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Archive: December, 2011
In Riva (4116 Ridge Ave.), the East Falls restaurant we first mentioned in November, will open to the public tonight at 5 p.m. Philly developer Mark Sherman and chef Arthur Cavaliere (El Vez, Amada, Parc, etc.) are behind the Southern Italian spot, situated right on the banks of the Schuylkill in the old Franco's Trattoria. The menu, with prices falling between $9 and $19, features Neapolitan-style pies (done in a proper wood-burning oven) and "contemporary" antipasti (will post full menu here when it comes through); they have a liquor license, too, pouring "New and Old World" wines, plus cocktails and Italian craft beers. In Riva will be open daily for dinner starting at 5 p.m.
UPDATE [10:20 a.m.]: Opening menu viewable after the jump (click to enlarge). Pizza menu looking proper!
Monday, December 5
Chef John Taus has launched a new menu at The Corner.
Jamonera, the Spanish wine bar redo of Bindi, should open in January.
Here's our recipe (not really, too easy) for idiot-proof chicken thighs.
Porchetta, stone crab claws in Florida, and Marky Ramone marinara (?) in Notes from the Weekend.
Tuesday, December 6
Benny Lai from Vietnam will open Grill Fish Café in January.
Stephen Starr and Jim Burke (formerly of James) have opened Caffé Storico in NYC.
The Philadelphia Food Truck Association holds its first meeting.
The owners of Cuba Libre and chef Matt Levin are taking over the Marathon at 10th and Walnut.
Wednesday, December 7
The Berley brothers' Shane Confectionery is now open in Old City.
Sneak a peek at some of the food and drink at Lemon Hill in Fairmount.
Toté is the name of a new gluten-free bakery opening in the Italian Market.
Thursday, December 8
The Broad-and-Chestnut location of Marathon is shutting down, too.
Robert Bynum is opening new BYO Heirloom in Chestnut Hill, with chef Al Paris in the kitchen.
Friday, December 9
Mike Stollenwerk of Fish dedicates a bike to Philly cops in memory of officer Daniel Faulkner.
Pita Uno is open in Center City, and another's on the way in Manayunk.
Brunch is coming to the Khyber Pass Pub (56 S. Second St.) in true New Orleans fashion. Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., brunchgoers can enjoy dishes such as shrimp, tasso ham and Anson Mills grits; boudin and two eggs any style; NOLA specialties like beignets and praline bacon (exactly what it sounds like); and Bananas Foster French toast with Leidenheimer's bread and brown sugar/cinnamon/dark rum sauce. They'll also be serving Community Coffee's dark roast with chicory in the form of café au lait. If you're into day drinking, the cocktail list features a Creole Bloody Mary, Bourbon Milk Punch, a New Orleans Golden Fizz and the very apropos, very boozy Vieux Carré. Full menu after the jump (click to enlarge).
View galleryOpen for about two weeks, Pita Uno (138 S. 11th St.) is serving up a small, straightforward Israeli menu (falafel, kebabs, pita sandwiches, hummus, soups) on a busy 11th Street strip that already caters to a high volume of Center Citizens and Jeffersonites. Owner Oriel Elbahary has been in Philly for about 13 years; he was formerly in the construction field and this is his first food venture in the States. (He did work in restaurants in his native Israel.) Though he's new to the biz here, Elbahary's already savvy enough not to give up any of the goods on family recipes, like the secret behind the kickin' hot sauce (more like a paste) that comes on the side of any plate by request. This isn't the only Pita Uno for Philly — he just got neighborhood approval for a second location at 4324 Main Street in Manayunk. Expect that one to launch in the first quarter of 2012.
The restaurant, which delivers to the immediate area, is open from 10 till about 6 every day but Saturday; closing time will extend to 9:30 p.m. soon.
Mike Stollenwerk is busy this week. He’s trying to get Fish, his stalwart seafooderie, open at its new home at 1234 Locust ("Either the week before or the week after Christmas") while inching toward closing its current 1708 Lombard location to begin work on Brick American Eatery. As a conscious citizen, he couldn't help but want to reach out to his new neighborhood — specifically his new corner. Thirty years ago today, Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner was killed outside the address where Fish will soon reside. In dedication to the memory of Faulkner, Fish and GM Jim Evans of the Independent Hotel (where the restaurant resides) will donate a police bicycle to the Sixth District during a ceremony at 4 this afternoon, mere days after D.A. Seth Williams decided against a death penalty hearing for Mumia Abu-Jamal, Faulkner's convicted killer.
- Pure Tacos, Ocean City's gluten-free taqueria, is coming to Philly. Due for a February opening at 1935 Chestnut, the restaurant will feature the same menu as its Shore counterpart, but with "a flavored guacamole concept" and seating room.
- Adele's tour rider has surfaced on the Internet, so let's all read it and laugh. The concert contract requires only the "best quality European lager beer," citing Beck's, Stella Artois and Peroni as acceptable examples. She forbids all North American beer. Apparently her taste in booze is as boring as her music.
- Bleacher Report has put together a beer lover's guide to every BCS game, subbing in breweries to represent the competing schools. Wait, isn't it against the law to drink anything but Nati Ice while watching college football?
- Please wrap all of my gifts in cheeseburger wrapping paper this year.
- While we're on the burger tip, here's how to make the perfect one, according to the Bob Ross of cheeseburgers.
- If, by an odd stroke of fate, you find yourself in Mozambique in the next three weeks and want to keep your flesh, DO NOT EAT THE BANANAS.
- Milanese artist Sara Asnaghi has channeled her inner zombie to create a series of edible (in theory) brains called "What's in your head?" It seems Asnaghi has hemp seeds, rice, sugar, grass and a sandwich in hers. She should get that checked out.
Restaurateur Robert Bynum (Warmdaddy's, Green Soul, Relish) will open his latest, Heirloom, at 8705 Germantown Avenue in Chestnut Hill next Friday, Dec. 16. Journeyman chef Al Paris, who we last saw at City Tap House in West Philly, has come on board to run the kitchen here (he worked with Robert and brother Ben in the Zanzibar Blue days), cooking a menu themed around American culinary regionalism. Rather than playing exclusively within the sandbox of American Southern cuisine, like the Bynums' other joints, the 50-seat BYO will also take on flavors from New England, the Midwest, the Southwest and West Coast. See for reference entrées like Maine lobster with garnet yam dumplings; Lancaster duck breast with foie gras and parsnip hash; and Nebraska beef short ribs with a sassafras glaze. Full menu is after the jump (click to enlarge).
Heirloom, a 50-seat BYO, will serve dinner every day but Monday, with Sunday brunch running from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Tough go of it for the Marathon Grill brand this week — fresh on the heels of the 10th and Walnut location falling into the hands of Cuba Libre's owners and chef Matt Levin in a legal settlement comes word that the Marathon at 1339 Chestnut is closing, as well. An official statement from the company:
Due to increasing rental expenses, Marathon has elected to close its Broad and Chestnut Street location. Marathon has been operating restaurants in this City since 1984 and will continue its commitment to focus on its primary passion of serving locally sourced, quality food at affordable prices to Philadelphians at its other Center City restaurants located at 16th and Sansom Streets, 19th and Spruce Streets, 1818 Market Street and 10th & Walnut.
Nate Adler, whose short-lived Kitchen at Penn (now Roost) peddled some promising eats around the Ivy League last year, is back in the food game with The Walkin Kitchen, a "culinar-e-magazine" he launched with girlfriend Sanae Lemoine this month. "It's a place where writing, art and music can come together to enhance culinary art and recreate food experiences," says Adler of TWK. "Not just top 10 sandwiches or top 10 pizzas."
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