Philly’s best water ice and gelati | Let’s Eat
Fishtown is seeing a pizza boom, a Michelin-recommended restaurant is shut down, “Skinny Joey” heads downashore, and we’ll tell you what’s going into the old Metropolitan Bakery in Rittenhouse.
As we think warm thoughts of spring and summer, here are our favorite outlets throughout the region for water ice and gelati.
Also in this edition:
Call Your Mother: The D.C. bagel deli is planning not one but two Philly locations, and one was a Rittenhouse landmark.
Fishtown pizza: A tasty newcomer has opened in 19125, and one more shop is on the way.
Roxanne is shuttered: The city says the Michelin-recommended restaurant, which had been idled recently, never was licensed.
Beer news: Philly strikes gold twice at the World Beer Cup, and Evil Genius has bought 21st Amendment.
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Two of our favorite warm-weather refreshments are water ice and gelati. Beatrice Forman found 11 places that are transforming them into towering cakes, cocktails, pails for the beach, and more. Read on for the cold facts.
Call Your Mother, the Washington, D.C., chain of bagel delis, plans two Philadelphia locations. We told you months ago about Fishtown, but Emily Bloch today drops the exclusive that another is opening at the recently shuttered Metropolitan Bakery in Rittenhouse. Here’s what you need to know.
City officials ordered the shutdown of the Michelin-recommended Roxanne in Queen Village, which, as Beatrice Forman tells us, apparently was never licensed to operate.
The building housing landmark dive bar McGlinchey’s, which closed last summer, is under agreement of sale. Over the weekend, the name of the corporation listed on the liquor-license transfer placard sent the internet into a frenzy: Is singer Zach Bryan really part of the deal or is the buyer simply a fanboy?
Two Northwest Philly breweries won big at the World Beer Cup last week: Roxborough’s New Ridge scored gold and bronze medals, while Germantown’s Attic struck gold.
Evil Genius in Fishtown has bought the assets of the shuttered 21st Amendment Brewery out of San Francisco, a heady move.
Last week, we feasted on filet mignon in Wayne, slurped a big bowl of noodles in Point Breeze, licked the perfect soft-serve swirl in East Passyunk, and dug into these Indian nachos in Berwyn.
Those Indian nachos are from Vibe Haus, the Philly area’s only Indian brewpub. Aside from beers and cocktails, the menu boasts plenty of interesting fusion.
Scoops
Center City is getting a glossy Japanese hand-roll and sushi restaurant from New York City. Wabi Nori owner Peter Wong hopes to open this fall on 11th Street near Sansom, across from Jefferson Hospital.
“Skinny Joey” Merlino, the onetime wiseguy, is headed to Wildwood’s Boardwalk with a cheesesteak shop/pizzeria, as well as to Delaware County with a sandwich shop.
Restaurant report
Fishtown has become quite the pizza scene. Sure, it’s boasted Beddia, Shackamaxon, and Mulherin’s, but two newcomers — Marina’s and the days-old Liguria —are heating things up. Also note that the erstwhile Vince’s on the lower end of Frankford across from the Fillmore is changing hands. Anyae Wilson-Worley is taking it over and hopes to open next month as In Crust We Trust.
Cleavers, the Rittenhouse cheesesteak shop, branches out to Newtown Square on Monday with a location, open daily, in Ellis Preserve (103 Squire Drive). Sibling owners Dimitri and Electra Poulimenos, who live nearby, opened the flagship (108 S. 18th St.) exactly 10 years ago. Phil Voutsakis of Winig Properties brokered the lease.
Narbeth is popping with two new restaurants. Denali Sagner visits Lassan Indian Traditional and Malooga, whose Yemeni menu is amped by a bakery and coffee bar.
Hatch & Coop, the chicken-and-egg specialist, closed last week after nearly a decade on 12th Street near Sansom. Owner Gary Dorfman said the business made it through COVID in good shape, helped by online ordering and a takeout-friendly menu, but its weekday lunch trade — especially Fridays — never fully returned. A post-pandemic pivot to 24-hour business helped (especially after the bars closed), but rising food costs, thin margins, needs for upgrades, and a tough winter made continued operation untenable, he said.
Sakartvelo’s nearly four-year run providing a Georgian menu at 705 Chestnut St. has ended. Owners also have Georgian Bread in the Far Northeast.
Briefly noted
“Philadelphia Foodways: Ground-Level Food Sovereignty, Conscious Eating, and the Story of How Philly Immigrants Have Saved Billions of Lives” is the title of a panel at 6 p.m. today at the Free Library’s Kensington branch, 104 W. Dauphin St. Panelists are Vance Lehmkuhl, Ana Negron, Iris Brown, and chef Lulu Nau of the nearby vegan Puerto Rican restaurant Casa Borinqueña, who will bring food to sample.
Of all the Star Wars-themed “May the 4th″ events, New Hope seems to offer the most, including specialty menus, costumed discounts, interactive experiences, and Stormtroopers walking the streets. It runs over four days, starting Friday. Rundown is here.
Franklin Ice Cream Bar opens for the season at 112 Market St. in Old City at 2 p.m. Saturday with free baby cones of custard to the first 50 people.
Brauhaus Schmitz will close off the 700 block of South Street for the 13th time for its annual Maifest spring festival and block party Saturday from 11 a.m.-8 p.m.
Lovat Square, the new Chestnut Hill wine shop, will mark Sunday’s Home & Garden Festival by hosting the team from New Jersey’s currently idled Sweet Amalia, who will be shucking oysters alongside wine importer Local Operator, which will serve cool-kid natural wine (Chateau de Beru Chablis and Ramon Jane Pet Nat) by the glass and can. Lovat Square will sell sandwiches made on Downtime Bakery focaccia (white bean with spring greens and salsa verde) and baguettes (chicken confit with rhubarb mostarda), all from 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Wilder’s Tom Brander will join Nikki Graziano at Fishtown’s Bar Palmina (1306 N. Front St.) for an alcohol-free pop-up called “Oops All Berries” starting at 4 p.m. May 6. Drinks will include an Oops All Berries cereal milk punch, and a nonalcoholic citywide, plus four other cocktails, and a few raw-bar items such as blackberry oysters with a berry mignonette and a berry-influenced tuna crudo.
❓Pop quiz
Which of these things about chef Greg Vernick is not true?
A) his mom owned a restaurant
B) his top childhood food memories involve lazy Susans at Chinatown restaurants
C) he was a championship ballroom dancer just out of college
D) he’s a sucker for convenience stores
Find out if you know the answer.
Such smart readers you are! Dozens of you knew that the sultry dining room featured in last week’s newsletter (shown above) was Stephen Starr’s Tangerine, which opened in 2000 in a former hardware store at 232 Market St. Tangerine was Starr’s third Old City splash, following the now-shuttered Continental (1995) down the street and the still-open Buddakan (1998) around the corner. At the outset, Tangerine was a Moroccan-inspired showpiece but later drifted toward a broader Mediterranean identity. What people seem to remember most is the sensual, fabric-draped space with a wall of votive candles (real ones, not battery-powered), and the kind of theatrics that made dinner feel like midnight at the oasis. It closed in 2009 amid a recession. The space is now empty after Kick Axe Throwing folded last year.
👉 More nostalgia: Here’s Craig LaBan’s review of Tangerine from 2000.
Ask Mike anything
What’s up with the beer garden going up across from Di Bruno Bros.’ bottle shop at Ninth and Montrose in the Italian Market? — Evan W.
Di Bruno’s is turning its Italian Market-adjacent outdoor seating area into a more formal beer garden this year, with more than 90 seats, piped-in music, plantings, and an outdoor bar serving a limited menu of sandwiches, prosecco, canned cocktails, and other drinks. Opening festivities will be 2-3 p.m. May 8, with official opening on May 9. The space, previously maintained as public seating, will remain open with no admission charge, said Di Bruno’s Sandra Brown, adding that people may still bring food from outside, including from Di Bruno’s cheese shop and the bottle shop, which will sell cheese-and-charcuterie “duos” for two. Hours: 4-10 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and noon-10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; seating is open in the off hours.
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