London Grill expanding

[witout]

Fairmount is exploding lately with activity. Hickory Lane and Lemon Hill are in their opening weeks, La Calaca Feliz is gearing up for a Jan. 17 debut, and Mugshots is ready to pack for a move down the street.

London Grill, at 23d and Fairmount for going on 21 years now, is preparing to launch a wine bar next door, in the space previously used as a takeout shop and insurance office.

Aiming for a Feb. 9 launch, Terry Berch McNally and chef Michael McNally are setting up Paris Wine Bar (2303 Fairmount Ave., 215-978-4545) as an intimate 50-seater showcasing Pennsylvania-produced wines and French-inspired dishes in a tin-ceilinged, Euro setting. Terry helped decorate the place from her French sconce collection.

Six wines - two whites, three reds and one dry rose - will be offered “on draught,” tapped from kegs that have been filled by the winemakers, such as Allegro, Pinnacle Ridge, Galen Glenn and Manatawny. Great pricing: $7 to $9.50 per glass, with some at $4 during the 5 to 7 p.m. happy hour.

Sample dishes: Croque Madame, with duck confit, brie, and a fried duck egg; steamed mussels, with leeks, saffron and mustard served with grilled bread; and mustard-crusted calf’s liver, with smoked bacon-onion marmalade.

Paris Wine Bar will be open Thursday through Sunday from 4 p.m. until midnight

[DocAwesome]

And the link

'I see London, I see ...' | Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/11/2012

[BenDee]

It's called Paris Wine Bar, yet only/mainly serves PA wines? The pricing is meh rather than great - $7-$9.50/glass for wines that appear to retail between $10-$14/bottle (and they are likely getting a decent discount) seems to be par for the course.

[FMT]

Fairmount is exploding lately with activity. Hickory Lane and Lemon Hill are in their opening weeks, La Calaca Feliz is gearing up for a Jan. 17 debut, and Mugshots is ready to pack for a move down the street.

London Grill, at 23d and Fairmount for going on 21 years now, is preparing to launch a wine bar next door, in the space previously used as a takeout shop and insurance office.

Aiming for a Feb. 9 launch, Terry Berch McNally and chef Michael McNally are setting up Paris Wine Bar (2303 Fairmount Ave., 215-978-4545) as an intimate 50-seater showcasing Pennsylvania-produced wines and French-inspired dishes in a tin-ceilinged, Euro setting. Terry helped decorate the place from her French sconce collection.

Six wines - two whites, three reds and one dry rose - will be offered “on draught,” tapped from kegs that have been filled by the winemakers, such as Allegro, Pinnacle Ridge, Galen Glenn and Manatawny. Great pricing: $7 to $9.50 per glass, with some at $4 during the 5 to 7 p.m. happy hour.

Sample dishes: Croque Madame, with duck confit, brie, and a fried duck egg; steamed mussels, with leeks, saffron and mustard served with grilled bread; and mustard-crusted calf’s liver, with smoked bacon-onion marmalade.

Paris Wine Bar will be open Thursday through Sunday from 4 p.m. until midnight

Croque Madame and Confit de Canard...I will definitely be there. This sounds very cool...London is still the best happy hour in the neighborhood.

[b_fairmount]

PA wine for $7 to 9.50 a glass. What is the place run by the PLCB?

[FMT]

PA wine for $7 to 9.50 a glass. What is the place run by the PLCB?

A close friend of mine is a local winemaker. He always laughs at how cheap people think wine from PA should be. Obviously a small local winemaker has higher per unit costs than a mass produced wine from New Zealand. There are some good wines being made here in PA, and they are getting better every year.

That having been said, obviously London is marking them up as well, but bars/restaurants marking up wine and liquor and beer especially nowadays is not news.

[eldondre]

A close friend of mine is a local winemaker. He always laughs at how cheap people think wine from PA should be. Obviously a small local winemaker has higher per unit costs than a mass produced wine from New Zealand. There are some good wines being made here in PA, and they are getting better every year.

That having been said, obviously London is marking them up as well, but bars/restaurants marking up wine and liquor and beer especially nowadays is not news.

the original article claimed it was great pricing...strikes me as regular pricing. I know in italy restaurants would often have a special deal with a specific winery for a house wine and be able to offer it for less (not unlike private label stuff in a grocey store)...though I'm sure there's some law against that here.

[CherieV]

I know in italy restaurants would often have a special deal with a specific winery for a house wine and be able to offer it for less (not unlike private label stuff in a grocey store)...though I'm sure there's some law against that here.

^ding ding^