Now open: Ti Penso, a BYOB on South Street West
Despite the Italian-sounding name, the format is American. There's outdoor seating, too.
Chef Teresa "T" De Luca has made her solo-ownership debut with Ti Penso, a rustic American BYOB, at 2108 South St.
It replaces the long-running Roberto Cafe.
De Luca says the name, aside from punning her nickname, is a personal statement. Her father, an Italian immigrant, said it, meaning "thinking of you."
De Luca, formerly one-half of the team behind Port Richmond's Hinge Cafe, is open now for dinner Tuesday through Sunday from 5 to 11 p.m. Seating is in the cozy dining room, or on a patio tucked out back.
Menu (here) includes a pierogi du jour, a daily mussels dish, and a gnocchi basket (that is, gnocchi served in a basket made of cheese and parsley); aside from two pastas ($14 and $15), entrees are in the $20s. In an unusual approach, De Luca calculates sales tax in the price. Also, she provides wine suggestions, such as "full-bodied chardonnay" for the butterfish. (There's a state store on South Street three blocks west.)
Among De Luca's specialties is a rich pastry called a T Bomb, which layers chocolate cake and toasted butter-pecan crumble, caramel, and mascarpone rum mousse - which is then coated in a chocolate ganache shell.
Tuesday-to-Saturday lunch, and Sunday brunch, are on the way.