Elena Wu is back with a Mount Laurel BYOB
Elena Wu sold Chez Elena Wu in Voorhees two years ago, and that seemed to cap a 25-year South Jersey restaurant career, as it's now under a different team.
Elena Wu sold Chez Elena Wu in Voorhees two years ago, and that seemed to cap a 25-year South Jersey restaurant career, as it's now under a different team.
But no. She and husband, K.K., could not stay away, and came roaring back two weeks ago with Très Elena Wu, a refined, French-influenced Chinese BYOB in the Bank of America Plaza at Larchmont (3131 Route 38, Mount Laurel; 856-608-8888). Paul Yan, her brother, is back in the kitchen. Shirley Feigenbaum of SGF Interiors, a longtime customer who worked with her previously, decorated the dining rooms in browns and beiges, deftly incorporating a six-seat sushi bar into one side.
It's open for lunch and dinner daily. Lunch specials are mostly less than $12 and include sushi, crab cake, and grilled teriyaki chicken. Most dinner entrees are under $20.
Coming and going
Biba, up for August at the Left Bank at 3131 Walnut St., will be "Tria's spunky little cousin," says owner Jon Myerow. It will offer 26 wines by the glass with a focus on value, and 10 beers including a rotating local cask selection. Food will be wine-friendly light fare, including cheese, charcuterie, and chocolate.
The Golden Inn in Avalon has renovated its dining room into a restaurant called seaglass, named after the many glassmaking furnaces in the area during the 18th century - none of which began their names with capital letters, either. Opening will be Tuesday. Dinner will be served from 7 to 10 p.m. daily; a small-plates menu will be offered at the 40-seat bar until midnight.
Legal Sea Foods' branch at Philadelphia International Airport's B-C connector opened last weekend.
John Gonzalez, who had run the front of the house at Bistrot La Minette since he and chef Peter Woolsey opened the cafe on Sixth Street near Bainbridge in late 2008, has bowed out. It was "for the fiscal health of the restaurant," said Gonzalez, a partner, who is confident that it will thrive.
After 99 days, Thoreau, the polished vegetarian BYOB at 1033 Spring Garden St., has closed, chef/owner Mike Jackson confirmed. "Kind of a big mess" is how Jackson described the situation with his partners. He said they differed over work being done on an outdoor seating area. He is back at Blue Sage, his BYOB in Southampton, "with my tail between my legs - but energized," he said.