The best summer beers | Let’s Eat

Philly’s beer boom is defying national trends, and we offer a dozen local beers worth a try. Also this week, an ode to a lobster roll at the Shore, a visit to Pat’s King of Steaks by Donald Trump, and word of a stellar Italian hoagie in the burbs.

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⬇️ Read on for a quiz — and how you can get free chocolate.

— Mike Klein

Philly’s beer scene is booming. While craft breweries are on the decline nationally, the number of local breweries here has almost doubled in the last six years. Henry Savage comes through with a guide to 12 great summertime beers, from hoppy ales to collabs with hometown favorites, for all occasions.

How about a canned sparkling wine to beat the heat? Our wine writer Marnie Old has a suggestion.

Your best-hoagie list deserves a spot for this newcomer. I nominate this 10-inch Old Fashioned Italian from Penna’s Italian Market in Lower Gwynedd (it’s an Ambler address), which packs Parma prosciutto, sweet soppressata, mild Provolone, lettuce, tomatoes, sweet peppers, oil, and red wine vinegar on a seeded Corropolese Bakery roll ($15.95). Fantastic build, topflight ingredients, and not for the faint of appetite. Penna’s, a well-stocked upscale deli, has seating for breakfast and lunch, but I took my sandwich to go. For giggles, I popped it on the kitchen scale, and it weighed in at just a shade under 2 pounds. Also recommended is the tuna, which is not the same-old; it’s mixed with spicy banana peppers.

Get there early. If they’re out of bread, you’re out of luck.

Penna’s Italian Market, 545 N. Bethlehem Pike, Ambler. Phone: 215-643-2461.

Check out our hoagie bracket, stocked with a who’s who of Philly sandwich makers.

Snack-food giant Herr’s is running its annual Flavored by Philly Contest. Mike Newall reports that this year’s potato chip flavors are inspired by John’s Roast Pork’s signature sandwich, the Korean BBQ wings from Mike’s BBQ, and the tomato pie made by (none other than) Corropolese Bakery. (My own fave is the Mike’s, with its hit of gochujang.) There’s about a month left in the online voting.

Rita Giordano loves lobster and she loves the sea, and the two together, she writes, are “simply sublime.” She discovered La La Lobster, a family-run shop in Cape May that started in Yardley during the pandemic. The specialty is lobster rolls, but the Rabenas also sell bowls.

Things are cooking at the Comcast Center and the nearby Comcast Technology Center. Their latest opening is Big Chicken, a chicken stand fronted by former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal, in the center’s underground concourse (shown above). Also down there (below 1701 JFK) is a whole food court: Juice Pod, Focacceria (Di Bruno Bros.’ new sandwich stand), Buena Onda, Philly Steak Co., Karma, Panda Express, Termini Bros., Jake & Max’s Deli, and Tokyo Sushi. Outside on the plaza is Cafe Click, the seasonal Stephen Starr restaurant (shown below).

Around the corner, at 18th and Arch Streets, within the Comcast Technology Center, are Jean-Georges on the 59th floor and the JG SkyHigh lounge on the 60th floor, part of the Four Seasons Hotel. Chef Greg Vernick has Vernick Coffee Bar on the second floor of the CTC, and Vernick Fish on its Arch Street frontage. In that building’s concourse, accessible through both the 18th Street and Arch Street sides and down the escalator, is Pizzeria Salvy, Marc Vetri’s new pizzeria.

Back to Shaq: Although O’Neal was at Citizens Bank Park last weekend for a show by his alter ego DJ Diesel, he did not stop at Big Chicken. I’m hearing that he’ll do a meet-and-greet in the fall. Meanwhile, you can pose next to a 7-foot-1 cardboard Shaq cutout, buy a chicken sandwich, and eat cookies the size of a basketball.

Char Pizza, Viraj Thomas’ popular pizza pop-up, will take over Mish Mish restaurant at 11th and Tasker Streets for five nights while owner Alex Tewfik and staff enjoy a vacation from July 6 to 10. Char’s hours will be 5-10 p.m. Five pizzas will be offered, including a tomato pie and a pie topped with poached peach and prosciutto; there will be a kale Caesar salad and a couple desserts. All walk-ins, no takeout. Details are at Char’s Instagram.

Hey there, Delaware County. Here’s a first look at Rosemary, opening today in downtown Ridley Park. Over the last 10 months, Starr alum and Delco native Philip Breen (left, below) transformed the Burgundy Lounge, a late ‘70s bar/pool hall, into a bright, stylish destination with a 12-seat bar, sidewalk seating, and indoor greenhouse room. Executive chef Elijah Milligan mixes small and large plates on his modern-American menu (that’s the broiled oysters shown above). Eight cocktails, including the signature Rosemary (El Jimador, Solerno, Grapefruit soda), are on the bar list. Breen, who lives with his wife and two boys around the corner, intends it as family-friendly, too. Want a small burger or bowl of pasta for the littles? Just ask.

Rosemary, 25 E. Hinckley Ave., Ridley Park. Hours: 4-10 p.m. Monday-Friday, 5-10 p.m. Saturday, 5-9 p.m. Sunday.

National Fried Chicken Day is Thursday, if you’re celebrating. Check my recent roundup of stellar sandwiches.

National Chocolate Day is Friday. Jerry Cordial, the mascot for Asher’s Chocolate Co. will tour Center City on a Phlash bus Friday to mark National Chocolate Day. He’ll dole out chocolate, swag, and Phillies tickets. Stops start at 8:45 a.m. at Independence Hall, 9:30 a.m. on Reading Terminal Market’s Arch Street side, 10:15 a.m. at Dilworth Park, 11 a.m. at LOVE Park on the JFK side, 11:30 a.m. at Rittenhouse Square (18th and Walnut), and 12:30 p.m. in front of the Rocky statue at the Art Museum.

National Krimpet Day — so designated by Tastykake — is also Friday. The cake maker will release a limited-time-only Confetti Krimpets and will team with Bassetts ice cream at Reading Terminal Market on a Confetti Krimpet milkshake ($12), with a cut of proceeds going to Ronald McDonald House. The shake blends the Confetti Krimpets with butterscotch vanilla ice cream, vanilla syrup, and rainbow sprinkles. It’s topped with another layer of crumbled Confetti Krimpets, rainbow sprinkles, and whipped cream. The special is on through July.

Donald Trump stopped at Pat’s King of Steaks last week for what you might call a meat-and-greet.

The new Walnut Garden was shut down by the city over zoning issues, and lost a court fight on the eve of July 4 weekend.

Godshall’s Quality Meats has created a Guinness Record-winning strip of turkey bacon. How long was it?

A) 5 feet

B) 7 feet

C) 14 feet long

D) 17 feet long

Know the answer? Check your guess and watch the video.

What happened to the Bernie’s pubs in the Montgomery County suburbs, University City, and Manayunk? — @gregg2do

One by one, they’ve been shutting down. State police raided the Hatboro location on June 21 after its liquor license expired, per Patch. The shuttered Manayunk location has a new owner with a new concept on the way. Just the other day, Dan Katz of the West Avenue Grill and Pizza Wheel restaurants announced that he would take over Bernie’s Glenside location. Bernie’s owner Eric Kretschman, who founded the chain in 2011 in Oreland, has not responded to requests for comment.

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