Craig LaBan’s gluten-free guide (and a bonus!) | Let’s Eat

If you or someone you love has a gluten allergy, read on for critic Craig LaBan’s guide to gluten-free dining in the region. Also this week, I bring you news of even more restaurants opening soon, Craig shares an ode to the oxtail cheesesteak, and we’ll tell you about a brewery tasting room coming to the site of the gym in the Rocky movies.

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Critic Craig LaBan and his family underwent a dietary transformation three years ago when his daughter, Alice, was diagnosed with celiac disease. Before, they never had to give gluten much thought. Overnight, they joined a sizable population trying to navigate a gluten sensitivity while dining out.

Craig shares his research here, from topflight Thai to pasta, doughnuts, and even fried chicken. (Yes, that includes the desserts in the photo above from Flakely Bakery.) The upshot: “We’ve entered a golden age of gluten-free eating.”

Here’s a bonus pick: Just the other night, for example, Craig found the cauliflower tacos (shown below) from Condesa, the modern Mexican restaurant near Rittenhouse Square. “The menu is already 90% gluten-free, but how, I wondered, could they get the cauliflower so crispy without using a typical batter?” he mused. “Chickpea flour! It held its crunch (like a good Indian pakora) inside the supple house tortilla alongside two kinds of salsa, shredded cabbage, and other veggies, and it was absolutely the star of our meal.”

No sooner had I hit “send” last week on my roundup of restaurants opening this spring when more entries emerged.

Here are a few:

Di Passare will work on two levels, literally. This all-day restaurant will occupy the former Sotto, which had a cafe on the Walnut Street bridge at 24th Street as well as a dining room located 151 S. 24th St., which runs beneath the bridge. (It’s a situation reminiscent of the upper and lower streets in downtown Chicago.) Targeting a May opening, the owners promise “an inviting atmosphere for casual diners, group dinners, and those on-the-go” in an environment featuring “natural stones, vibrant prints, and a mix of wood materials, providing a lively community hub.” Stay tuned for more.

Mom-Mom’s, the pierogi specialist, and Carbon Copy, the West Philly brewery, will share space at the former Lunar Inn at 3124 Richmond St. in Port Richmond. Mom-Mom’s Ryan Elmore said: “There will be a few things on the menu that don’t scream Polish but it’s all going to be stuff influenced by our time spent at our grandparents’ house.”

Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao, the Shanghai dumpling specialist, is looking at late May or early June for its location in the former Outback Steakhouse location on Gulph Road in King of Prussia. A University City location will be next.

Saffron Indian Kitchen, with locations in Wayne, Ambler, and Bala Cynwyd, will make its Philly debut in late May at 423 W. Girard Ave., the former Mood Cafe on the Northern Liberties-Kensington line. Owner Rahul Bhatia says he’ll offer 30 seats but mostly takeout and delivery.

The salmon cheesesteak may be a popular spin on beef and chicken cheesesteaks. Now, customers are clamoring for oxtail, and Craig explains why they’re paying upward of $30 for one. And what makes the sandwich a “steak”? He answers that riddle, too.

Prepare to be patient if you’re planning a birthday or graduation dinner for eight or more people, and don’t be surprised if you have to pay a deposit or venue fee. Erin McCarthy tells you about this new way of doing business as restaurant owners face higher food and labor costs.

That, of course, is a popcorn popper, and when you order a basket of Pop Rock’n Chicken at the new BlackHen in Old City, this is how you’ll get it — with a side of ranch-flavor butter popcorn. Read on to see what else is in store.

Rocky Balboa went a few rounds there, and soon you’ll be able to order a few rounds. The triangular brick building in Kensington that served as Mighty Mick’s boxing gym in the Rocky movies will become a tasting room for the Kensington-based Lost Time Brewing Co. Jake Blumgart shares his exclusive.

Federal Donuts & Chicken is on the move, with a franchise group signed on to open three locations in the Philadelphia suburbs. I chatted them up and share with you the locations.

The former Margaret Kuo restaurant in Wayne, bought recently by the Somboonsong family (aka Win Signature Restaurants), will reopen later this year, and they tell me it will be called Ad Hoc, with a pan-Asian menu. Check Craig’s column about the closing of Kuo’s landmark.

Haldi Fine Indian Cuisine. For years, as he was rising in the software industry, Amarnath Gunda had a dream: operating his own restaurant. He’s come close — investing in one in India, another in Virginia, and another in Texas.

Now, he’s going all in with Haldi Fine Indian Cuisine in Mount Laurel, near his home in Burlington County. It opens 11 a.m. Friday in Village at Cambridge Crossing, filling the spot vacated by Monsoon. It’s BYOB. (In a related note, Gunda has purchased a license to operate a liquor store in Mount Laurel; he is looking now for a location.)

Though he loves to cook, he’s left the kitchen in charge of chef Akshay Naik, whose menu covers the north and south. “I said very clearly, ‘Choose only the signature items that you can do perfectly,’” Gunda said. The Chicken 65 (shown above), for example, had just the right tang.

The dining room’s contemporary look includes jars of spices and framed sketches of Indian cooking imagery, while the menu itself is a thing of beauty.

Haldi Fine Indian Cuisine, 4180 Dearborn Circle, Mount Laurel. Opens April 19. Hours: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and 5-9:30 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday.

Also opening this week:

Mamajuana Cafe. This 400-seat Latin chain out of North Jersey grand-opens at 6 p.m. Thursday at Frankford Avenue and Laurel Street in the space beneath Brooklyn Bowl and next to the Fillmore in Fishtown. (Previous tenants had a rough go there. It was the apocalyptic-themed Mad Rex, followed by the Fin, a seafood spot.)

Mamajuana’s menu is all over the place — from the Caribbean (tasty, snack-sized mofonguitos) to South America (a well-seared churrasco) to ... sushi rolls. Appetizers are $14 to the low $20s, grilled items range from a $24 burger to a 26-ounce rib-eye for two ($80), rolls are $16 to $22, and mains run from the $28 oxtail to fried red shrimp bites at $45. There’s a kid’s menu with $12 chicken chunks and fries plus $14 penne pasta, and a couple of vegan dishes.

There’s plenty of greenery on the floor and hanging from the high ceilings. Tropical cocktails ($15-$18) flow from a 30-seat, two-sided bar. You can sit alongside the glassed-in kitchen to watch the action. During a recent visit, I noticed tables of well-dressed folks in their 20s grooving as the lighting and DJ music varied from chill to energetic over the course of 2½ hours.

Mamajuana, 1000 Frankford Ave., Philadelphia, Pa. 19125. Hours: 4-11 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 2 p.m.-2 a.m. Friday, and noon-2 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. Happy hour: 4-6 p.m. Monday-Thursday.

Wokworks’ Brennan and Samantha Foxman, who grew up at the Jersey Shore, are opening a Wokworks location at 7801 Ventnor Ave. The fast-casual chain, which specializes in cooked-to-order Asian-inspired bowls, is targeting a June opening.

Is the century-old wood-burning oven at Faragalli’s Bakery down for the count? Mike Newall chats up Phil Faragalli, who doesn’t seem optimistic as he blames work crews’ jackhammering for the damage.

Sally, the bistro at 23rd and Spruce Streets, adds brunch this weekend (11 a.m.-3 p.m.). New chef Finn Connors, an Osteria and Wilder alumnus, will offer omelets and toasts, plus calzones from the pizza side and crepes Suzette.

The Philadelphia Union has created a brew hall and tailgate zone near Subaru Park in Chester. Which brewery is the sponsor?

A) Yards

B) Sly Fox

C) Iron Hill

D) Dogfish Head

Find out if you know the answer.

Your article about the new restaurants that would be opening in the spring didn’t mention two. Although Tequila’s wouldn’t be new, in the fall you wrote that it would likely reopen in the spring. What is the situation with Tequila’s today, and what about the restaurant that will open where Fox & Hound was at 15th & Spruce? — Philip

So many delays these days. Owner David Suro said the reopening of Tequila’s from the February 2023 fire has been delayed till at least June (which I suppose could be “spring”). Garage is the name of the new barroom coming to the parking garage at 15th and Spruce Streets, as I wrote last September. Jason Evenchik said he and partners are aiming for fall.

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