🍴 24 hot restaurants coming to Philly soon | Let’s Eat

Two dozen new restaurants are opening over the next few months, and there’s lots to consider. Also this week, we get to the bottom of the Melrose Diner situation, size up a former food journalist’s restaurant, and pass along the cold news that the Choco Taco is toast.

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❓ But first, a quiz: There’s a love story behind McGillin’s Olde Ale House, the city’s oldest continuously operating restaurant. Owners Mary Ellen and Chris Mullins Sr. have been married 50 years. Lots of couples have met there. What’s the secret?

A.) “Maybe it’s magic, who knows?”

B.) There’s a lucky charm on the walls.

C.) “The beer and the wine help.”

Find out, and contributor Kellie Patrick Gates will explain it.

📝 Send me tips, suggestions and questions here.

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— Mike Klein

Cool concepts are popping up throughout the city. Ready for Peruvian chicken, Filipino home cooking, Mexican cemitas, seltzers and burgers, and a bigger dose of chef Chutatip “Nok” Suntaranon’s Thai cuisine? Or perhaps conveyor belt sushi, an edgy American BYOB, a splashy sports bar, a dumpling “Automat,” and a long-awaited Afrocentric grocery cafe? I run down 24 restaurants opening in the city, including one opening next week: Restaurant Aleksandar, whose chef is South Jersey-born Montana Houston (above).

Looking for what’s hot in suburban dining? Here are 26 newcomers on both sides of the Delaware.

Jersey deli news: Michael Kaplan, who worked with his father, Jerry, at the now-closed Short Hills Deli in Cherry Hill, is opening Short Hills 2 Go Catering in the Shops at Borders in Marlton, 1.6 miles away. Mostly takeout; about 16 seats if you can’t wait to get the sandwich home. First day will be Aug. 2. Ribbon will be cut on Aug. 6.

Under a giant apricot over the doorway, Alex Tewfik (formerly food editor of Philadelphia Magazine) has opened a bistro with a fun dinner party vibe across from the Singing Fountain of East Passyunk Avenue. Now comes critic Craig LaBan for his take on Mish Mish, and his impressions are mixed mixed. 🔒

The Melrose Diner in South Philadelphia was closed by a fire Monday. Coming as it did only weeks after the owner had obtained a demolition permit for the property, eyebrows were raised. But owner Michael Petrogiannis said that he intends to repair the damage and that he has no imminent plans to call in a wrecking ball.

Yes, this one is cold. Klondike has discontinued the Choco Taco. The treat’s roots happen to be in Philadelphia: A driver for Jack & Jill ice cream came up with them and started sharing the word, even getting Taco Bell to sell them.

Sisters Amanda and Colie Esobar run Remendee, a small-batch coffee roastery, out of their Atlantic City garage. As colleague Amy S. Rosenberg points out, they’re caffeinating their neighbors and taking advantage of New Jersey’s new law granting permits to “cottage food operators” to create and sell their goods out of their homes.

They sell salumi by the sea shore: Jeralyn Raffa and mother Janet Raffa have opened Raffa’s, a specialty shop, in Sea Isle City specializing in meats, cheeses, crackers, breads, dips, and spreads. Charcuterie boards > surf boards.

Raffa’s, 4000 Pleasure Ave, Sea Isle City, N.J. Hours: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday.

One of the better deals is Han Chiang’s monthly 15-course Philly Tasting menus, offered on the fourth Monday at his Han Dynasty location at 3711 Market St. in University City. For $35, you and friends (and strangers who become friends) dine communally on such Sichuan specialties as dan dan (above), eggplant with roasted peppers, mung bean noodles, mapo tofu with minced pork, fish, and chili pepper (below), and spare ribs with garlic. There’s a $20 beer/cocktail pairing, too. Keep an eye on the @handynasty Instagram.

Briefly noted

A Philly burger battle will be waged live on Thursday’s Good Morning America when Lucky’s Last Chance takes on Spot Burgers as part of the show’s “United States of Burgers” segment. I’m told that it will be in the 8 a.m. hour.

Villa di Roma in South Philly will be closed, probably well into September, as workers fix water lines beneath its kitchen.

Wait. Corn dog doughnuts? Hot dog! This sent reader @stephanieross scurrying to Okie Dokie Donuts, the gluten-free specialist at 1439 Snyder Ave. Meanwhile, the smoked herring and crab spaghetti on the bar snacks menu at Friday Saturday Sunday (261 S. 21st St.) was the perfect bite for @thompsonschill. Share your photos! DM me.

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