N. A MORSEL; A MOUTHFUL; THE BEGINNING OF A HEAVENLY MEAL
They're the chefs, bakers, and culinary magicians who most teased your taste buds.
Jonathan McDonald Pub & Kitchen
Chef Jonathan McDonald cut his teeth working in the kitchens of Philadelphia's finest, then further honed his craft in San Sebastian at Spain's highly regarded Mugaritz. His new gastropub, Pub & Kitchen, shows he's back where he belongs. Read more
There's the Pub
Pub & Kitchen Opens
You’ve skirted “that place” forever but dared not enter, convinced it was operated by hags and held together by bugs. Since 1971, it has stood at 20th and Lombard skeeving you out.
But now that it’s becoming Pub & Kitchen, you’ll have to revise that opinion.
P&K will serve traditional English pub fare (fish and chips, bangers and mash), modern gastropubbery (lobster BLT, chicken liver toasts), and Americana (burgers, wings), along with a great beer selection and an affordable wine list.
Exposed white brick, hardwood floors, tables made from floor joists, and an intimate dining room mean that the interior is as welcoming as the exterior (which bears the silhouette of a kindly pabbit — a pig with a rabbit’s head, babe).
The owners say P&K opens for reals this Friday. (But you might be able to sneak in beforehand.)
Just don’t say we told you.
Pub & Kitchen, 1946 Lombard Street (215-545-0350 or thepubandkitchen.com).
Bruce Cooper Cooper's Brick Oven Wine Bar
Bruce Cooper has been on the Manayunk dining scene since 1987. His new spot serves pies with unexpected ingredients and quality wines -- making the new Cooper's Brick Oven Wine Bar an instant classic. Read more
Pizza! Pizza!
Cooper’s Brick Oven Wine Bar Opens
There are two things we can’t live without. One is pizza. And barring anything served in the state of Maryland, we’ve never met a slice we didn’t like.
So as soon as the health inspector gives a thumbs up to Cooper’s Brick Oven Wine Bar, we’ll be there. (Please, sir, don’t wait till Monday.)
The casual answer to Manayunk mainstay Jake’s (operated by the same owners), Cooper’s serves an array of irresistible pies like Mushroom (crimini puree and Amish cheddar), Spicy Meatball (Mancuso’s ricotta and tomato), and Shortrib (Parmesan, horseradish cream, and port). There are also small plates like charcuterie and boneless wings (cooked in the brick oven, so there’s no added fat).
What’s the other thing we love? Wine. Cooper’s delivers here, too, with an approachable list of interesting varietals that are neither too expensive nor overwhelming.
May as well make that three things we can’t live without.
Cooper’s Brick Oven Wine Bar, 4367 Main Street, Manayunk (215-483-2750).
Tim Shaaban, Sam Shaaban, Brian Thrippleton, and Bruno Pouget APO
Urban Space Development came together with former Caribou Café owner Pouget to create APO (formerly Apothecary), a bar and lounge with fresh, imaginative cocktails that offers anything but the typical Philadelphia nightlife scene. Read more
Barmacy
Apothecary Bar & Lounge Opens
Once upon a time, chemists dosed clientele with distilled essences of herbs to therapeutic ends.
Today, mixologists at Apothecary Bar & Lounge use fresh ingredients and secret skills to revive classic cocktails and concoct restorative elixirs.
Like the dry and crisp Aviation, a robin’s-egg blue mingling of Plymouth gin, Crème de Violette, and maraschino liqueur. Combat free radicals with the bilberry and acai RustOleo elixir (German honey liqueur, Brazilian cachaça, a splash of chocolate mole bitters) invented by New York’s Tippling Bros., who created the cocktail menu.
The neutral gray space is done up in icy white marble bars, green lighting, and a sleek slate roof deck (a great backdrop for Jay Gatsby-like al fresco sipping).
From the chemists’ cabinet lined with distillations to the etiquette rules posted on the menu, Apothecary is stocked with all the right remedies for life in the East Coast’s illest city.
Apothecary Bar & Lounge, 102 South 13th Street (215-701-4786 or apothecarylounge.com).
