Known as having the best brunch in all of Manayunk, Jake’s Restaurant and Cooper’s Wine Bar, has a brand new menu which features poached eggs and pulled pork, strawberry French toast and a yummy smoked salmon salad. All of which just might be enough to get me out of bed early on a Sunday morning.
Wednesday is no longer the mid-week slump that it used to be. Thanks to Chef Sean Weinberg at Restaurant Alba, every Wednesday between 5 – 7pm is happy hour. Come and escape the steamy hot summer with a glass of chilled wine, or a cocktail and some complimentary appetizers that consists of Italy’s traditional dishes, which include grilled flatbreads, plates of salumi, fritti misti and delectable artisan cheeses.
New Indian spot Mumbai Bistro offers a wide array of foods from tandoori, curry, to chilled monkey brains if you’re really ambitious. Sides include chutneys, picked veggies, and basmati rice. Larger plates change daily but the lentil, Mumbai Dal, and Chicken Tikkan Marsala stay the same. In case you don’t have enough time to sit down and enjoy a hefty meal or scared about not being able to finish it all, everything is available as take out.
Mac’s Tavern is t
he only dive bar in Philadelphia where you just might get a chance to meet a Hollywood star, seeing as how it’s partly owned by Rob McElhenney and Kaitlin Olson, stars of the TV comedy It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. The new menu has just been revamped to include a roasted garlic hummus, five kinds of topped fries and wings flavored to range anywhere from mild to WTF.
A little bit of culture is coming to Society Hill in the form of Olive a restaurant that was previously located in the comfy place of Ava. The menu takes a little bit from a few different cultures, so expect your taste buds to go on a food expedition. Some apps include filet on rosemary skewers (marinated bits o’ mignon grilled on sticks and drizzled with raw green tomato salsa) and white fish empanadas stuffed with snapper. Combine that with chicken chipotle (sautéed bird in a homemade sauce with oaxaca cheese), pasta olive (ziti and a predictable array of olives), and a monk fish ossobucco with stewed tomatoes. Since the place is still BYO, feel free to bring your own wine, beer, or liquor.
You know what really spells a great date night? All-you-can-eat sushi. Pod is bringing back its ever popular sushi night, where you can eat all the raw fish your heart desires for just $25. Only catch is that you have to finish everything on your plate or you could be charged the a la carte price for what you don’t finish.
Every dream of witnessing the filming of a real live TV show? Well here’s your chance. Chef Harry Darling owner of Darling’s Diner and Darlings Cheesecake Cafe is going after his dream of becoming a star of a cooking show. Stop by on the second Monday of each month to see all the magic of filmmaking happen, and even pick up how to cook some of Darling Diner’s most popular dishes.
The freshly opened Center City Grille, also known as “The Philadelphia Lounge," promises to leaves its customers satisfied when it comes lunch, dinner, and its awesome décor which includes an open ceiling B&W hung cityscapes, and glass/diamond plate tables. Apps include steamed crabmeat shumai, lobster meat cocktail and steamed mussels. Main courses range from hot and cold sandwiches sure to please the lunch crowd and house favorites such as chicken marsala, and spaghetti Bolognese.
Now is your chance to experience the great wines of the world. R2L is launching its Summer Wine Series. On certain Tuesday and Thursday nights guests will be able to treat their taste buds to delectable wine from various regions combined with cuisine prepared by chef Daniel Stern. Be sure to make reservations early as only 22 people will be allowed per night.
Get ready to go to beer heaven. Chef Jose Garces will play host to Brewer Brian O’Reilly from Sly Fox Brewing Company when he continues his string of Craft Beer Dinners at Chifa. The dinner consists of four-courses that are paired with a beer to that has been designed to bring out the favors of both the meal and the beer. The menu will have citrus Marinated Kajiki (Pacific Blue Marlin) with 5-spice crumble and baby vegetables paired with Royal Weisse Ale a medium-bodied Bavarian style wheat beer, Summer Curry Prawns paired with Saison VOS with Belgian style farmhouse ale. And for dessert chef Garces has prepared a tasty Malted Pound Cake with strawberries and Incubus syrup paired with Incubus, Sly Fox’s golden triple.
The White Heron Grill in Stone Harbor has a brand new chef Carl Messick, who has brought an all-American, shore-fare feel to the chic dining room and bar area. Starters range from $8 – $14, Entrees like local clams “on the half shell”, the white heron bistro burger, and the wild Columbian river king salmon, can range from $25 – $35. Monday is “kids eat for free day,” so make sure to bring all those born after 1998.
Chef Jose Garces is on a roll. The Garces Trading Company has created a brand new weekend brunch. Every Saturday and Sunday, from 11am to 2:30pm, guests can be treated to a pre-set three-course menu for $25, which includes choices of Blueberry Muffin Toast, Organic Poached Eggs or Omelet de Jour. Add a Rosemary Lemonade or Virgin Bloody Mary Mix.
Terri’s is a place that can be described as having a split personality. It’s a diner by day for breakfast and lunch, but by the stroke of 5pm it becomes a club that slings out beers and custom-made bar food instead of deli meat sandwiches. Enjoy a specialty cocktail like a Muppets Take Manhattan and Purple Pimp Shoes.
Cool off with a refreshing infused cocktail at Rum Bar. Enjoy a Bizcayne Bomber made withacardi limon, triple sec, OJ, lemon, rum bar lime bitters and verbena syrup. Or try a citrusy Melon-choly’s Curemade with Leblon cachaca, orange curaçao, watermelon juice, lemon juice and lime juice. Have some of Rum Bar’s great Caribbean cuisine, with a beef patty, or jerk chicken and wash it down with a classic Mai Tai.
Wednesday is sushi-lovers’ new favorite day. FIN, a new restaurant in Atlantic City, has just introduced Wasabi Wednesday, where there will be half-price sushi rolls, sake and saketini drinks. Choose from a Scottish salmon, yellowtail hamachi, Pacific white shrimp, or do like this Marylander and have a spicy blue crab roll. No need to fight for the window, as all of FIN’s tables has view of the window.
Oyster Bar is having a feast for the ages. Thanks to restaurateur Sam Mink this raw bar will have a feast of three oysters and three clams on the half shell; a bucket of steamers and 1½ lb. steamed lobster with lemon and drawn butter; corn on the cob; and house-made cole slaw, all for $46 per person.
Philadelphia will be treated to a brand new creation by chef Matt Levin and co-owner Kar Vivekananthan, when they open Adsum, a neighborhood bistro. The décor which kind of resembles a library and a laboratory smashed into one reflects well on Chef Levin who is like a mad scientist himself. The menu includes everything from grilled rock octopus, tater tots, to short ribs and sautéed foie gras. Be sure to check out the bar which features imported beers and wines, and a cool eclectic mix of cocktails.
Pub and Kitchen is the place to go in Philly when it comes to barbecue. For only $17 per person you can enjoy a great ribs and grits dinner, which includes a half-rack of ribs, that have been slow cooked for several hours and slathered with Pub & Kitchen’s own “Blue Label” barbecue sauce, along with sweet corn grits, and house-made coleslaw.
Affectionately called Fish, this restaurant gets right to the point, with an upcoming event called “The Maine Event.” On July 27 guests can relish in recently updated classic dishes, each paired with specialty beers, like the Classic Maine “Chowda” paired with the Shipyard Export Ale or the Lobster with chanterelle mushroom, roasted corn and sea urchin paired with Allagash Tripel. Be sure to come back for Crab Week, August 2 – 5.
Fresh off its new patio, Marathon 18th and Market is having the The Standard play with DJ Naztak spinning the latest of reggae and hip hop. Get there early for Nuvo specials until 11pm, but be sure to dress your best because no sweats, baggy clothes or Jersey Shore “poufs” allowed.
Ambler’s own Dettera has a brand spanking new menu thanks to new chef Jeffery Power. Grub on new apps like salads and yummy pizzas, and entrees like roasted Lancaster chicken, New York strip, and grilled Scottish salmon.
The new and improved Paloma has redesigned their menu and has created a perfect fusion of French-Mexican cuisine, or as some like to call it Franxican. Starters include Castillo de Jaiba (jumbo lump crab meat with avocado, tomatoes, and a lemon vinaigrette), Sopa de Poblano (puree of roasted poblanos garnished with shrimp or poached oyster) and many more. Entrees include Huachinago a la Veracruzana (pan-seared red snapper filet with olives, peppers, and capers in tomato coulis) and pan-seared filet of black bass with mango salsa called the Black Bass Don Antonio. Be sure to bring a bottle of wine since Paloma is BYO.
The luxurious and elusive crocodile has finally come to finally in the form of Old City’s Crocodile Lounge. Everything is totally affordable, so feel free to indulge on mini-pizzas like Margherita, White, and Veggie deals, and the roast beef/cheddar/mozzarella/onion "Cheese Steak." With drinks that have just about everything including “croc-tails” with names like the Jewel of Denile and Orange Crush.
Do you want to get in on the “Farm to Table” movement? Then try the new and delicious menu from Cooper’s Brick Oven Wine Bar’s new Farm to Bar Happiness Menu. With dishes like Jersey Cucumber with smoked salmon, and Lancaster Tomato Gazpacho with crab you will start to eat only locally grown fruits and veggies. Along with their awesome food menu, they are offering a cool twist on new, fresh and local $5 drinks like Blue Farm Fizz, that is a fresh combination of Lancaster cucumber, organic Philadelphia Bluecoat Gin, garden basil and lime syrup and the Fresh Watermelon-Ginger Smash , made with local watermelon and Canton natural ginger. So become a local and eat local too.
AroundPhilly Staff
