Vietnamese restaurant mixes old and new

Bruce Cao and family are mixing old-fashioned Vietnamese home cooking with modern style at Le Viet (1019 S. 11th St., 215-463-1570), just north of Washington Avenue.

Stalks of bamboo in pots stand at the entrance. The interior, whose open kitchen shows through a glass partition, glows with lamps, polished metal, and wood. There's a bar, empty pending the arrival of the liquor license. It's BYOB for now, open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

The Caos previously owned Hang Sinh Duck House, once at Eighth Street and Washington Avenue.

Moderate prices and stunning presentation: $5 to $15 for apps, $8 to $25 for entrees. Among Cao's specialties is an appetizer called hen xuc banh da, which is baby clams tossed in garlic and basil served in a bowl made of sesame rice cracker, and a main course of jumbo prawns sauteed with salt and black pepper and served on a quarter of a scooped pineapple.

Tony Kanjanakorn, who ran the Thai-French mix Alisa Cafe (first in Upper Darby, then in Cherry Hill), has turned up in Montgomery County with Kinnaree (583 Horsham Rd., Horsham, 215-441-5514). Comfy, white-tablecloth decor, moderate prices; there's a three-course for $25 and four-course for $30 fixed-price option. It's open for dinner Tuesdays to Sundays for now; lunch will start in May. The menu is a work in progress, as Kanjanakorn is gauging his new clientele; such Alisa specialties as fish in parchment with Provencal sauce and roast duck are available upon request.

After 18 years offering belt-stretching, fixed-price meals, Mamma Maria (1637 E. Passyunk Ave., 215-463-8410) is allowing a la carte dining Mondays through Thursdays. The dishes on Maria di Marco's menu are pretty much the same as those on her $55, five-course prix-fixe: antipasti (including calamari, $12, and sausage and peppers, $8), pastas from $18 to $22, and meat and fish dishes, $22 to $30. Di Marco joined other East Passyunk restaurateurs last week at a preview party for Flavors of the Avenue, which on April 24 will assemble 20 food businesses for sampling and fun.

Shola Olunloyo, who's been delighting foodies with ambitious private meals under the name StudioKitchen (after stops at Bleu and Blue Angel), is readying his first restaurant, Speck, for late spring in the Piazza at Schmidts in Northern Liberties. Besides a 65-seat dining room and outdoor cocktail seating, his showcase will be a five-seat kitchen counter catering to those who want Olunloyo's ambitious tasting menus.

Hunan in Ardmore, felled by fire before Halloween last year, is looking to reopen in late April, says owner Betty Foo. The Lancaster Avenue Chinese restaurant had been there for 34 years and was Susanna Foo's first stop in the business.

The stylish Dante's in Barrington, which opened in early 2008 at the former Barrington Pub, has closed.

Ninety-nine-cent burgers? Peel-and-eat shrimp for 29 cents? Heightened competition from the Garden State Park development has led Bruce Waugh to return the Top Dog name to what is now Taylors Sports Bar in Cherry Hill. Thursday, he starts a new concept: no waitresses. Patrons go directly into the kitchen to order food, which they'll take out to the bar or table. And the food - all fresh, says Waugh - will be sold at cost. Top price will be $2.99 for New York strip kebabs. Entertainment nightly and on weekend afternoons.

Chef Tyson Wong Ophaso is wrapping up his stint at Chew Man Chu at Broad and Pine Streets. He said he was leaving Philadelphia.