The trendiest food in Philly right now | Let’s Eat

Chicken liver mousse is everywhere. This week, we explain the trend, as we also take you to a sweet South Philly Mexican cafe with a tasty specialty, lay out the comeback of a Malaysian chef, and have a 1990s seafood flashback.

⬇️ Read on for a quiz and restaurant news.

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— Mike Klein

Could it be that 2023′s culinary sleeper hit is ... chicken liver mousse? Jenn Ladd does an offally interesting deep dive into the savory, velvety smooth spread, which seems to be everywhere — piped into savory cannoli shells, or shaped into a sphere and dipped in cocoa butter, or subbing for peanut butter (as you see here, at Redcrest Kitchen — that’s Concord grape gelee on top). Chicken liver mousse has been around for years, though. Jenn finds out why it’s hot now. 🔑

Mexican-born chef Carlos Aparicio has baked and cooked at many top non-Mexican restaurants in the area. (The baguettes at Parc’s opening? His.) Now he’s set up on a South Philly corner, showcasing cemitas and conchas inspired by his homeland at El Chingón. See why Craig adores the all-day cafe, open from morning to night. 🔑

Ange Branca, who closed her Malaysian BYOB over a rent rise at the outset of the pandemic, will resurface in Bella Vista. She’s taking over Nomad Pizza, whose last day will be March 25. Tentative name is Kampar. Branca, who launched a GoFundMe, said she is modeling it on the idea of Malaysia’s food-stalls known as kopitiam and will hire chefs from underrepresented communities.

Kevin and Janet Meeker closed Philadelphia Fish & Co., their destination Old City seafood spot, in 2009 as the economy went south. Over Lent this year, they’re bringing back 10 dishes — using a longtime Fish chef and his recipes — at their South Jersey bar restaurant, Keg & Kitchen. That seafood chowder shown above, by the way, is worth its weight in Lipitor.

The restaurant openings keep coming. Last weekend saw the debut of Joey Chops, a major redo of the Stove & Tap location at 245 Lancaster Ave. in Malvern as owners Justin Weather and Joe Monnich believed that a stylish but family-friendly steakhouse would be the antidote for the surfeit of casual-dining options in the area. It’s serving lunch weekdays, dinner daily.

MAWN, the so-called “no-rules” Cambodian-rooted noodle house from Phila and Rachel Lorn (above), has set a March 2 opening at 764 S. Ninth St., the former home of Kalaya.

Bankroll Club, the Stephen Starr-fronted sports bar, is getting close at 1910 Chestnut St. It has named its corporate chef (Scott Swiderski, formerly with David Burke’s restaurant group and the original chef at Buddakan) and its director of hospitality (Zach Seidman, whose background includes Atlantic City’s HQ2 and the Guitar Hotel at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla.).

Brewerytown Food Hall, with seven eateries under one roof, seems to be about two weeks away at 31st and Master Streets.

Brandon Washington, a high school and college teacher, activist, and community leader (and son of the late Ron Washington of Ron’s Ribs fame), is hosting what he calls the Saucy Black History Month happy hour from 5-8 p.m. Friday at Bob & Barbara’s Lounge (1509 South St.) to raise funds to move his STEM program from 19th Street and Washington Avenue to Urban Navigation in Kensington. Washington will serve such bites as ribwich sliders and wings, using Ron’s sauces.

Federal Donuts has come up with the limited-edition Stickman, a spiced cake doughnut with a cream cheese glaze base and guava ring, and topped with dark chocolate drizzle. It’s available Friday-Sunday, with $1 from each sale going to Ed Snider Youth Hockey & Education.

Kevin Watters, chef and co-owner of The Dutch at 11th and Tasker Streets, will help Everybody Eats, the BIPOC-owned and chef-led charity, by reprising his Mom Mom’s Soul Food Pop-Up on Monday. The $65 dinner includes deviled eggs with Cajun shrimp and roasted garlic; baked mac and cheese corn bread topped with short rib and creamy cheese sauce; buttermilk fried chicken with collard greens, smoked turkey, and roasted candied yams; and apple bread pudding served warm with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce. Reserve via lee@thedutchphilly.com or via Tock.

A location of Good Karma Cafe closed recently. Do you know why?

A) rent

B) labor issues

C) suspected embezzlement

D) supply-chain issues

Find out if you know the answer.

That’s David and Ana Lee in April 2020, selling pizzas out of their house in the early days of the pandemic under the name Pizza Jawn. Flash forward three years. They have a brick-and-mortar Pizza Jawn on Main Street in Manayunk, and they’re buying a nearby bar for their latest, Bar Jawn. The location has a special place in their hearts.

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