Craig LaBan’s favorite new restaurants at the Shore | Let’s Eat

Hop in, kids, we’re going down the Shore, inspired by Craig LaBan’s dining guide. Also this week, a ye olde Philly dive bar is coming back, Zahav has opened a patio for walk-ins only, and there’s a new coffee shop with a savory specialty.

⬇️ Read on for a quiz.

📢 Be sure to nominate a restaurant (or two) for our Readers’ Choice Awards. We’ve created 15 categories, from your favorite breakfast sandwiches to those spots you can count on to host a big group celebration. Deadline is July 21.

— Mike Klein

For his annual Jersey Shore Guide, critic Craig LaBan finds stronger-than-ever Philly vibes. Some city favorites have new branches by the beach, including Good Dog Bar in Atlantic City. Multiple chefs do weekly Philly-to-Shore kitchen commutes. There’s even a cheesesteak inspired by the owner of John’s Roast Pork. Just as luscious here is the photography from our own José Moreno, Tyger Williams, Steven Falk, Charles Fox, Allie Ippolito, and Monica Herndon (who, by the way, just won a prize from the Society for Features Journalism for her stunning video of Kalaya’s Chutatip “Nok” Suntaranon in Thailand). Above is Steve’s view of cioppino at Turtle Gut in Wildwood Crest. The whole story is here.

Speaking of:

A Man Full of Trouble Tavern was the dive bar of the Revolution. Shuttered to the public for decades, it is coming back, reports Mike Newall. Why? “It’s the uniqueness of it,” owner Dan Wheeler said. “You can’t even imagine all the things that went on here.”

Fifteen years in, Mike Solomonov and Steve Cook have added a 56-seat patio behind their flagship restaurant, Zahav, at Society Hill Towers. It’s enclosed deck-style in cypress wood with a pergola and a roof and is designed for a la carte dining — bites and drinks. And it’s walk-ins only. Menu features hummus bowls with house-baked pita; salatim including twice-cooked eggplant and new broccolini with caramelized onions; and mezze such as watermelon and feta, and Moroccan cigars with izak honey and raw tehina. Besides wines and Pennsylvania beers, drinks include the signature lemonnana (now offered three ways, with bourbon, arak, or as a spritz); a frozen daiquiri; and zero proof house-made lime coconut thyme soda.

Zahav, 237 St. James Place. Patio hours: 5-9:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday.

Nihonbashi Philly, as colleague Henry Savage tells us, serves a classic Philly cheesesteak and displays cans of Yards Brewing’s Philly Standard beer and Phillies history books. It happens to be in Tokyo, Japan, which is why there’s also a hamburger steak drenched in hayashi rice sauce on the menu.

Old City’s Franklin Fountain has created a vegan mint chocolate chip ice cream for HipCityVeg, and it will be unveiled at the HipCityVeg locations in Rittenhouse and Ardmore locations starting Sunday, aka National Ice Cream Day. The swirls of what they call “bean-to-bar” dark chocolate are made by Shane’s Confectionery in Old City, America’s oldest candy store. HipCityVeg will give away 100 scoops (plus one topping) starting at 11 a.m. Sunday, followed by half-price scoops through 5 p.m., at its locations at 127 S. 18th St. and Suburban Square (76 Coulter Ave., Ardmore).

You also scream for ice cream? Check out our guide to the best novelties, scoops, pints, and water ice in the Philly area, which we just updated.

Bastille Day will bring an ice cream cart to Parc at 18th and Locust Streets — which opened on Bastille Day in 2008 — as well as a St. Germain cocktail cart and other Gallic goodies, outside from 11 a.m.-8 p.m.

Stuff you expect in a coffee shop: pastries and coffee. Stuff you don’t expect in a coffee shop: pastries, coffee, and doner kebabs.

Doner kebabs?

The Turkish gyros, with chicken or seitan, are the calling card of the adorable Rebel & Wolf Cafe, which opened last month at Morris Street and Moyamensing Avenue, across from Dickinson Square Park in Pennsport. Wei Yee was studying in Rome when she met Malte Thies, a German. Turns out that their specialty, served on Baker Street’s ciabatta, is an inside joke. “We were poor college students,” said Yee, a design architect whose parents owned a Chinese restaurant in Pittsburgh. “We ate doner kebabs — for breakfast, lunch, and dinner,” Thies said. Their six-year long-distance romance culminated in marriage, a move to Philly, a baby, and the purchase of their building — now not only their coffee shop (with comfy seating and Bean2Bean coffee) but their home upstairs.

The name: 5% of profits go toward Philadelphia-based youth art and mental-health programs, while another 5% goes toward wilderness wildlife-protection organizations.

Rebel & Wolf Cafe, 1700 E. Moyamensing Ave. Hours: 7 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. weekends.

Restaurants opening soon include Kedera, a tiki bar adjacent to Uptown Beer Garden (1500 JFK Blvd., opening July 12); Tonalli, a Mexican taqueria-pizzeria at 100 Morris St. in Pennsport (opening July 14); and Vinyl, a live-music lounge at 215 S. 15th St. (opening July 20).

I was digging around in our photo archives and found this image from 1995. Remember him and the restaurant? Scroll down for the answer and the backstory.

Feastival, the FringeArts’ foodie fundraiser, will return for 2023. Date: Oct. 19. Venue: FringeArts’ HQ at Race Street and Columbus Boulevard. Ticket info: TBA.

Carla’s Pizzeria (440 Morris Rd in Wayne) marks its second anniversary Friday with a half-price menu for takeout from 11 a.m.-9 p.m. and two slices for $2 from 2-4 p.m. Also, comp beer. A portion of the day’s proceeds will be donated to the Eagles Autism Foundation.

Chef Brian Duffy, who grew up in Bala Cynwyd and now consults all over, is competing on Season 4 of Food Network’s BBQ Brawl. Over 25 years, he’s done plenty of TV, but this is his first time on a game show.

Liberty Kitchen’s new location in Fishtown means longer hours and a bigger menu, including an assortment of tomato pies and hot sandwiches.

A fee added to special-order wines in Pennsylvania has been boosted.

A beer that tastes like a cookout in a can? Let Jenn Ladd tell you about Two’s Daze smoked lager, a collaboration by Two Locals Brewing and Attic Brewing that’s become her summertime go-to.

Tierra Colombiana in Feltonville is expected to reopen its dining room this week, following a fire Sunday night. The second-floor private dining room will be closed longer for repairs, says owner Jorge Mosquera.

Max Brenner, the syndicated chocolate-themed restaurant, recently wrapped its 14-year run on 15th Street just south of Walnut. The space, 3,950 square feet with wide frontage, is up for lease via MSC Retail.

A statue outside a New Jersey diner was stolen. Who or what was it?

A) the Jersey Devil

B) Snooki

C) Bruce Springsteen

D) Tony Soprano

Find out if you know the answer. (Aw, click anyway. Mike Newall wrote the heck out of this yarn.)

Please tell me about something new to look forward to in central Montgomery County. — @3reasonr

The Mainland Inn in Harleysville is finally being brought back, six years after it shut down. The quick story, which I’ll expand upon closer to the opening this fall, is that developer Bill Bonenberg acquired the property. He’s building 36 upscale apartments (Creekside at Mainland) to complement the renovated restaurant, to be branded the Mallard at Mainland Inn. Manuel and Cindy Jiménez, who operate La Provence in downtown Ambler, will run the restaurant.

The photo shows Michel Notredame, the Belgian boulevardier who oversaw Bridgid’s in Fairmount (now Bad Brother) and Cuvee Notredame in Spring Garden (previously St. Stephen’s Green and now Buena Vista), both renowned for their beer selection. He died in 2011 at age 61.

📮 Have a question about food in Philly? E-mail your questions to me at mklein@inquirer.com.

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