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Yesterday we shared a handful of details on Sbraga, chef Kevin Sbraga's much-anticipated restaurant opening Saturday in the Symphony House at Broad and Pine. Today we've got a look inside the space — a dramatically different look and feel from its predecessor — plus the opening menu.
Every trace of the flashy, shortlived Chew Man Chu is Chew Man Through, but Sbraga held onto a few of the design elements for practical purposes — for example, that restaurant had a slew of odd goldfish sticker-adorned plates affixed to the wall behind the bar, which the chef was able to remove, strip, clean and save. (They're perfectly good plates, after all.) In fact, something like 80 percent of the materials Sbraga used to revamp the corner restaurant are repurposed. Philly-based firm AP3C Architects saved the Douglas fir slats you see dressing the dining room pillars and panels from a defunct textile mill in Fishtown, and the marble topping the bar and and open kitchen line was salvaged, as well.
Sbraga isn't following any particular culinary path where the food's concerned — "The only discipline is that it tastes good," he says. French, Italian and Southeast Asian influences are represented in careful stead on the menu, set up as a four-course prix-fixe for those at dining room tables and a la carte for bar denizens. Check it out in full after the jump (click to enlarge). Sbraga opens to the public this Saturday; 215-735-1913 for tables.
Though they initially planned on easing into it by Wednesday, this weekend's dry runs at Barcade (1114 Frankford Ave.) were so successful that the owners decided to throw the switch and go live to the public last night. They're introducing their combo craft beer/vintage video game concept, the third of its kind, with a grand opening beginning today at noon, meaning those who have off work for Columbus Day can celebrate the explorer's legacy the way he would've wanted you to — with WWF WrestleFest. Check out our Sept. 23 post for more on the spot, peep their current draft list and of course the game lineup (don't sleep on Magic Sword!). As far as dealage goes, they'll knock a buck off all beers and well drinks every day until 7 p.m.; on Fridays and Sundays, you can cop a sandwich, a beer and a side of chips for the flat price of $10. Hours moving forward: Mon.-Thu., 4 p.m.-2 a.m.; Fri.-Sun., noon-2 a.m.
Isabel, from the owners of Fairmount's Trio (2624 Brown St.), will open to the public this coming Monday, Oct. 3. Swung by the Mexicali BYOB, in the ground-floor restaurant space of the 2601 Parkway condo complex (2601 Pennsylvania Ave., 215-472-8088), to snap a few pics.
Partners Vlad Uchenik and Paul Ferker will debut Crisp (32 S. 18th St.), the first Philadelphia location of the NYC-based falafel stuffer, tomorrow, Sept. 27. (We first mentioned them in May.) Taking over the space vacated by the short-lived Falafel Factory, the all-vegetarian Crisp specializes in fried-chickpea-ball sandwiches dressed up in styles like the Mexican (with fresh guac, corn, salsa and nacho chips) and the Africa (peanut sauce, sweet potato, corn, tomato, scallion, habanero harissa). Other menu options include falafel salads (all the fillings mixed up with fresh-baked pita on the side), homemade vegetarian soups and chilis and the brand-new falafel "pizza," an open-faced falafel riff with special sauce. The eco-pretty space is designed mostly for takeout, though there is a small amount of counter seating. One fun feature of every Crisp order is what they call "The Handbag," a sturdy cardboard takeout box (patent pending) that zips in half for convenient falafel munching. This could very well put my days of disastrous vehicular falafel consumption behind me.
Opening hours: Mon.-Fri., 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sat.-Sun., noon-8 p.m.
Philly's Barcade (1114 Frankford Ave.), in the works since the spring of 2010, is very close to opening, if a recent swingthru was any indication. Some city paperwork is all that's really holding back the five owners, who have locations in Williamsburg and Jersey City, from rolling out their craft beer/vintage video game combo concept in Fishtown.
View galleryNew Mexican bar/restaurant Loco Pez (2401 E. Norris St.) — that's "crazy fish," for our gringo readers — sneakily arrived on the Fishtown scene Tuesday. Owned by Joe Beckham of Alfa (1709 Walnut St.), the dim, unmarked, tchotchke-filled corner joint serves a straightforward cash-only menu, as the sign above the bar so kindly notes (along with some other colorful phrases en espanol). They do Mexi street food, like Cali-style corn tortillas filled with carne asada, al pastor, mushroom and chorizo/potato; guac made on the spot; and "beans diablo" and hot dogs heavily endorsed by head bartender Erik Boardman (you may recognize him from Alfa or Xochitl). There's plenty of booze, too, with more than 20 beers (six on tap), wine, 25 types of tequila and specialty tequila cocktails like the Bel Air (made with Art in the Age's RHUBY). While Loco Pez is serving dinner only at the moment, we're told a 5-to-7 happy hour begins this coming Monday, followed by the bar's first-ever Taco Tuesday, with 50-cent tacos. In a few weeks they'll be ready to dish out brunch.
UPDATE [03oct11]: Correction — Loco Pez has not launched 50-cent Taco Tuesdays as previously reported, but owner Beckham says the bar does have plans to roll out a deal of this nature sometime in the future. Meal Ticket apologizes for the error.
Richard Nevada and Tina Sodi, the husband-wife combo of late Washington Square restaurant Sabbaba
(more recently Leila Café, which moved to 1356 South St.), are back to reclaim their old corner
spot with a Middle Eastern BYOB called King Tut (1240 Pine St., 215-735- 8111.). Set to open within the next few days, the restaurant will focus heavily on the family's Egyptian and Lebanese roots, providing an affordable selection of handmade dishes. For lunch they'll do sandwiches, salads, soups and rice platters, all priced just below $6. The dinner menu expands on these offerings, with meat and veggie entrees like grilled kafta, bamiya, addas bihamod and Nevada's personal favorite, mashawi, a mix of grilled lamb, chicken and kafta meant for two to share. They’ll also offer a grand opening special — choice of soup, app, entrée, dessert and beverage (try the deep purple karkadé, made of the Hibiscus sabdariffa flower) for $24.95. Belly dancers will entertain every Friday and Saturday from 6 p.m. until close. The spot will stay open until 10 pm. nightly.
The latest location of Robert and Raquel DeAbreu's Sabrina's Café opened this morning in the Ross Commons building on Drexel's campus (34th and Powelton). The restaurant, the third in Philly for the DeAbreus (910 Christian and 1804 Callowhill being their others), is spread across multiple rooms of the first floor of the building, a limestone Victorian gothic home built 123 years ago for railroad magnate Max Riebenack III. Just like the other cafés, simple and cheery décor elements abound here, and there's plenty of nice window seating in a breezeway looking out into Powelton Village. The menu is comparable in size and scope to Sabrina's Callowhill location, and they're also working on launching Spencer ΣTA Burger, a separate-but-associated burger grill (read the Greek letters as "Eat A"), as the school year progresses.
Opening hours: Sun.-Mon, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.; Tue.-Sat., 8 a.m.-10 p.m.
UPDATE [20sept11]: Added Sabrina's breakfast, sandwich and soup/salad menus after the jump (click to enlarge).
In early August, we hit you up with a food-centric preview of Tashan, Tiffin owner Munish Narula's upscale Indian restaurant at 777. S Broad (Broad and Catharine). Now that the space is just about ready to go (private launch party tomorrow night; soft-open to the public Friday evening), we snagged a few photos to get you a feel for the interior, designed with plenty of imported-from-India touches by Winka Dubbeldam.
Entering off Broad, Tashan's one big room, but there's multiple looks at work here — a butcher-block-table main dining room complete with three-sided booths; a central bar; a curtained lounge; a private dining room/3,000-bottle wine storage area; and a beautiful Robert True Ogden-designed communal table adjacent to chef Sylva Senat's open kitchen. Narula shipped several elements, like the towering Ganesh carving that greets diners at the hostess station, the glass-top lounge table and the hand-stitched curtains, direct from the motherland. The closeups above don't do the 130-seater full justice; to get the full effect, swing by throughout the weekend (walk-ins only), or book a table starting Monday.
Chicken.Org (534 S. Fourth St.), the organic poultry eatery from the owners of the nearby Burger.Org (326 South St.), has opened its doors. (We first mentioned it in late July.) The certified glatt kosher restaurant, which keeps a mashgiach, or kosher supervisor, on-site, offers chicken every which way — sandwiches, wings, chicken meatballs, rotisserie-style whole birds, honey/sesame — plus sides like hummus, cabbage salad, rice and roasted sweet potatoes. Aesthetically it's done up in a similar fashion to its burger-serving counterpart (also glatt kosher now), with plenty of eye-rubbing greens and oranges everywhere.
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