Fitler Dining Room opens at 22d and Spruce

New on the edge of the Rittenhouse Square neighborhood is Fitler Dining Room (2201 Spruce St., 215-732-3331), a bistro from Dan Clark and Ed Hackett (Pub & Kitchen, the Diving Horse in Avalon). It fills the corner spot that previously was Meme.

The 32-seater's clean look evokes a 1920s-'30s salon with its fabric-covered banquettes and bentwood chairs. Two beer taps are set in the dining room - small-batch crafts - plus 12 to 20 bottled beers. Artisan wines (about 40 bottles and 10 by the glass) include an enviable champagne selection as well as after-dinner ports, sherries, and the like.

Exec chef Robert Marzinsky's previous stops include Pub & Kitchen, the Diving Horse, and Stateside. Tight menu (bone-in short rib, chicken, pork; entrées in the $20s).

A few years ago, before East Passyunk became Philly's hottest dining destination, Joe Massara opened a bistro called Salt & Pepper. A few months ago, Massara took on a new chef-partner, a former coworker at Striped Bass. Christopher Lee won all kinds of attention at that Center City seafooder before it closed and he relocated to New York. Lee has brought in his longtime chef de cuisine, Oris Jeffers, to execute the American menu at what they call Sophia's (1623 E. Passyunk Ave., 215-238-1920) in the former Salt & Pepper space. Sophia is just a name, by the way. You're not supposed to get too comfortable with Sophia's white-tablecloth decor, because Massara and Lee promise a renovation that will include a new facade with fling-out windows and a new bar. That won't happen for a while, perhaps over the summer. It's open for dinner Tuesday to Sunday.

Honey's Sit 'N Eat's second location in Southwest Center City (2101 South St., 215-732-5130) has the feel of an old hardware store or machine shop as owners/spouses Jeb Woody and Ellen Mogell raided long-forgotten businesses to outfit the diner/bruncherie offshoot of their Northern Liberties original. The host's station was a steam-powered band saw (sans steam mechanism) recovered from a shop in North Philly. A 1947 oven, in pristine condition, is a server's station. Old paint signs from a hardware store hang over the dining room. Hours for now are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily but will expand to 10 p.m. soon.

Happy Noodle Bar (927 Race St., 215-625-0133) has the "happy" and "noodle" parts down, though it's not a bar. The new pan-Asian, a cheery transformation of the former walk-up location of Nan Zhou Hand-Drawn Noodle Shop, specializes in noodle soups but offers dumplings, bibimbap, and Beijing-style buns. It serves lunch and dinner daily, and breakfast is on the way.

The Greek-inspired fast-casual chain Zoës Kitchen is saying March 7 for its first Philadelphia-area restaurant, in the Providence Town Center in Collegeville. A second is planned for the Promenade at Sagemore in Marlton. It's based in that Hellenic hotbed of Birmingham, Ala.

March's openings will include Cheu Noodle Bar (255 S. 10th St.), Victoria Freehouse (10 S. Front St.), and Cedar Point Bar & Kitchen (2370 E. Norris St.).

Matt Zagorski has left his post as executive chef at Hickory Lane in Fairmount, which he opened in early 2012. He's landed with GuestCounts Hospitality, a.k.a. Cuba Libre. Hickory Lane owner Jim Kernaghan says Trevor Martin, who worked at Zagorski's side for a year, is now the chef. Prices have dropped a touch, and most entrées are $20 or less, Kernaghan said.

The Latest Dish and its upstairs Fluid nightclub, on Fourth Street near South since October 1996, are planning a finale April 6. Owner Tony Schiro says the area is different now.

OpenTable says the 10 most-booked restaurants in the Philadelphia region on its site are: Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse, Buddakan, Chima Brazilian Steakhouse, Capital Grille, Amada, Seasons 52 (King of Prussia), Parc, Butcher & Singer, Barbuzzo, and the Dandelion. That's four steak houses, four Stephen Starr restaurants, one Jose Garces restaurant, and one suburbanite.