Michael Klein: Two joints in one, beer garden to open in Center City

The German-style beer garden Brü Craft & Wurst is expected to open March 23 at 1318 Chestnut St. (215-800-1079), enlivening the quiet block between Juniper and 13th Streets. The location previously was the Mitchell & Ness retail shop.

Brü is actually two joints in one: a wood-clad bar with 32 taps carved into a tree, with table service, as well as a beer garden with bench seating, walk-up counter, an oversize garage door facing McGillin's on Drury Street, and a six-tap computerized beer system on the wall.

The main bar has electrical outlets at the stools, all the better to plug in a laptop, phone, or iPad, said owner Teddy Sourias, who owns the Finn McCool's Pub and Prime Lounge at 12th and Sansom Streets.

The six drafts on the wall will be controlled by iPads. You buy a card and swipe it to select the beer and quantity.

Chef Matt Buehler offers smaller plates, including potato and green apple pancakes (horseradish sour cream); Bavarian pretzels (smoked Emmentaler fondue); and ham and arugula salad (Westphalian ham, Cambozola cheese, apple), as well as such platters as fried trout (braised romaine, fried egg, anchovy dressing); roast chicken (spaetzle, charred onion); and jagerschnitzel (mushrooms, bacon, sour cream); and sandwiches. It will be open daily from lunchtime through late night.

Joe Beddia has just opened Pizzeria Beddia, his Fishtown pizzeria (115 E. Girard Ave.), replacing a deli at Girard and Shackamaxon. Beddia, 35, who calls himself a pizza nerd, picked up pie knowledge at Tria, Osteria, South Philadelphia Tap Room, and Pizza Brutta in Madison, Wis., before he landed at Zavino for two years.

He's using a brick-lined Montague deck oven to pop out the 16-inchers - none of that Neapolitan pizza, closer to a New York-style. It has a crispy, almost flaky outer ring, and a sturdy, thin inner crust that doesn't flop into drippiness when you hold it.

The plain ($18) uses two whole-milk mozzarellas (fresh and low-moisture from Lioni Latticini in Union, N.J.), a sauce made from Jersey tomatoes, a grating of domestic gouda from Hidden Hills Dairy, and a splash of extra-virgin California olive oil. Flour is organic from Central Milling.

He'll grind his own sausage ($4 additional), and other toppings are pickled chiles ($2), crimini mushrooms ($3), and salame ($4).

No slices. No real seating. Nothing else on the menu.

Porto, a cafe/bistro from chef Christine Liskowicz, is taking shape at 11th and Wharton Streets, the former home of Carman's Country Kitchen. Liskowicz, a New Jersey native, studied for a year at the Culinary Institute of America, but, more important, learned Portuguese cooking - with a capital T for tripe - at her mom's knee. She also cooked at Sabrina's. She hopes to open this summer.

Yogurt retailer Pinkberry's Philadelphia-area premiere will be on the Main Line. Local owners Michael Brand and Phil Nasuti have found space in Bryn Mawr Square Shopping Center (763 E. Lancaster Ave.), where they expect to open next month.

If you've hit the local steak-house scene over the last two decades, you probably had occasion to deal with Pat English, who ran the Smith & Wollensky at the Rittenhouse Hotel before opening Fleming's in Radnor in 2006. English just got a huge promotion: heading to Los Angeles to oversee all 12 Fleming's restaurants in California. Not only did English help found Center City District Restaurant Week, he also ran fund-raisers that brought in at least $250,000. His Radnor post will be filled by Billy Sullivan, who is moving over from Fleming's in Marlton.

George Sabatino, who left the kitchen at East Passyunk's Stateside, has joined Morgan's Pier, the warm-weather destination that premiered last summer on Columbus Boulevard under the Ben Franklin Bridge (the old Rock Lobster). He'll do a bar menu, as well as a more refined dining-room menu for a newly configured space on the pier. Debut is May 7.

At SoWe Bar & Kitchen at 22d and Carpenter Streets in Southwest Center City, owner Nancy Law has followed up her hiring of chef Jennifer Choplin by bringing in barkeep Craig Steel, formerly of Amada, a.kitchen, and the Dandelion, as her new bar manager. New drinks, hand-squeezed juices, 20 bourbons, 10 exceptional ryes, and 11 premium scotches. He even futzed with SoWe's signature chocolate bacon martini, which was featured on U.S. of Bacon in February, by replacing the Bakon Vodka with a house-made, bacon-infused vodka.

Leo Forneas, whose Philly chef experience includes opening Sampan, is the new executive chef for the Twisted Tail in Society Hill.

A month after closing his Italian Market BYOB 943, Pascual "Pat" Cancelliere is now sous chef at Bainbridge Street Barrel House (Sixth and Bainbridge Streets), working with executive chef Eric Paraskevas.

Friday is the finale of SJ Hot Chefs' spring restaurant week, for which about 40 restaurants discount four-course meals to $25 or $35. See the list at www.sjhotchefs.com.

Tickets are on sale for the eighth annual Great Chefs Event, for which Marc Vetri and cohorts Jeff Benjamin and Jeff Michaud import chefs for a tasting and fund-raiser. Date is June 11 at Urban Outfitters headquarters at the Navy Yard. Tickets start at $350. Tickets: www.vetrifoundation.org.