Restaurant notes: New in NoLibs; free food for industry 'insiders'
The old Kong is being reborn as a gastropub.
The spot in Northern Liberties off the corner of Second Street and Fairmount Avenue that was Kong and previously Sovalo (702 N. Second St.) is getting new life as a gastropub called The Blind Pig. More info forthcoming.
Cooperage Wine & Whiskey Bar (137 S. Seventh St., inside the Curtis Center) is starting a restaurant industry night on the third Monday of each month. It's applying the term "industry night" a tad loosely, shall I say, as GM Alex Bokulich is opening this event to anyone who works in or patronizes restaurants. Yes, open to everyone. Chef Ben Martin will put out comp food from 7 to 8 p.m. along with drink specials until closing at 2 a.m. The launch event this Monday (March 21) will include free roasted hog on Weck sandwiches, that Buffalo-area treat. After 8 p.m., the sammies will sell for $5 each. Martin is roasting a 75-pound hog and basting it with Rogue's Bourbon Barrel-aged John John Dead Guy Ale.