Everything you can eat at a Phillies game | Let’s Eat

There will be way more than peanuts and Cracker Jack at Citizens Bank Park. This week, we parse the 2024 menu at Phillies games, peer inside the soon-to-reopen Jim’s Steaks, and look back at a suburban restaurateur’s 50-year career. Read on for a fantastic restaurant deal.

— Mike Klein

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Does that sign in the photo really say “loaded funnel fry”? Yes, it does. On this Opening Day Eve, Henry Savage runs down the offerings this season at Phillies games. PrimoHoagies is back at Citizens Bank Park for the first time since 2017 — correcting a hoagies-20230918.html" target="_blank">serious culinary error — and concessionaire Aramark has retooled the Schwarburger, its tribute to Kyle Schwarber. Read on for the starting lineup.

Jim’s South St. is returning from that 2022 fire, and the cheesesteak destination will be larger and far more glamorous: You’ll be able to dine among Isaiah Zagar mosaics. Even your delivery driver will appreciate the new touches.

At Nihonbashi Philly, Kosuke and Tomomi Chujo are on a never-ending quest to create the perfect cheesesteak. No matter that it’s in Tokyo, 6,700 miles away. Jenn Ladd explains the kind of devotion that would inspire someone to reverse engineer their own Whiz, import American beef, and make their own rolls from scratch.

It’s never easy to lose a restaurant that’s become woven into the fabric of a community, as critic Craig LaBan ruminates over the closing of Margaret Kuo’s flagship in Wayne. Kuo and her husband, Warren, who have enjoyed a 50-year career as restaurateurs, have embarked on a new, more focused chapter.

If food has you thinking about seeing a show, check out our latest “Two Critics, One Review” feature. With support from Visit Philadelphia, “Two Critics, One Review” is The Inquirer’s way of giving you two takes on the same show, so you can make the best decision about whether you want to go. This time, The Inquirer’s Rosa Cartagena joined Alix Rosenfeld at The Lehman Trilogy at the Arden, and their commentary is, well, thought-provoking.

“When I moved to Philly, mosque iftars were my north star for finding community,” writes Hira Qureshi. The nightly feasts during Ramadan create moments of communal joy alongside family and friends. Here’s a look at how some Philly Muslims break the fast.

The storied nightspot Dobbs has new owners, who are calling it Nikki Lopez. And there really is a Nikki Lopez behind Nikki Lopez. (That’s him at right in the photo above, with business partner Matthew Paneth.) The Lower Manhattan scenesters, promising great music and inexpensive drinks, are aiming at a summer opening.

For professional reasons, I must spill what I’d like to keep secret: the new dinner offering at Sofi Corner Cafe, a 20-seat charmer that opened last fall behind a cobalt blue facade with a garden in the back in Washington Square West. Christophe Mathon (he’s French) and Soufiane Boutliliss (he’s Moroccan, and the chef) offer Parisian-style breakfasts and Tangierian lunches daily.

Dinner is Thursday to Saturday. After a brief experiment with à la carte, the menu is now a $75 prix-fixe. You can start with an appetizer course (zaalouk, grilled pepper salad, cucumber, tomato, onion salad), move to a tagine (maybe lamb shank or the candied chicken shown above), and wrap up with pastries. It’s BYOB, and reservations are a must.

Sofi Corner Cafe, 1112 Locust St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19107. Hours: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. daily (breakfast/lunch), 5-10 p.m. Thursday-Saturday.

Seven Fairmount bars are joining in the 26th annual Bunny Hop, a pre-Easter bar crawl fundraiser from 6-10 p.m. Thursday. Pick up ears ($10) either here or at Bar Hygge, Fare, the Green Room, Jack’s Firehouse, La Calaca Feliz, Pier Bar, and Urban Saloon. Proceeds to the Trauma Survivors Foundation.

The first-ever Philly Makers Night Market, the brainchild of chefs Brad Daniels (Philadelphia) and Brad Kilgore (Miami), is a tasting party and indoor market that will feature a dozen local brands from 4-8 p.m. on April 3 at Philadelphia Distilling in Fishtown. You may have heard that it has sold out, but organizers have just released 50 additional tickets. Vendors include Daniels and Kilgore’s Pizza Freak Co., a primo frozen pizza. The event is free but guests (who are encouraged to bring their own totes/grocery bags) must register to attend.

Bucks County pizza tip: Angelo Pizza, of Angelo Pizza in Old City, is heading to the wilds of central Bucks (OK, suburban Newtown) to sell pizzas out of Andrew Abruzzese’s historic Pineville Tavern, starting Thursday. (Pizza really is Angelo’s name; he comes from a long line of Pizzas.) The nine-item menu will include faves from Old City, such as the St. Antney’s (Italian sausage, roasted red peppers, and Vidalia onions), plus four new Italian sandwiches from chef Matt Levin. The pies are for takeout only initially, but in time will be offered at the bar. The first 35 customers on April 4 get free pizza. Open 4-10 p.m. daily at 1098 Durham Rd. in Pineville.

Outdoor dining destinations are revving up. Bok Bar comes back April 11 with a season of food from seven chefs: Darnel’s (April), Jezabel’s Cafe (May), Puyero Venezuelan Flavor (June), Down North Pizza (July), Korea Taqueria (August), Gabriella’s Vietnam (September), and Sweet Amalia (October). Also returning: Walnut Garden (1706 Walnut St., April 4), Liberty Point (Walnut Street at Penn’s Landing, April 11), and Morgan’s Pier (221 N. Columbus Blvd., April 18). Parks on Tap, the movable beer garden, will resume April 17.

Garces Foundation’s annual benefit will be May 3 at the Loews Hotel Philadelphia, celebrating 30-plus chefs and independent local restaurants, alongside cocktails, live music, and an auction. Proceeds support the foundation’s mission to provide the healthcare, education, and support Philadelphia’s immigrant population. Tickets, starting at $175 a ticket, are now available.

Great Chefs Event, the annual culinary fundraiser organized by Marc Vetri for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, will be June 8 from 1-4 p.m. at Urban Outfitters at the Navy Yard. Details are here.

A touring pickle party, known as The Big Dill, will stop at Xfinity Live from noon-7 p.m. June 15. Tickets, starting at $24.99, will be on sale April 3. Organizers bill it as “a comprehensive playground that caters to every age and interest.” Unlimited sampling, music, and a pickle-eating championship, something called the Brine Chug Challenge, and mechanical pickle riding. Peep the website here.

Heard through the grapevine: Chaddsford Winery is for sale to whoever can squeeze out $4.5 million.

March was the expected opening date for AVANA when I wrote about Felicia Wilson and chef Darryl Harmon’s forthcoming restaurant in the east tower of Park Towne Place on the Parkway. The liquor-license transfer was posted just last week. The 200-seat American restaurant, Swahili for “beautiful flower,” will follow two other projects, the soon-to-open BlackHen, and the recently announced Amina Ocean.

The name of what celebrated Philly food destination is at the center of a legal dispute?

A) Pat’s King of Steaks

B) Angelo’s Pizzeria

C) Koch’s Deli

D) Chickie’s & Pete’s

Find out if you know the answer.

Has Cotoletta closed? — George S.

The last night was Saturday and the closing was announced Tuesday on Instagram. Cotoletta, Beth Amadio’s downtown successor to her popular Bala Cynwyd Italian BYOB, had a five-year run at 23rd and Pine Streets on Fitler Square. Amadio said 2023 was difficult. “I was hoping things would get better but it’s too difficult to catch up,” she texted. State records show that the restaurant’s liquor license expired last November.

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