Restaurant Opening Updates

[Hospitalitygirl]

Restaurant openings update

Here are some updates on a few random restaurant projects:

Paul -- the tiny American BYOB from Effie Bouikidis (of Effie's) at 1120 Pine St. is looking at the week of June 13. She's expecting* the health inspector today.

Azie on Main -- Media's pan-Asian opens its branch in the former Maia in Villanova sometime around July 17.

Sonata -- Mark Tropea's solo debut in the Northern Liberties' Liberties Walk (BYOB) is expected as soon as health inspectors get out there.

Iron Hill's Maple Shade location is up for the end of July.

Kong -- end of July is the target for Michael O'Halloran's "Hong Kong street food" concept at 702 N. Second St. in Northern Liberties.

Avril -- the French-Italian BYOB on Bala Avenue in Bala from April Lisante and chef Christian Gatti is aiming at early August.

Village Whiskey -- Jose Garces is shooting for mid-August for his whiskey bar at 20th and Sansom Streets.

Pickled Heron -- the long, long-in-the-works American bistro from Ritz-Carlton alums Todd Braley and Daniela D’Ambrosio at 2218 Frankford Ave. in Fishtown is aiming for late summer.

Meze -- the organic-focused eatery at 2028 Fairmount Ave. is hoping for late summer.

Early August should see the opening of Mary Oaks, the more foodcentric room attached to The Blockley at 38th and Ludlow. Late month is the expected rollout of Duo (a pizzeria/bar from Avram Hornik and Mark Fichera in the old O'Hara's at 39th and Chestnut).

Zama -- the Japanese restaurant from Pod alumnus Hiroyuki "Zama" Tanaka in the space that's currently Loie (128 S. 19th St.) has no real timetable. Tanaka says he's going before the neighborhood association soon as part of the liquor license transfer. So, perhaps fall.

October is the new target for Tap House (just what it sounds like, as it's from the Public House/Mission Grill/Field House crew, at the Radian at 39th and Walnut), and Percy Street Barbecue at Ninth and South Streets.

Reading Terminal Market watchers: Beck’s Cajun Café will take over an empty space near the center court seating area before Labor Day. Menu items for lunch and dinner will include house-made beignets, po boys, Jambalaya, etouffe, and sweet tea from Bill Beck, whom you might remember from the old Pompano Grill, once at Fifth and Bainbridge (there's a bank on the corner there now).



* This is Philadelphia.

Restaurant openings update | Philadelphia Inquirer | 07/02/2009

[MikePenn]

I like the Whiskey Village and Beck's Cajun Cafe.

What I don't is Duo, Avram should be banned from opening bars and restaurants in this city

[D-man]

Looking forward to Village Whiskey. The Scotch list is unreal, and the Garces menu looks solid.
Metro - With latest, Garces does whiskey neat

[The Count]

Originally Posted by D-man

Looking forward to Village Whiskey. The Scotch list is unreal, and the Garces menu looks solid.
Metro - With latest, Garces does whiskey neat

Very nice scotch list. It appears insanely overpriced.

Like so overpriced I'm wondering if there is a mistake.

$11 for 1oz of Booker's Bourbon which can be bought in a state store for $50?
$15 for 1 oz of Bruichladdich? (The bottle sells for about $55.)
$48 for 2 oz of Glen Rothes '85 (Again, the entire 25 oz bottle sells for $130.)

Those markups are incredible. I guess they're figuring that they're the only bar in town that will even have these scotches and bourbons (which is true) so they can charge whatever they want.

[Sycamore]

I'm very excited about Whiskey Village!

[D-man]

Good point on the prices. But I'm not sure its that disproportionate to some places that sell wine by the glass. For example, I'll routinely see something like Rosemount Shiraz at restaurants for ~$5 a glass. The whole bottle can purchased for about 12 bucks, which would yield at least 4 hefty glasses.

At a place like Village Whiskey, I would probably stick to 12 y/o scotches and avoid the higher price ones. Even at that, I would probably only have a couple glasses, if I'm going there for dinner. Then go home and enjoy a reasonably priced Macallan in the comfort of my living room.

Oh, here's the website: Village Whiskey

[Hospitalitygirl]

Whiskey Village is opening Friday. It will share some facilities with Tinto.

[The Count]

Originally Posted by D-man

Good point on the prices. But I'm not sure its that disproportionate to some places that sell wine by the glass. For example, I'll routinely see something like Rosemount Shiraz at restaurants for ~$5 a glass. The whole bottle can purchased for about 12 bucks, which would yield at least 4 hefty glasses.

At a place like Village Whiskey, I would probably stick to 12 y/o scotches and avoid the higher price ones. Even at that, I would probably only have a couple glasses, if I'm going there for dinner. Then go home and enjoy a reasonably priced Macallan in the comfort of my living room.

Oh, here's the website: Village Whiskey

If we were talking about $15 to $40 for a decent pour it would make more sense.

But 1 oz of 10-year Bruichladdich for $15?

A shot is 1.5 ounces, so this is less than a shot.

I feel like an amount that small will evaporate in the glass before I can drink it.

I think there is some mistake on here. The prices are probably correct but serving sizes are probably off. Those amounts aren't even really enjoyable to drink. It's one sip. Maybe less.

[Sycamore]

Originally Posted by D-man

Good point on the prices. But I'm not sure its that disproportionate to some places that sell wine by the glass. For example, I'll routinely see something like Rosemount Shiraz at restaurants for ~$5 a glass. The whole bottle can purchased for about 12 bucks, which would yield at least 4 hefty glasses.

At a place like Village Whiskey, I would probably stick to 12 y/o scotches and avoid the higher price ones. Even at that, I would probably only have a couple glasses, if I'm going there for dinner. Then go home and enjoy a reasonably priced Macallan in the comfort of my living room.

Oh, here's the website: Village Whiskey

I would go for the expensive/rare ones, the ones I can't afford to enjoy a whole bottle of in my living room.

[D-man]

Originally Posted by Hospitalitygirl

Whiskey Village is opening Friday. It will share some facilities with Tinto.

Not to nitpick, but is it "Whiskey Village" or "Village Whiskey"? I feel like I'm the only one calling it "Village Whiskey", but that's what the sign says.

[Sycamore]

I suspect the business' sign is correct.

[Hospitalitygirl]

Originally Posted by D-man

Not to nitpick, but is it "Whiskey Village" or "Village Whiskey"? I feel like I'm the only one calling it "Village Whiskey", but that's what the sign says.

My bad--Village Whiskey.

[BeardScraper]

whiskey village sounds excellent. anyone have info on Whiskey Fest? i think there is one coming up this fall.

[Das1978]

Whiskey Village is where all the Whiskey Tango's live. Village Whiskey is where the whiskey connoisseurs congregate to imbibe.

[MikePenn]

Originally Posted by The Count

If we were talking about $15 to $40 for a decent pour it would make more sense.

But 1 oz of 10-year Bruichladdich for $15?

A shot is 1.5 ounces, so this is less than a shot.

I feel like an amount that small will evaporate in the glass before I can drink it.

I think there is some mistake on here. The prices are probably correct but serving sizes are probably off. Those amounts aren't even really enjoyable to drink. It's one sip. Maybe less.

The price for Bruichladdich is $13.

Most upscale places in Philadelphia use 1 oz or what some call a "pony shot". Did you ever see the white line around a shot glass ? That's the 1 oz mark. Most fine cordials and aged spirits are served as an oz. Besides that the prices seem right for a place like this, they're not looking for people to throw back shots and get messy. Absolut in a semi upscale establishment cost $8 a shot and a bottle at the state store is what $22.

[jen]

i tried village whiskey on saturday: packed. beyond packed. ended up at franklin mortgage and investment instead which is also excellent if you like whiskey. and plain old fun. The Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co. - A Drinking Establishment

[MikePenn]

Originally Posted by BeardScraper

whiskey village sounds excellent. anyone have info on Whiskey Fest? i think there is one coming up this fall.

New York in November

[BeardScraper]

Originally Posted by MikePenn

New York in November

a friend that works for a PA liquor store said that there was another one in philly this fall. unless he was misinformed. he attended the one this past year in philly. i dont want to miss the next one.

[MikePenn]

Originally Posted by BeardScraper

a friend that works for a PA liquor store said that there was another one in philly this fall. unless he was misinformed. he attended the one this past year in philly. i dont want to miss the next one.

WhiskyFest

[R8CHEL]

just got back from Village Whiskey.

Minuses: Super packed and the crowd was somewhat douchey. Our party of 3 got there at 8:15 and waited over at Tinto. We weren't seated until 9:25. They don't take reservations. The maitre d' said a lot of people had their checks but they just weren't leaving. They pack you in like sardines. While I ordered my burger medium rare, it came out more medium but was still tender and juicy.

Pluses: The food was really really good. We ordered a veggie burger, a village burger with fried egg and cheddar, duck fat fries with slyfox cheddar sauce, pickled beets and pickled tomatoes with mascarpone and olive tapenade. Ginger Rogers cocktails and a Four Roses single barrel whiskey. I really enjoyed the whiskey but $10 for an ounce was absurd. For dessert the s'more and the strawberry shortcake. I can't say anything bad about the food we ordered. It was all really good. The most surprising were the pickled plates. It's one of those things that you'd think would be just ok but it was so delicious. The duck fat fries were, of course, awesome. Also, we split the gazpacho while waiting over at Tinto and that was off the hook.

I'll probably be back but I would never go on a weekend night again since the food is good but not worth waiting an hour for... and it won't be for a while until my arteries clear out.