A dose of suburban Panache in Blue Bell
Menu is Italian/American. Neapolitan-style pizzas come out of a wood-burning, coal-fired oven tucked behind one of the two bars. Yes, two bars.
Habib Troudi of Blue Bell's Ristorante Castello has ventured a short way down Skippack Pike to open his second restaurant, Panache Wood-Fire Grill (602 Skippack Pike, Blue Bell, 215-641-9000).
The polished Panache, nearly two years in the making, represents a complete gutting of the building (across from the Blue Bell Inn at Skippack and Penllyn Pikes) that has housed a series of restaurants, including Marabella's, Blue Horse Tavern, and L'Angolo Blue.
Menu is Italian/American. Neapolitan-style pizzas come out of a wood-burning, coal-fired oven tucked behind one of the two bars. Rest of the menu includes steaks, chops, pastas, seafood, and sandwiches.
Be forewarned: In its early going, it's been mobbed, and the dining room din is abetted by live music on Friday and Saturday nights. Entrées start in the mid-teens and head up through the $20s.
It's open for lunch/brunch and dinner daily, and there's free valet parking.