What's new in Old City
Philadelphia Bar & Restaurant has soft-opened on Market Street.
It's called PBR and it's not a beer.
It's Philadelphia Bar & Restaurant, a new gastropub at Market and Letitia Streets (120-122 Market St.), across from Franklin Fountain, in what was Triada.
Shawn Gormley and Nicolas Moore were bartenders at Lucy's Hat Shop, though they say they are focusing more on food here.
Designer Kurt Schlenbaker worked with exposed brick walls, original steel beams, white butcher tile left over from longtime occupant Youngs Meats, and 53 feet of bar top split between two bars, made from a spalted silver maple tree with ambrosia swirls.
Chef Jordan "Red" Sauter, most recently at Modo Mio in Northern Liberties, is starting with a small contemporary-American menu topping out at $20. Samples: crispy eggplant fries ($6); a seasonal cheese plate with housemade garnishes ($16); a PBLT featuring pork belly confit, iceberg lettuce, tomato and pancetta mayo ($11); a scrapple cheesesteak topped with provolone "wit" fried egg ($9); and red wine-braised veal cheek with Parmigiano Reggiano and figs ($20). And one point of fact that PBR's rep is making clear: Sauter only cooks burgers well-done.
There's Saturday and Sunday brunch.
Hours: 3 p.m. to 2 a.m. weekdays, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. weekends.