Restaurant notes: New in Mullica Hill; buy a Bucks County inn?
And a South Philly Vietnamese eatery gets its liquor license.
Culinary Institute of America grad Anthony Marino is behind Marino's of Mullica Hill, targeted for an early May opening in Mullica Hill Commons Shopping Center, 157 Bridgeton Pike in Mullica Hill. He'll do breakfast, lunch, and dinner seven days. Fare will include pizzas, salads, sandwiches, soups, and panini. Marino grew up making pizzas and stromboli at his father Joe Marino's Pizza in Runnemede. After the CIA, he externed at Le Bernardin and, with a classmate, later ran a fast-casual operation in Philly called Gia Pronto. He's big on local products. On opening day, Marino's featured pizza will be a bianco topped with Mullica Hill raised asparagus, smoked Scamorza cheese, fresh parsley, garlic, and extra virgin olive oil. Featured sandwiches will be a beef cheek Bollito with salsa verde and chili sauce; and Speck ham from Alto Adige with Taleggio cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, and extra virgin olive oil on ciabatta.
Speaking of dining ventures in the countryside, I've just spied a considerable price drop on the Cuttalossa Inn, on 4 acres by the banks of the Delaware in Lumberville, Bucks County. Though the published listing advertises it for $549,000, it's now offered for $299,000.
Memphis Taproom in Kensington/Fishtown is looking at an April 23 debut of its beer garden, whose set piece will be a hot dog truck. Basic menu: doggies in 10 varieties plus canned beer.
Le Viet, Bruce Cao's polished Vietnamese bistro just off 11th Street and Washington Avenue, just got the liquor license paperwork -- a mere one year after opening. Cao expects to have his bar going in early May.
Center City's Erawan Thai Cuisine has opened its Chinatown location: 925 Arch St., replacing the original Siam Cuisine (which still has its Bucks locations in Newtown and Buckingham). BYOB, no corkage.