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Openings
Eater's telling us that the ridiculously named and quick to shutter YOLO coffee shop at the corner of 12th and Spruce is reopening tomorrow and the folks who own EPX breakfast spot Chhaya are consulting. The new concept is going to be called Toast, may another Drake reference. Nah, probably not.
The Insider's always got his finger on the pulse of Philly restaurant happenings. Today he's saying that February 4th is the opening date for a sit down cafe connected to Rittenhouse's Metropolitan Bakery. The expanded space will be serving light lunch options like pizzas, sandwiches and house-cured charcuterie and pickles. Coffee will be coming from Point Breeze roastery Green Street.
And in breaking burger news we've got not one but two locations of totally worth the wait Shake Shack coming our way, one in University City and another in the King of Prussia Mall complex.
And in less cheery news Old City's Craft & Claw has closed up shop after a mere three plus months. Foobooz is speculating that C&C just could shake the stigma of it's days as douche-o-rama club Mad River.
There’s nothing like a drab midwinter's day for triggering a homestyle food craving.
Which is why our ears perked up when we heard that the team behind Northern Liberties’ A Full Plate Café is bringing new establishment Cedar Point Bar & Kitchen (intersection of Cedar and Norris) to the heart of Fishtown this February.
Chef Shannon Dougherty has assembled a menu she calls “70’s housewife meets southern comfort food,” starring chicken done three ways (think southern buttermilk and spicy Korean fried) catfish, and jambalaya. Other notables include vegetarian-friendly macaroni, veggie po’ boys, and a vegan kale burger. Wash down your chow of choice with a craft brew or specialty cocktail.
CPBK will be open seven days a week and serve brunch from 10am to 3pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
Foodbooz is telling us that Bufad, the 13th and Spring Garden pizzeria from the owners of Prohibition Taproom and Cafe Lift is going to be softly opening tonight with a menu of wood-fired Neapolitan-style pizza, salads and a few good looking small plates.
Eater has caught word of a new German beer hall opening up at 12th and Chestnut. Heading up the project is Teddy Sourias of Finn McCool's.
We'd like to thank Grub Street for bringing to our attention that chowder shots are now a thing, a totally bizarre thing available at Doc Magrogan's Oyster House in U-City and West Chester.
And as always, The Insider is full of all sorts of juicy news on openings and such. Cafe L'Aube is coming to the 222 Rittenhouse condo building, over in Manayunk Gemelli is switching over to a French menu and renaming itself Bisou and whiskey bar The Goat's Beard is revving up to open on Main. There's a Shake Shack acomin' to the corner of 32nd and Chestnut and finally there's a Cheesecake Factory in the works for Center City and judging by the comments folks are none too pleased about it.
Due to popular demand sandwich-centric cafe Rybread is opening up a second location on the Brewerytown corner of 28th and Girard. Expect a familiar menu of made to order sandwiches, salads and house baked pastries. Foobooz is reporting that there's a drink in/ take out beer license in the works as well.
So the general consensus is that it's pretty darn cold outside so it's only appropriate that we share the news that The Igloo, a new frozen dessert shop is gearing up to open at 2223 Grays Ferry Avenue just off of South. The shop will specialize in fro yo, sorbets and water ice and is aiming for a March 21st opening.
If you're in the market for a career change, the folks over at South of South Neighborhood Association are reporting that The Igloo is hiring part-time employees and one of the basic job duties includes tasting the product to ensure that quality standards are met. Frozen dessert taste-tester sounds like a pretty sweet gig to us.
Arrivaderci, Rocchino and Azione (239-241 Chestnut), we barely knew ye. Gordon Dinerman and Rob LaScala have reintroduced the side-by-side spaces as Barra, an uptown sibling to Dinerman's Birra pizzeria on Passyunk. Expect coal-oven pies, scampi-style prawns, black-pepper fettuccine carbonara and other twisted Italian standards from chef Andrew Fox, who will split his time between Old City and South Philly. The restaurant will serve till 1 a.m. nightly, and Dinerman and LaScala are promising "progressive lighting and top DJs" Thursday through Sunday. Looks like a return to the Paradigm days for 241 Chestnut. Makes us want to order an espresso martini and fire up a Parliament.
When it first became apparent that Dave Gleason and Heather Garry from the pub-grubbing Good Dog Bar would be taking over the corner space left behind by The Witch on East Moyamensing Avenue, the first thing considered was how it would be a nice addition to an already-burgeoning food neighborhood, what with Federal Donuts mere yards away. But Garry, Gleason and third partner Tom Darby’s idea for The Industry, which finally opens its doors tonight, is more than that: It’s a love letter to the restaurant/hospitality biz.
“At Good Dog, we’ve always offered an ‘in the biz’ special — a Sunday-through-Wednesday thing where we give 20 percent off the tab if you sling booze or food,” says Garry. The new spot has some serious but casual design elements for the open, 80-seat dining room with its long, 18-seat bar and even-longer communal dining table crafted from rough pieces of edgy walnut. (Artist Ben McBrien’s rustic touches of reclaimed wood enhancing the warm green room.) “At The Industry, we’re going to extend that offer to seven days a week, and have a little fun with it.” (Twitter handle: @theindustrybar).
But it’s not as if The Industry will play host only to food-biz worker bees. Remember that the location is at a hub of great food in a powerfully hungry area of town. “We are really excited to be in South Philly and have a great staff lined up including Chef Pat, Bob ‘Heel’ Achilles making drinks and Lisa Watson, who has been managing Good Dog for the past seven years,” says Garry.
Chef Pat Szoke (pictured), who has also done his time at The Farm and Fisherman, Vetri and Buddakan, plans to focus on seasonal fruit and vegetables. Look for fare such as crispy pig-ear lettuce wraps with Frank’s hot sauce, julienned vegetables and bibb lettuce; Kentucky-fried guinea hen with Mexican street corn and cucumber salad and lamb-neck gravy with fresh ricotta and grilled bread; and sweet-corn arepas with blistered tomato, cremini mushrooms, poblanos and crème fraîche. “For summer, guests can expect to see fish, grilled head to tail, served whole with a sweet corn succotash,” says Szoke. “As soon as we open, we will be serving brunch, so think locally sourced eggs and vegetables and fresh house-baked breads. I'm currently working on version of a cinnamon bun.”
The Industry opens to the public tonight, June 6, at 6 p.m. (1401-1403 E. Moyamensing Ave., 215-271-9500). Last night was the family-and-friends soiree, which I heard was a blast. Here’s hoping that last night’s crew had access to Szoke’s “hangover cure” brunch menu today.
View galleryWashington Avenue is the definitive HQ of Vietnamese cooking in South Philly, but Liem Ma (who owns Pho & Cafe Viet Huong at 11th) is pushing east to Pennsport. His massive Mekong River (1120 S. Front St.) opened just last week, slick with gleaming hardwood floors, stacked stone accent walls and a facade vaguely reminiscent of a swish Cherry Hill strip mall. Die-hard pho hounds will probably decry its sanitized good looks — "Can you believe there aren't even any roaches here?! NOT authentic enough for me!" — but the food (especially the pho broth, strong on the star anise) is legit. Just ask all the Vietnamese families lunching there over the weekend.
photos by Adam Erace
Beck's Cajun Cafe, coming correct with N'awlins fare in Reading Terminal since 2009, is opening a second location this summer. (Recently departed food editor Drew Lazor digs their gator gumbo.) The destination is 30th Street Station, the ETA July, according to chef/owner Bill Beck. Expect Terminal favorites like po'boys and Cajun meatloaf, plus an expanded menu of the kind of salads Meal Ticket can get behind, namely the Cajun Chef's, loaded with tasso, smoked turkey and pickled veg.
Rachel Klein’s vegan commissary, Miss Rachel's Pantry (1732 W. Passyunk), opens today and accepting rezzies for its first communal farmhouse-table dinner this Fri., June 8. The inaugural animal-free feast is $45 for four courses (gluten-free option for each) and includes dishes like English pea fritters, corn-and-chanterelle chowder with grilled ramps and coconut bacon and strawberry shortcake. (Full menu after the jump.) BYOB for the house-made “spritzes;” we’re feeling a smoky mescal for the ginger-lemon-pear flavor. For reservations, email (rachel@missrachelspantry.com) or call 215-798-0053.
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