Philly’s sweetest comeback story | Let’s Eat

Zitner’s, which was forced to skip its chocolate-making season last Easter, is coming back, and we take you inside.

💡Reminder that Nov. 14, next Saturday, is The Inquirer Food Festival at the Fillmore, and tickets are just about gone. Meanwhile, check out seven South Philly restaurants and six Center City restaurants that are on board for this all-day extravaganza. Tickets are here.

Also in this edition:

— Mike Klein

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This was a fun one to report: Touring Zitner’s brand-new candy factory as workers started production on another season of cream-filled chocolate eggs. You should start seeing them in stores as early as December. Read on for the exclusive story and visual journalist Sarah Silbiger’s tasty-looking video.

We recently asked you to build the perfect Italian hoagie, and the results are in. To show how we’re evolving as a city: About two-thirds of respondents prefer their hoagie on a seeded roll, something that was rare a generation ago. See it here.

I count 17 restaurants plus a landmark bakery opening this month in the city and suburbs. Among the newcomers is a fancy omakase experience, a sports bar, a posh Euro bistro, and no fewer than four Italian restaurants. Read on for the rundown.

Stephanie Farr visited one of our favorite haunts —The Inquirer 76-approved Bob’s Diner, next to Leverington Cemetery in Roxborough — where, as she writes, “you can get fluffy pancakes with a reminder of your own mortality on the side.” I’ll add: Please don’t stiff your waitress.

Refined Thai cuisine, prepared with French technique, is the differentiator at the new Baan Atelier in Conshohocken, whose ownership overlaps with Chiangmai, a casual Thai restaurant, across the street. This khao soi, with its soft egg noodles and a tousled crown of crisp, golden fried noodles, was a showstopper at a recent visit.

Join us for a first look inside the soon-to-open Philly Po’Boy Co., where chefs-brothers Chris and Greg Lynch are re-creating New Orleans fare, such as po’boys, beignets, and gumbo under the El in Kensington.

Another matcha café? Not quite. Rittenhouse newcomer KYN stands out with Korean-inspired drinks, from earthy mugwort lattes to Einspänners topped with house-made whipped cream. Owner Youngnam Kwon told Kiki Aranita that he is prepared to lose money (for now, anyway) because “quality matters.”

Pizza Plus West is back in the original owners’ hands, and Beatrice Forman reports they’ve added tasty fried chicken.

Maru serves Korean-inspired food, coffee, and plenty of gluten-free options at a BYOB cafe in the suburbs.

Rival Bros., one of Philadelphia’s celebrated coffee shops, is headed to the suburbs.

Thank You Thank You, the tiny coffee shop at Seventh and Sansom Streets that attracts an outsize contingent of java nerds, will shutter at the end of December. Owner Cody McGregor posted on Instagram that with the construction project beginning on the building next door, and his shop’s building needing renovations, “this is the only tenable option for us.” He says he is working on a new shop at 2401 Washington Ave.

Santé, Daniel Solway’s roving supper club and events business, is now looking at a January opening for Santé Social, its permanent space across from East Passyunk’s Singing Fountain. Meanwhile, Solway is hunting for a name for the goose in Santé’s logo. Submit your idea here.

Fancy wine, down-to-earth price: Wine writer Marnie Old finds plenty to love in Dog Point’s New Zealand sauvignon blanc, a layered, citrusy white that drinks above its $24.99 price point.

Emmett hosts a homecoming dinner Sunday for Manny and Gina Ocasio of Buffalo’s Mira. Manny worked at Zahav and Jean-Georges; Gina helped launch Fiore Fine Foods. The couple, who met in Philadelphia, will join Emmett’s team for four courses blending Mediterranean and Levantine influences, including fermented chickpea kalinti with king crab and caviar, Roman-spiced hanger shish, and olive oil cake with fig leaf gelato. It’s $150pp plus tax and tip; open seating via OpenTable.

Asher’s Chocolate Co. and Cape May Brewing Co. are collaborating on a beer inspired by the pairing of beer and chocolate-covered pretzels. The limited release will include the Dipped & Twisted: a Chocolate-Covered Pretzel Imperial Brown Ale and two limited-edition candies, Cape May Crunch and Malted Sea Salt Caramels, due on shelves next week. Tasting events are set for 5-8 p.m. Friday at the Cape May Brewing Tasting Room (1250 Hornet Road, Cape May) and 5-7 p.m. Tuesday at Asher’s (80 Wambold Rd., Souderton).

The Big Dill, billed as the world’s largest pickle party, returns to Philadelphia starting at noon Nov. 14 at Stateside Live! (1100 Pattison Ave.) with pickle everything, including beer, milkshakes, “pickle-ritas” plus a sampling of 100-plus varieties of pickles. Organizers hope to set a world record with over 1,200 people dressed as pickles. Tickets, starting at $29.99, are on sale now at bigdill.com/tour.

Her Place Supper Club will bring in chef Ryan Bartlow of New York City’s Ernesto’s and Bartolo for a Nov. 13 dinner featuring dishes inspired by his debut cookbook, Essentially Basque: Bringing Spanish Cooking Home.Seatings at 5:30 and 8:30 p.m., tickets: $245pp including dinner, book, tax, and tip. Reserve via OpenTable.

Jill Weber, archaeologist and owner of Jet Wine Bar, will lead “Prehistoric Pours,” an after-hours wine tasting and fossil tour at Edelman Fossil Park & Museum in Mantua Township at 6 p.m. Nov. 13. Five tasting stations will pair wines from New Jersey, Morocco, Mexico, Italy, and Patagonia with fossils connected to those regions. Tickets: $175, including food pairings by 12th Street Catering, museum admission, and a return visit. Tickets.

Hi-Lo Taco Co. (1109 Walnut St.) will mark its third anniversary with a Tex-Mex spin on Friendsgiving at 6:45 p.m. Nov. 18 with communal seating for 30 people. Menu will focus on mesquite-smoked turkey carnitas served with fall vegetables and flour tortillas. Tickets, on the website, are $80pp plus tax and gratuity.

What is the worst thing to do to your pumpkin now?

A) stuff it with birdseed and put it up in a tree

B) toss it into a compost pile, assuming it hasn’t been painted

C) send it to a landfill

D) take it to a field and chuck it with a catapult

Find out if you know the answer.

We walked by Broad and South recently, where the diner closed back in 2020. Looks as if it’s being reconfigured at last. Any idea of what’s next? — Cliff E

Not a restaurant, this time. I’m told that Zarminali Pediatrics has leased the former City Diner (and before that, Juniper Commons) at the northeast corner of Broad and South Streets.

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