Table Talk | An Indian jewel in their 13th Street crown
The 13th Street empire of Marcie Turney and Valerie Safran has grown with last week's opening of Bindi (105 S. 13th St., 215-922-6061), an upscale Indian BYOB between their market, Grocery, and their furnishings shop, Open House, and across the street from their Mexican spot, Lolita.
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The 13th Street empire of Marcie Turney and Valerie Safran has grown with last week's opening of
Bindi
(105 S. 13th St., 215-922-6061), an upscale Indian BYOB between their market, Grocery, and their furnishings shop, Open House, and across the street from their Mexican spot, Lolita.
All this in five years.
Lights are low; decor is simple and industrial.
It's cash only, and dinner only from Tuesdays through Sundays. No reservations - unless you want to book the community table, which seats 10 to 16.
BYO-ers can bring spirits for mixers, including nimbu-arandano pani (Indian lemonade with pomegranate) and mango sharbat (with fresh mango, gingered simple syrup and green cardamom).
Turney, who studied with cookbook author Julie Sahni at her studio in New York, is turning out a complex menu of small plates ("namkeen") and entrees ("kadais," served in decorative kadai copper pots). See
» READ MORE: http://go.philly.com/bindi
for the menu. Entree prices range from $17 to $24.
Two new Japanese spots
Tonight marks the debut of
Kaizan: Modern Japanese Cuisine
in the Academy House (1420 Locust St., 215-735-1144), marking a stunning transformation of the former home of the Smoked Joint and Marabella's by Jonathan Chun of the nearby Fuji Mountain. It's a sexy twist on the formal Japanese dining style called kaiseki. It's open from dinnertime on, nightly, run by Joseph DePalma. Plates will be $10 to $20, and the specialty is tasting menus: $55 for five courses, $70 for seven, $95 for nine. Each course is based on a cooking technique, such as broiled, steamed, fried and reduction. Lots of wines by the glass, plus a sake selection. There's a sushi bar and a drinking bar. Chun also shrank the dining room to add balcony seating.
Due shortly is
Yakitori Boy
(211 N. 11th St., 215-923-8088), arguably the coolest thing in Chinatown. First floor will be a dining room, sushi bar and yakitori bar (where cooks will grill chicken on a skewer). Second floor will be karaoke heaven, if there is such a thing: A bar with large-screen karaoke for public-minded warblers, and a half-dozen or so comfy, private rooms so that you and a few friends can keep the screeching to yourselves.
Briefly noted
Ted's Montana Grill
has opened in Warrington's Valley Square at Street Road and Route 611 (carries the address 1512 Main St., 215-491-1170).
With the new year, a new chef and concept at
Marigold Kitchen
in West Philly: Erin O'Shea, hired as sous chef after she spent time at the Frog & the Redneck in Richmond, Va., will take the menu "modern Southern." Chef Michael Solomonov is bowing out to devote more time to Zahav, coming together in Society Hill.