Michael Klein, Philly.com
Sixteen months after opening Nomad Pizza here, Tom Grim and Stalin Bedon are on the move again.
They have acquired 1305 Locust St., which until yesterday was Spiga, an Italian yearling in the Sena family orbit.
"This came up so quickly and we grabbed it," said Grim, who coveted the old wood-fired oven that harks back to the restaurant's days as the original Girasole.
Michael Klein, Philly.com
Ben Thomas, who got to Philly six years ago through a job at Le Bec-Fin, is about two months from opening Restaurant Cerise in the former Main Line Grill/Brgr Joint space at 1011 W. Lancaster Ave. in Bryn Mawr.
Thomas, 32, working with his Villanova-raised wife, Elena, envisions Cerise as a contemporary European BYOB with dishes from France on down to Spain and the Mediterranean. But true to their roots - "not that fusion confusion."
They are going the prix-fixe route Wednesday to Sunday: four courses with five or six options for each for $35 on weeknights and $45 on weekends. The weekend brunch will be European-style brunch - a self-service salad (pates, terrines, cheese), followed by two set courses (one breakfast-y, like shirred eggs, and the next more on the lines of lunch/dinner).
Michael Klein, Philly.com
His name is on the facade, but Peter Serpico is one of the lowest-key chefs you'll get to know.
Pose for a photo? He knows he has to, since he's opening a restaurant. He winces, looks forward, and returns to work.
Serpico - the solo debut of the former culinary director of David Chang's Momofuku empire and the opening chef de cuisine/partner at NYC's Momofuku Ko - opens Friday, June 21 at 604 South St. (As the management's business cards read: "Yes, South Street.")
Michael Klein, Philly.com
The Peter Serpico/Stephen Starr restaurant opens June 21 at 604 South St.
Here's the menu, though some prices are not set in stone. Click on selected items for description and some photos. (On a mobile, go here.)
Michael Klein, Philly.com
For the sixth time in the last seven years, Citizens Bank Park has won the annual survey of the Top 10 Vegetarian-Friendly Major League Ballparks.
It's courtesy of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
Unfortunately, the Phillies this season are also winning plaudits from People for the Ethical Treatment of Opposing Pitchers.
Michael Klein, Philly.com
Underdogs in South Philly has gone under.
The hot dog shop opened last October at 1205 S. Ninth St. - next to Geno's.
The flagship at 17th and Sansom Streets in Center City is unaffected, says owner Robert Amar.
Michael Klein, Philly.com
Here are the new restaurants in the Philadelphia area, plotted out neatly.
View Mike's Map of Restaurant Openings: Updated 6/18/13 in a full screen map
Michael Klein, Philly.com
Those out-of-town restaurants just lovelovelove Rittenhouse.
I'm receiving smoke signals that Dinosaur Bar-B-Que - the biker bar/blues joint that's the toast of Upstate New York - is working on a deal to take a building on the 1500 block of Chestnut Street that, when fully developed, will back up to Sansom Street across from Ladder 15.
Dinosaur - now owned mainly by gazillionaire George Soros - was founded in the early 1980s in Syracuse and expanded to Rochester in 1998, to Harlem in 2004, to Troy, N.Y., in 2010; to Newark, N.J., in 2012; and to Stamford, Conn., in 2012. A Brooklyn location is due to open soon, and Buffalo is up for fall.
Michael Klein, Philly.com
Daytime TV's Live With Kelly and Michael is hosting 10 trucks from around the country, competing for fame and glory in Live's "Truckin’ Amazing Cook-Off.”
Each Friday for 10 weeks, a trucker will show up, do a demo, present a recipe, and hope to get votes.
The Philly area has three representatives: the Mustache Mobile and Michael “The Butcher” Hauke of the seminal Atlantic City sandwich shop Tony Boloney's; George Bieber of the Sunflower Truck Stop: Mobile Café, usually found at the Phoenixville Farmers Market.; and Sugar Philly, whose chef Dan Tang prepped French macarons on the show Monday.
Michael Klein, Philly.com
Big news for Marc Vetri:
The restaurateur and partners - with two joints in the pipeline - have a third on the way.
Vetri has just signed a deal with Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp. to develop a restaurant at the entrance of the Navy Yard. Basically, if you're driving south on Broad Street through the front gate, it's that building on the left known on base as Building 500.
