Table Talk | Getting the smoking going at Station Bistro
When people say Craig Miller is smoking, they refer to the smoker he has for baby backs, turkey and pork at Station Bistro in Kimberton, Chester County (1300 Hares Hill Rd., 610-933-1147), which he runs with his wife, Nancy Dill Miller. She's a chocolate specialist; ask for the dark chocolate espresso bark.
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When people say Craig Miller is smoking, they refer to the smoker he has for baby backs, turkey and pork at
Station Bistro
in Kimberton, Chester County (1300 Hares Hill Rd., 610-933-1147), which he runs with his wife, Nancy Dill Miller. She's a chocolate specialist; ask for the dark chocolate espresso bark.
The new BYOB, whose decor mixes the building's 18th-century colonial past with 20th-century art deco, is a family-friendly hang: coffee and such in the morning, segueing into lunch/dinner - sandwiches, salads and American entrees. Most dishes are under $20. Regular days are Mondays through Saturdays.
What's new
Two newcomers to Pennsport, the slice of South Philly hard by Delaware Avenue below Washington:
The Ugly American
(1100 S. Front St., 215-336-1100), a manly gastropub with an all-American wine list (mostly Californians), replaces La Vigna at Front and Federal. Kevin Kelly, a former manager with Avram Hornik's Four Corners (Bar Noir, Drinkers Pub, Lucy's, Loie) has installed a former French chef - Loie and Coquette alum David Gilberg - to cook an all-American menu. It's open nightly from 5 p.m., plus Sunday brunch. Bar menu tops out at $10; entrees run $17 to $23. A serious dessert selection includes homemade ice cream from Carla Gilberg.
Peppercorns
has opened at 1401 E. Moyamensing Ave. (267-322-3000) at the junction of Reed, Moyamensing and Third. This bright, comfy newcomer is more of a restaurant with a mirror-backed bar. Chef Joe Ling, last at the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, is the father of chef Greg Ling, now at Django after turns at Deuce, Raw and Rx. His straightforward menu includes apps (Asian chicken spring rolls, wings, calamari, mussels) and entrees (sauteed shrimp-and-scallops, pan-seared filet mignon, cornmeal-crusted rainbow trout, crabcakes). Most entrees are in the high teens, with gusts into the $20s. Peppercorns serves 5 to 10 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays, but a late-night menu and expanded days are on the way.
Also new
"Global dim sum" is the concept at
Sonam
(223 South St., 215-922-3092), a most un-BYOB-like BYOB because of the small-plates menu and lounge style. Chef-owner Ben Byruch, a vet of Pod, Trust and the Desmond Hotel, offers neat cocktail and wine glasses. Plates are $6 to $13; figure on three or four each. It's open for dinner daily except for Tuesdays.
The new
David's on Main
(61 E. Main St., Moorestown, 856-273-8200) has a '40s supper-club feel - all the more retro because the BYOB's namesake/owner, David Neukirch, is 22. He also owns Dynamic Caterers and the Cubby Hole Cafe. Menu is Continental, entrees are $14 to $38, and it's dinner-only Tuesdays through Sundays.