June is the planned roll-out for Jose Garces' Village Whiskey (118 S. 20th St.), a snug bar (only 30 seats) at the northwest corner of 20th and Sansom, next to Tinto.
Village Whiskey's concept will be whiskies/cocktails plus bar food priced under $20.
Yes, after all those Latin concepts (Amada, Tinto, Distrito, Chifa, Mercat a la Planxa), the Chicago native is going all Yankee on us.
This one also is aimed not as a destination but as a neighborhood hang for Rittenhouse Square.
Jun Aizaki of Creme Design, who set up the other Garces restaurants, is decorating Village Whiskey, going for an easygoing, dimly lit saloon/speakeasy look with black-and-white tile floor, white tile walls, leather banquettes, pewter bar.
The bar, resembling library stacks, will serve about 80 to 100 varieties of whiskey, bourbon, rye and scotch from Scotland, Canada, Ireland, United States and Japan, plus wines (sparkling varieties) and American beers.
Garces' people send word of 16 house cocktails developed by bar manager Paul Rodriguez, including classics (made with housemade bitters) and more contemporary ones. They've affixed cute names, including the Village Idiot, made with Fighting Cock Kentucky 108-proof whiskey.
Chef de cuisine Dave Conn -- chef de cuisine at Tinto and previously one of the opening line cooks at Amada -- will execute a raw bar; charcuterie and cheese plates; bar snacks (such as housemade cheese puffs, spicy cheddar popcorn and honey-roasted peanuts); house-cured pickles (served with a cocktail fork in a miniature Mason jar), plus ground-to-order Angus burgers, a veggie burger (ground to order?), a Bison burger, Vienna all-beef hot hog and duck-fat french fries.
Also coming soon in the neighborhood is Noble, down the block at 2025 Sansom, up for late this month or early May.
By the way, there's still no official word on a Garces partnership with the Liquor Control Board at 1111 Locust St.
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