New Rittenhouse Square fare from Susanna Foo, Citron + Rose, Cook N Solo
Remember the names Suga, Dizengoff, Abe Fisher, Citron + Rose, Mercadito.
If you're looking for new-dining activity, Rittenhouse Square will never disappoint.
I'll start with the return of Susanna Foo to Center City. A month ago, I reported that the doyenne of Asian cuisine was wokking on a deal in Rittenhouse, which she left in 2009 after she sold her landmark building on Walnut Street. But she declined to ID the location.
Now, public records point to 1720 Sansom St., the long-shuttered, former home of Genji and briefly Kingyo, across from the Sofitel. It's less than three blocks from her old restaurant.
Foo will have her longtime chef, Anne Coll, in the kitchen. Coll recently rejoined Foo's fold after five years at Meritage; she now is executive chef at Susanna Foo Gourmet Kitchen in the Radnor Financial Center, which opened in late 2006. I'm hearing Suga as the name, which makes sense as a portmanteau because the establishment will be a mother-son collab of Susanna and Gabriel Foo. No timeline is available.
From the food of the Foos to the food of the Jews:
Dizengoff - a small, casual, Israeli-style hummusiya - is due in the very-not-too-distant future from chefs Steve Cook and Michael Solomonov (Zahav, Percy Street, Federal Donuts) at 1609 Sansom St., across from the Center City FedNuts shop.
Shortly after Dizengoff's debut, the partners will go next door to open a 50-seater called Abe Fisher, whose cuisine will encompass the Jewish diaspora (e.g. the non-Israeli Jewish cooking found in such places as Montreal, New York, France, Hungary and Italy, along with a full bar).
And then there's David Magerman of the Main Line's Six Points Restaurant Group, whose reps tell me that he is working on a second version of his kosher Citron + Rose, venturing into Rittenhouse this fall. He won't disclose the location.
Next week, Citron + Rose, which opened in Merion Station in 2012 (coincidentally with Cook and Solomonov as managers), is introducing a more casual, family-friendly menu, including its signature burger, sandwiches and large plates including braised beef goulash, roast chicken, and weekly additions, including fried chicken and waffles and brisket pot pie. The restaurant's name will become C&R Kitchen.
The rep says the Center City Citron + Rose, also overseen by chef Karen Nicolas, will offer a more diverse contemporary American and Mediterranean menu than is now served in Merion. The restaurant will also offer a bar bites menu with small plates alongside a cocktail and craft beer program. Another Six Points restaurant - The Dairy - is set to open in late fall at 289 Montgomery Ave., Bala Cynwyd, across the street from C&R Kitchen.
One more of note: Mercadito - the lively Chicago-based Mexican from Alfredo Sandoval- has "mid-December" penciled in for 2116 Chestnut St.