilded, ocean-view space, the kind of place we could see Angela Darmody waiting tables back the in day, if she didn't get ... you know.
Revel will soft-open April 2, eight weeks before the casinotel's formal debut on Memorial Day weekend. Online reservations for the 1900 hotel rooms will open up March 5. Set your alarms.
Came across Iron Tower (56 N. Ninth St., 215-485-7399) yesterday afternoon on the walk back from the newly opened Ramen Boy. About two months old, it's a tiny sandwich shop and creperie owned by Mitchell Ho, a classically trained native of Vietnam who spent the better part of 30 years cooking in Paris, most notably at La Gauloise in the 15th Arrondissement. The trilingual Ho, who's been in Philly for about three years, initially ran Iron Tower as a proper French/Viet pastry shop, hawking cream puffs and pate de chocolat, but business was too slow; he's since rejiggered his offerings to focus on sweet crepes (strawberry, banana, Nutella, etc.) and the best-priced banh mi around. He's charging $3 flat for a straight-up Ba Le-rolled sandwich — BBQ pork, chicken, beef, ham or crispy tofu dressed with mayo or olive oil, lettuce, pickled shredded carrot and crazy-spicy bird chili (upon request). Ho says he might be able to accommodate requests for Gallic sweets, too, if you call ahead. Iron Tower is open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Photo: Drew Lazor
View galleryIt's hard for a restaurant to open quietly in Philly these days, especially when that spot specializes in something as universally lusted-after as Japanese noodle soup. Such is the case with the "soft-open" Ramen Boy (204 N. Ninth St.), filling brothy bowls for capacity houses since Friday night in C-Town.
"Ramen is so common and so popular in Japan," says owner Nelson Tam, who also has Yakitori Boy two blocks away. His popular karaoke joint does offer the stuff, but he "wanted to do a place and stand out only for ramen." He's got that here, with native-son chef Yuichi "Ben" Watanabe and his bandanna-rocking crew serving four varieties of soup — a traditional pork broth with chargrilled meat and naruto (pictured); a soy-and-miso with chicken; an spicy oxtail-based broth with sliced ribeye; and a vegan bowl featuring soy milk-based broth and a rotating lineup of 11 different vegetables. They're also doing gyoza (pork, chicken, shrimp and a cheesesteak-like beef/cheddar) fried on the flat-top, rice platters and a couple of sides. Full menu after the jump (click to enlarge).
Don't be discouraged if every seat's occupied when you swing by — people seem to come and go pretty quickly here, and your sidewalk-to-soup time can be considerably slashed if you grab a stool at the kitchen bar. Ramen Boy is open Tuesday to Thursday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Met with Chris and Heather Fetfatzes of Hawthornes Café (738 S. 11th St.) late last week to get the early word on their slated-for-spring takeover of Tritone (1508 South St.). The South Street bar and venue will host its very last show on Feb. 24; on March 1, the Fetfatzes will officially get the keys to the long-standing space to begin work on what they're calling The Cambridge.
When Brian Nagele of Philly2Night/Cities2Night took over the private Arrow Swim Club space from previous operators Nicole Cashman and Bart Blatstein (the latter leased The Piazza’s failing Apollinare to Nagele to open Kings Oak), an indoor restaurant came with the outdoor swim club deal. Nagele promised a few changes when we spoke to him several weeks ago. He gave me the scoop on the swim club’s new name (North Shore Beach Club), its price ($500 a year) and attitude. "DJs and entertainment, yes — but I'm not having public events or $10 parties," said Nagele then.
This week, Nagele reports he's nearly halfway to selling out his season, and that he has a name for his new Cuban-themed restaurant, taking over for Chenango (above): The Havana Room. No menu items could be revealed at press time, but one-time Stephen Starr staffer Sean Elstone (Il Pittore, Parc) is in the kitchen, angling for an April opening.
Open for about three weeks just north of the corner of Eighth and Washington, Archie's (1030 S. Eighth St.) is not a Spanish-speaking hang for Moose and Jughead, but rather a family-owned Mexican restaurant specializing in stacked tortas. (Had a great time watching Home Alone en español with the owners' kids while waiting for my food.) Open daily from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., the small takeout/delivery joint (they got a few tables) offers up al pastor, enchiladas con mole poblano and nice-priced entrées (tequila shrimp, filet tampiqueña), but we're most fixated on the sandwich selection, from chorizo-stuffed toluqueña to a "de pierna," crispy thin-sliced pork combo'd with red onion, pickled jalapeño and a smooth swipe of avocado (above). Fin de semana specials include tamales, carnitas and atole, the hot masa-based beverage slightly comparable to egg nog. Here's their full menu (PDF).
Photos: Drew Lazor
On Monday we told you a little about Russet (1521 Spruce St.), which Andrew and Kristin Wood are opening on V-Day. Though the BYO's food will be ever-evolving due to its aggressive local focus, we did manage to snag details on a few dishes that'll likely appear on the first draft of their dinner and brunch menus. The most glaringly delicious-sounding is their black truffle-topped roasted marrow (!), but here are some other peeks from dinner/dessert ...
UPDATE [08feb12]: More details on Russet's menu.
Andrew and Kristin Wood are looking at Sunday, Feb. 12 Tuesday, Feb. 14 to open Russet (1521 Spruce St.), an independent venture for a hitched-chef couple who's worked the kitchens of James, Maia and Fork locally in addition to stints at Boston's Radius (where they met), Chicago's Tru and Trio and Cali's Terra and Quince.
The well-traveled duo put that peripatetic nature to best use while venue-hunting, touring through dozens of spaces before landing at the former home of Ernesto's 1521 Café. Though it's got an unorthodox layout — an outer hallway separates the kitchen and dining room, and much of the space's square footage, while ample, is relegated to disconnected rooms and the basement level — it's still got the proper Center City sheen for what the Woods want to do.
Last time we checked in with secretive publican Lêe and his Hop Sing Laundromat (1029 Race St.), the long-pending Chinatown cocktail bar had its PLCB certificate in hand, legally giving them the right to serve booze. That was back in November. Now it's February and the doors have not yet opened, but if the newly stocked liquor shelves behind the bar (lots of fancy high-end stuff) are any indication, they're close, at least by Hop Sing standards. Lêe will not commit to an opening date or even an opening month, but states that he's "97 percent" there in terms of his progress; right now is his time for staff training. He's still guarded about the nitty-gritty details of his concept, but vows that his system will allow Hop Sing drinkers to get a cocktail in less than half the time it typically takes to acquire one elsewhere — on top of promising all fruit juice will be squeezed to order.
In terms of the frequent million-dollar "why is this taking so damn long?" question, the bar owner partially attributes the delay to the local media interest surrounding Hop Sing. "The press built this place, its expectations," says Lêe, who's redone several major elements multiple times since construction started. "If it wasn't for you guys, this place would've open by now."
Photos: Drew Lazor
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