Archive: March, 2011
Michael Klein, Philly.com
The restaurant going into the AKA Rittenhouse Square, on 18th Street north of Walnut, has an overseer (David Fields) and a chef (Bryan Sikora).
And now it has a name, one that at least will provide an alphabetical advantage.
It's known as a.kitchen -- pronounced "ay kitchen."
Michael Klein, Philly.com
Speck, in the Piazza at Schmidt's in Northern Liberties, cost nearly a million bucks to build.
And it might very well open someday.
But will Shola Olunloyo be chef-owner of the restaurant?
Michael Klein, Philly.com
Panini, salads, frozen yogurt, and, yes, Tastykakes will be on the menu this season at Citizens Bank Park.
Concessionaire Aramark this morning announced some additions.
More healthful: A Philly Fresh stand, behind Section 139, will feature a Hall of Fame Salad (mixed greens, red grapes, pistachios, dried cranberries, blue cheese, balsamic vinaigrette); Shanghai Chicken Salad (grilled chicken breast, mixed greens, crispy Asian-style noodles, carrots, scallions, low-fat ginger soy dressing); trail mix; whole-grain pretzels; strawberry banana, and mango smoothies; low-fat yogurt and berry parfait; hummus dip with pita crisps; carrots and celery with low-fat ranch dressing; Go-Gurt yogurt and sugar-free Tastykakes.
Michael Klein, Philly.com
Central Pennsylvania's Appalachian Brewing Company is shooting for end of April or early May to open its first suburban Philly brewpub, which it is setting up in the former Hemingway's in Collegeville Station (Main Street and West Third Avenue in Collegeville).
ABC's Artie Tafoya tells me that the new location will most resemble the company's Gettysburg location, as it will have pitched ceilings and heavy use of timbers.
Throughout the year, ABC offers 20 to 25 different beers, Tafoya said.
Michael Klein, Philly.com
Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson, drummer for the Roots and bandleader on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, is expanding his personal brand, as his manager says.
Part of that expansion involves an undisclosed food project in Philly, his hometown.
He needs a chef.
Michael Klein, Philly.com
Jolly Weldon has indeed packed up the keyboards from Jolly’s Dueling Piano Bar from 2006 Chestnut St. and on Friday, March 25 will open in a larger space in the Academy House (1420 Locust St.). See background here. It will be open for lunch and dinner and Sunday brunch; the dueling-piano shows start at 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays.
Gordon Dinerman, opening a brick-oven pizza and craft-beer joint in late May called Birra on the East Passyunk strip at 12th and Morris Streets, has a few novel twists in store: Everything on the menu will be available as a pizza topping, such as the meatballs from the meatball gratin appetizer, which can be paired with wild mushrooms and cured olive paste, or roasted peppers and artichokes twinned with several selections of locally cured salumi, or a seafood pie combining baked clams casino, shrimp scampi, and mussels fra diavolo. Dinerman's signature will be Birra Bowls, an open-face calzone baked in a bowl and flipped upside down.
Hate to start a sentence with a numeral, so note that 1601, the gastropub at 10th and Tasker Streets in South Philly, seems to want to reopen. It's been shut down for several weeks, and its Facebook page cited an "administrative glitch" with the Liquor Control Board. So what on earth could precipitate an administrative glitch resulting in the closure of an otherwise operating bar? Management of 1601 didn't reply to my emails, but the LCB explains that the license expired Oct. 31, 2010, and that the licensee reached out to the authorities for renewal on March 14, 2011. Since 1601 had been out of compliance for more than 90 days, the state investigates to determine whether it is still current with health requirements and meets board requirements.So stay tuned.
Michael Klein, Philly.com
Michael Solomonov of Society Hill's Zahav and the Center City temple of Italian dining Vetri have made the James Beard Foundation's list of nominations for culinary awards.
Solomonov, also chef at Xochitl and Percy Street, is the running for best chef in the mid-Atlantic region. (How only one Philly chef made it to the finals of this regional grouping is beyond me.)
Vetri is one of five restaurants vying for outstanding restaurant in the United States.
Michael Klein, Philly.com
Kevin Meeker is one of the oldtimers in Old City. Twenty-eight years ago, he and his wife, Janet, opened Philadelphia Fish & Company, which in 2009 they reconfigured as Q BBQ & Tequila as they took on a partner, Tom Stewart.
But although the lease is due to expire in August, Meeker told me that his days at 207 Chestnut St. are numbered.
He acknowledges that he is behind on his rent, and a check of Common Pleas Court records confirms that the landlord has filed a judgment.
Michael Klein, Philly.com
The spot in Northern Liberties off the corner of Second Street and Fairmount Avenue that was Kong and previously Sovalo (702 N. Second St.) is getting new life as a gastropub called The Blind Pig. More info forthcoming.
Cooperage Wine & Whiskey Bar (137 S. Seventh St., inside the Curtis Center) is starting a restaurant industry night on the third Monday of each month. It's applying the term "industry night" a tad loosely, shall I say, as GM Alex Bokulich is opening this event to anyone who works in or patronizes restaurants. Yes, open to everyone. Chef Ben Martin will put out comp food from 7 to 8 p.m. along with drink specials until closing at 2 a.m. The launch event this Monday (March 21) will include free roasted hog on Weck sandwiches, that Buffalo-area treat. After 8 p.m., the sammies will sell for $5 each. Martin is roasting a 75-pound hog and basting it with Rogue’s Bourbon Barrel-aged John John Dead Guy Ale.
Michael Klein, Philly.com
No time like the present, right?
Two pubs have picked March 17 -- one of the busiest drinkin' days of the year -- for their rollouts.
In the works for nearly 15 months, 1518 Bar & Grill is serving a moderate-priced Greek-influenced pub menu (lunch and dinner daily) and 10 beers on tap beneath behind-the-bar TVs in a narrow storefront at 1518 Sansom St. (267-639-6851), next to Oyster House, beneath a portion of Nodding Head, and a couple of doors from Oscar's and Ladder 15.
