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Openings
"A celebration of all things old-world" is one line the owners of Bainbridge Street Barrel House (625-27 Bainbridge St.) are using to describe the concept they're currently building out in the old appliance shop at the corner of Sixth and Bainbridge, right next to Bistrot La Minette and across the way from Beau Monde. The 80-seat space, which will also feature room for 40 outdoors, will be a cooper's dream, focused on wines, whiskeys and barrel-aged beers. The food will have a similar artisanal focus, a mixed-up menu accented with aged cheese, plenty of pickles and house-prepped breads and meats. No official word on when the Barrel House will open just yet, but construction's currently underway.
Avram Hornik of Four Corners Management first talked to us about his restoration of NoLibs' venerated jazz club Ortlieb's (847 N. Third St.) in July 2011 — nine months later and the old girl's ready for tunes once more. (It'd been vacant for two years prior.) Officially open at 5 p.m. tonight, the new-look Ortlieb's doesn't have much of a new look at all; it's still got the crimson-lit barroom vibe, centralized stage and old-timers' bar, but plush red-vinyl banquettes in lieu of tableclothed two-tops have freed up the room considerably.
When a casual Sunday stroll on the street where hippies meet revealed an orange sticker at 344 South, I had a sneaking feeling it had something to do with Billy Curry and Copabanana, which has held the Third-and-South corner down for three-and-a-half decades. So I asked Curry, who gave up the info on his new upscale wine, beer and whiskey bar called Redwood that should be open by late spring or early summer.
Huge coup for vegetation-minded Center Citizens: Former Horizons GM Nicole Marquis opened her vegan fast-food joint Hip City Veg (127 S. 18th St., 215-278-7605) in the old Pad Thai Shack yesterday. Steering clear of overt vegan propaganda and preachitude, Marquis' aim with Hip City is to provide a "100 percent plant-based" experience "familiar to meat eaters, without sacrificing affordability or taste." Her chef, Lauren Hooks, is knocking out a menu (see it here in PDF format) with populist appeal — think the "Ziggy" burger, a meatless riff on the Big Mac (yes, with "special sauce"), a crispy "chick'n" sandwich that plays off that popular fast-food option, and salads of the Caribbean, Asian and Mediterranean persuasions, all made with local ingredients. (Those bananas don't count.) That thoughtful approach extends into realms like packaging (compostable) and delivery (by bicycle, Spring Garden to Washington north to south and Front to the bridge east to west).
Hip City Veg has been slammed since opening its doors (here's a real-time shot of the lunch line!), but generous hours should help assuage the demand — they serve daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Peter McAndrews, the most Italian Irish guy we know, says his Media restaurant in the old Locust Crest Tavern (1191 N. Middletown Road) should be ready by next week. Name of the pizzeria has changed a bit, and changed sex, from Il Porto to La Porta — romance languages, you just gotta break balls with your masculine/feminine suffixes, don't you? — but still means "the door." Only now the door keeps saying how cute Jon Snow is.
Took a quick spin through the fast-approaching Rittenhouse Tavern yesterday — the Restaurant Associates-helmed restaurant in the Art Alliance (251 S. 18th St.) is polishing up for a Tuesday, April 24 public debut. Run in front and back of house by Dan Elliott and Nicholas Elmi respectively, the Tavern is hoping to wedge into that very specific upscale-casual niche once lorded over in this neighborhood by Brasserie Perrier and Striped Bass — not stuffy or stilted, but dead serious about its food and drink. As you can see from the pics, no starched tablecloths, just pretty wood and mod banquettes throughout the multi-room concept. And R'house al fresco addicts will surely be geeked over the Tavern's flower-framed outdoor patio, accessible both through the main Alliance entrance on 18th and a gate along the building's park-facing side. Hearing that management is toying with the idea of teasing out impromptu happy hour-type events for this open-air space via Twitter.
Last September we mentioned that Wingstop, the national chicken chain pitchmanned by Troy Aikman (booooooo), was targeting the Philly market heavily. Now comes word from the company that Philly franchisee Richard Johnson has signed up to open eight Wingstops in the area. Right now he's scouting in Roxborough, Wyncote and the Northeast for locations (there's already one at Temple). So what motivated Johnson, a prolific McDonald's franchisee, to run with Wingstop? One of Team Meal Ticket's favorite rappers, of course:
Johnson first heard about Wingstop on the radio while driving around Philadelphia with his youngest son, Tristan.
"My son and I were in the car, listening to the radio, and we heard a DJ talking about Rick Ross opening a Wingstop franchise in Memphis,” he remembers. “My son said 'Dad, if Rick Ross has a Wingstop, you need one, too.'"
FUCK A BLOG DOG CUZ ONE DAY WE GON MEET!
View galleryGarces Group has decided to turn its westward charge eastward — Jose and Co. are opening three new restaurants in Atlantic City. Located in Revel, the newly built casino on the AC boardwalk that already houses a bunch of restaurants, Garces' Jersey expansion includes new locations of Amada, Village Whiskey and Distrito.
Johnny Utah's, the mechanical bull-centric concept popular with urban cowboys in NYC, is coming to Philly, taking over the space most recently held by Buckhead Saloon (461 N. Third St.). The grand opening is set for April 26 and it looks like they're in the thick of hiring shot girls and waitstaff right now. What's being overlooked here, at least in our view: Johnny Utah happens to be the name of the greatest Big 10 quarterback-turned-fed in cinematic history. And we also happen to already have a coffee shop called Bodhi (410 S. Second St.). Ahhhhhhh! It begs the question: Will the Philly JU's serve a meatball sandwich? (Nothing on the New York menu.) If so, we're definitely getting two. Vaya con dios.
Gene Giuffi of Cochon (801 E. Passyunk Ave.), perhaps the most meat-loving chef in all of Philly, is doubling down on his torrid affair of the flesh with Blue Belly BBQ, a "yankee" 'cue joint he's hoping to open in June in the original Little Fish at Sixth and Catharine (above), a space briefly earmarked for a Thai restaurant from chef Tyson Wong Ophaso.
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