|
|
|
Chef Salad
Marshall Green of Cafe Estelle (444 N. Fourth St.) is the latest chef to flex his green thumb on restaurant property. (Remember when Lynn Rinaldi and Corey Baver of Paradiso and Izumi hooked their roof up a month ago?) Green is an especially auspicious position, since his pops, David, owns Primex Garden Center in Glenside; father and son installed a 25-foot-long, 5-foot-wide raised bed along the kitchen side of Estelle's building. Soil goes in "Monday or Tuesday,” with planting to follow. Green is hoping it's not too late to get some fruit off pepper and tomato starters, and wants to trellis the concrete wall for peas and beans. "I've got a fig tree in my yard at home, too," he says. "That’s definitely coming over."
Photo: Drew Lazor
Jersey native, former Rat's chef and Top Chef season 7 winner Kevin Sbraga just touched base with Meal Ticket to share some prelim details on the simply named Sbraga, his restaurant up for an early fall opening in the Symphony House space that was last Chew Man Chu (440 S. Broad St.).
Sbraga searched Philly and Jersey high and low for real estate before landing on this location, which he says he decided on based on its corner appeal and the fact that it's already been properly outfitted. "I looked at doing things from scratch or taking things over at existing spaces," says Sbraga. "At first, I was kind of hesitant [about Broad and Pine]. I didn't think it'd be right for me, but the moment I walked in there, I said 'This is it.'" The entire aesthetic will be overhauled, with components like a brand-new bar on the to-do list.
As far as the food goes — Sbraga is leaning toward a four-course, $45 format a setup he characterizes as "a steal" (a la carte will be available at the bar). "For many years, I've been cooking inside of a box, inside of certain categories," says Sbraga of the concept. "Rat's, for example, was a French restaurant with some American influences. This will be an American restaurant, with not only French influences, but some Mediterranean influence, and maybe a nod or two from Southeast Asia based on my experience in Singapore [for the Top Chef finale]."
Cocktail, wine and beer lists will be curated in-house, while the dessert/pastry program will be curated in-in-house — Sbraga's wife, Jesmary, former pastry chef at Brasserie Perrier and now a culinary teacher at Burlington County Institute of Technology, will put the sweet approach together.
This project is an expression of me," adds Sbraga. "I've never had that opportunity anywhere else."
Photo: kevin-sbraga.com
The pig dinner at Mémé (2201 Spruce St.), truly the Osiris of this Philly chef-collab shit, will celebrate its third installment on Monday, July 18. (Check out our 2009 shots and Julia Koprak's pics from 2010's porcine shindig.) This year, Matt Levin (Adsum), Michael Solomonov (Zahav), Peter Woolsey (Bistrot La Minette), Pierre Calmels (Bibou), Terence Feury (Fork), John Taus (The Corner) and Monica Glass and Jennifer Carroll (10 Arts) will thrown down in David Katz's modest open kitchen, with wine pairings (included in the $100 price tag) again handled by sommelier Michael Madrigale of NYC's Bar Boulud. There are still a handful of spots left for the two-seating evening; party size cannot exceed six. Call 215-735-4900 to reserve.
Photo: Julia Koprak
Check out newly Beard-minted chef Michael Solomonov of Zahav talk about his background on this "Platelist" segment on the ABC Nightly News. Peep him doing his best Turbo and Ozone at the end there, too.
We're hearing that an orange PLCB placard has officially gone up at the former Ansill space at Third and Bainbridge — come late fall, it'll be the site of chef Jason Cichonski's own restaurant, in partnership with Chip Roman of Blackfish. (The two opened Mica in Chestnut Hill back in March, with Cichonski (above) serving as opening chef de cuisine; it was always the plan for Cichonski to run a spot of his own.) No name yet on the name of Cichonski's spot, but we understand that it'll feature a progressive American menu in a casual setting, with beer, wine and cocktails that'll reflect the chef's style.
Check out the June 16 issue of CP for Adam Erace's official review of Mica.
Two weeks ago, we told you that David Katz's mom, Suzanne, would be cooking a Moroccan-Jewish family feast at Katz’s restaurant Mémé (2201 Spruce St.) on Wed., June 15. Quick recap: $45 a head, communal seating, BYO or $5 Moroccan wines. If you haven’t booked a table yet, we’ve got the full menu after the jump to entice. The Katzes had us at potato pastels.
Photo: Drew Lazor
Just got off the horn with Peter McAndrews (Modo Mio, Paesano's, Monsù), who recently wrapped filming with Aaron Sanchez for Food Network. "We made him two spicy dishes — a Sicilian bouillabaisse and rigatoni with harissa, mozzarella, mint and lemon — for a new show," says the chef, who after cooled Sanchez down with prickly pear and blood orange panna cotta. That's nice, but McAndrews dropped a much more interesting tidbit during our convo: He's opening a brick-oven pizzeria, wine and beer bar in the 'burbs. No name yet, but the concept, opening in September, will be located in Media, in the old Locust Crest Tavern on 352; it'll feature the "Venetian-style bar snacks" McAndrews calls cicchetti.
Photo: Drew Lazor
Bibou chef/co-owner Pierre Calmels will hop behind the sushi bar at his buddy Zama Tanaka's Zama (128 S. 19th St.) this coming Monday, June 6, for a little French-bistro-by-way-of-Tokyo action. First order of business for the chef will be learning how to make the "Bibou Roll" — dashi butter-sautéed escargot, haricots verts and fennel maki, topped with edamame and shiso — Tanaka recently introduced as a fundraiser for CHOP. Calmels will then stick around to cook during dinner service; no official word yet on specific dishes or whether they'll be a set menu option, but regardless seems like a choice opportunity to eat some good fish from a cheffing fish out of water.
Photo: zamarestaurant.com
We recently told you about the Artisanal by Plenty line of sandwiches for sale at Shot Tower Coffee (542 Christian St.), but they're not the only outside operation providing cheffy between-bread options at local cafés. Matt Levin of Adsum (700 S. Fifth St.) recently began providing sandwiches for Evan Inatome's Elixr (207 S. 15th St.) — peep a waldorf chicken salad or a wasabi-mayo'd egg salad every day, each priced at $8. The new OCF Coffee House at 18th and South, meanwhile, is using charcuterie and smoked product from North South Canning Company & Meatery (the imprint started by Wishing Well chef Carmen Cappello and 'cue man Mark Coates) to put together its line of sandwiches. Hit up OCF for North South smoked salmon with red onion, red pepper and cheese; or prosciutto with smoked mozzarella, red peppers and balsamic, either served on Wild Flour Bakery bread.
Chef David Katz's momma, Suzanne — aka Mémé, or grandma, to his two sons — will visit her own boy's restaurant (2201 Spruce St.) on Wednesday, June 15 to cook a homestyle meal celebrating the Katz fam's Moroccan-Jewish heritage. Guests who plop down at communal tables will be treated to traditional Moroccan dishes like baked fish with tomatoes; spicy meat-filled cigars; potato pastels; meatballs with celery and peas; and a tagine of lamb. The family-style affair, which'll cost $45 a head (the restaurant will pour $5 Moroccan wines, and BYO is fine), will have two seatings, 6 and 8:30 p.m. Call 215-735-4900 for rezzies.
- barstool scientist
- Booze
- Brew Revue
- Chef Salad
- Closings
- Coffee
- Contests
- Dealage
- Dirty Dishes
- Don't Front
- Eat This Immediately
- Field Trip
- Food and Art
- Food and Holidays
- Food and Movies
- Food and Music
- Food and Politics
- Food and Sports
- Food and Web
- Food Blogs
- Food Books
- Food Events
- Food News
- Food TV
- Gifted
- Happy Hour Hopper
- How-To
- In Print
- Interview
- Meal Ticket
- Menu Time
- Not So Quickfire
- Notes from the Weekend
- On Wheels
- Openings
- Patio Drinking
- Philly Beer Week 2010
- Photos
- Private Chef POV
- Product Placement
- Recipes
- Snack Time
- Stiff Drank
- SUPPER
- Tea
- Testing
- Ticket Stubs
- Top Chef
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
- Video
- Weekly Candy
- Weird Regional Foods
- We're Here to Help
- Where'd We Eat?
- Drew Lazor's Ill-Advised Rant Factory
- Pregame
- Ill-Advised Ranting
- The Week Without Meat
- Philly Beer Week 2009
- Real Big
- Where'd I Eat Last Night?
- Top Chef Masters
- The Good Word
- Next Iron Chef
- Arterial Terrorism
- Food and Radio
