🍸Philly’s 25 best new bars | Let’s Eat

Cheers to 2024. We run down at least two dozen new bars of all kinds. Also this week, we chill by taking a cool look at ice cream sandwiches, find some positive news around a diner’s closing, and get to the bottom of a nagging issue: Why doesn’t Philadelphia have an edition of the Michelin Guide?

— Mike Klein

If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.

Sure, 2023 was a banner year for Philly restaurants, with even more are on the way for 2024. But how about the bar scene. Jenn Ladd has found at least two dozen new entrants of all stripes, from coffee shop/bar combos to polished cocktail lounges (that’s Poison Heart, above) to self-service bars.

Philly restaurants get all kinds of attention, but where is the Michelin Guide in all this? Enjoy this illustration by Steve Madden, and I’ll tell you what we know about the bid to bring the Michelin Man to town. Hint: Money is involved.

The Lucky Well’s pivot from barbecue to “incubator” is tapping the collaborative spirit by allowing newcomers to test their pop-up dreams in a restaurant setting. Critic Craig LaBan checks out the first installment of concepts at 990 Spring Garden St.: Vietnamese grilling by Nướng, the pastas of Sauce Boy, the Navajo tacos of Shiprock, and the BBQ from Lucky Well.

N.B. Nướng is helmed through February by chef Hatim Hamdan, as founder Jacob Trinh is now in the kitchen at Little Fish in Bella Vista.

On this winter’s day, here’s a visual treat from Jasen Lo and Hira Qureshi: A deep-dive into the multitude of ice cream sandwiches from the flavor wizards at Weckerly’s in Fishtown, which reopened last weekend after a change in ownership. Shani Zhang’s illustrations are the, um, icing on the cake.

January is the cruelest month for restaurants in wintry climes like ours. December’s credit card statements are due, vendor price increases are kicking in, and outdoor dining is down to nil. News of closings is trickling in: Urban Outfitters has shuttered the very last of the Amis restaurants, at Devon Yards, as it carves out the space into the Atrium at Terrain Gardens, a smaller-format events space set to open in the spring. In Chinatown, Happy Lamb Hot Pot in Chinatown has buttoned up. The Abbaye in Northern Liberties will have its last call after 21 years on Jan. 13. The Yankee Chipper, the first brewery in memory in Wyndmoor, will wrap up Jan. 31. Star View Diner has closed in Camden County — but wait! It’s not all bad. Kevin Riordan reports that Amy’s Omelette House will be moving in with its diner-adjacent approach.

That orange liquor-application sign in the window of Twenty Manning? Amanda and Randy Rucker of South Philly’s River Twice are taking over the long-running Rittenhouse bistro to open their second restaurant, Little Water. Get your last meals now at Twenty Manning, as it will close in 45 to 60 days when the liquor license is transferred.

Another orange sign is down. Chotto Matte, a swank Peruvian-Japanese hybrid restaurant with locations around the world, has backed out of its long-ago-signed deal to set up at 12th and Sansom Streets in the 400-unit Jessup House, which is almost finished. No reason given. Jacob Cooper at MSC is now marketing the space, which includes 90 feet of frontage along 12th Street and 138 feet along Sansom.

Center City cooks: The Kitchen Kapers store at 17th and Chancellor Streets will close at the end of the month, capping a 42-year run. Jake Blumgart recaps this amid a recent set of commercial real estate comings and goings.

Say No More. If you’re looking for drinks and a light menu amid a sultry living room vibe, this lounge at Second Street and Cecil B. Moore Avenue oughta do the trick.

Kensingtonians Kristian Maestri and Alexander Asplundh-Smith, who live in the neighborhood, redid the former Playpen from top to bottom, installing an elevator and turning the second and third floors into lounge space.

Until the third floor gets cooking with a DJ, the second floor is particularly inviting, with cocktail tables, low lighting, and movies projected on the wall. Andrei Vinter oversees the bar, while chef Colin White (formerly of Zahav) offers a fried chicken sandwich, fries, cheese board, prosciutto plate, salads, and falafel plate.

Say No More, 1647 N. Second St. Hours: 5 p.m.-2 a.m. Wednesday-Sunday. ADA accessible.

Three Philly bakers — Ashley Huston of Dreamworld Bakes (above), Delilah Pergola of Propaganda Pastry, and Sarah Thompson of Tall Poppy Projects — are behind Pastries for Palestine, a fundraiser selling pastry boxes whose profits will benefit Palestine Children’s Relief Fund. The pastry lineup: Persian love cake, sage and caramel brownie, guava caramel cake, passion fruit doughnuts, and buttermilk biscuits with peach jam. Order deadline ($55) is Jan. 18 for pickup in South or West Philadelphia on Jan. 21.

Center City District Restaurant Week, with more than 100 restaurants on board, runs Sunday, Jan. 21 to Saturday, Feb. 3, with three-course prix-fixes for $45 or $60; some will also offer a two-course lunch for $20. Details are here.

Looking for vegetarian or vegan delivery or takeout options? We’ve got you.

Bloomsday, on Second Street across from Head House Square, has expanded its lunch, adding Wednesdays and Thursdays to its Friday and Saturday schedule.

Chef Liz Grothe of Couch Cafe is hitting the pop-up game hard. First up, on Jan. 22, will be a family-style Filipino feast called Boodle Fight Night at Oloroso in Washington Square West, where Grothe will cook with her former boss Jason Peabody, the Spanish restaurant’s executive chef. Seatings are at 5:30 and 8 p.m.; $85 pp, with an optional $45 wine pairing. Her next pop-up, a Jan. 28 collab at High Street with chef Christina McKeough that will celebrate Grothe’s Oklahoman roots and love for chain restaurants, sold out.

Victory Brewing has a new beer with a Tastykake tie-in. What’s the flavor profile?

A) Koffee Kake

B) Cherry Pie

C) Peanut Butter Kandy Kake

D) Chocolate Junior

Find out if you know the answer.

What’s going on in Ambler these days? — a_kalman

There’s been a flurry of activity in the Montgomery County town. Chad Rosenthal closed The Lucky Well over New Year’s as the nearby Cantina Feliz will move in this spring. Rosenthal (who still has the Lucky Well Incubator, as noted above) is not finished with Ambler, his hometown. He’s working on a little banh mi shop called Rosey’s (sandwiches, snacks, Vietnamese coffees) at 58 E. Butler Ave., next to Saffron, for a February rollout. (This is a version 2.0 of his erstwhile Bánh Street shops.) Down the road, he wants to open a tavern called Mary; location is TBA but the Instagram is up. Meanwhile, he’s setting up a Lucky Well barbecue kitchen at 41st and Chestnut Streets for catering and delivery.

📮 Have a question about food in Philly? E-mail your questions to me at mklein@inquirer.com for a chance to be featured in my newsletter.

By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.

Enjoy your week.