Meeting of meats: South Philly Smokhaus and Passio Prime at the Bok
Pitmaster Eric Daelhousen bought his meats from Giunta's at Reading Terminal Market. Owner Robert Passio became a fan of his brisket.
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A butcher counter with a barbecue restaurant under the same roof.
That's the pairing of Robert Passio of Passio Prime and Eric Daelhousen of South Philly Smökhaus, sharing an entrance on the Dudley Street side of the Bok Building in South Philadelphia with Two Persons coffee and the Firth & Wilson Transport Cycles bike shop.
The butcher counter, selling a full line of organic and locally sourced meats, opened Oct. 10, while the eatery, specializing in meats by the pound (ribs, chicken, brisket, pork) and sandwiches, opens Oct. 16. They operate as separate businesses in the onetime city school's auto shop. (See a video preview here.)
Daelhousen grew up in Sinking Spring, Pa., cooking on a Weber kettle. He started experimenting heavily with barbecue about six years ago. Passio owns the Reading Terminal Market stall Giunta's Prime. They started talking seriously after Daelhousen, a Giunta's customer, brought Passio a sample of his brisket.
Delhousen has been catering weddings, events, and doing pop-ups all around Philadelphia.
The restaurant will offer traditional counter service: Walk up, pay, and sit down at picnic tables. Menu is here.
Passio's hours are 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday.
The Bok, a grand reuse of the mothballed century-old school, has several food-and-beverage entities, including Irwin's (the all-season, indoor-outdoor Mediterranean/Middle Eastern restaurant on the south side of the roof); Machine Shop Boulangerie (a wholesale bakery that sells bread by the honor system outside its door on the fourth floor); Two Persons coffee; and the closed-for-the-season Bok Bar (on the north side of the roof).