The future of food in Philly? | Let’s Eat

Where is the restaurant world headed? That’s one point of discussion. Let’s also talk about today — National Cheesesteak Day falls on Wednesday, March 24. Read on for cheesesteak discussion, in addition to word of great Tex-Mex barbecue, a guide to local distilleries, a rundown of locally made pop-tarts, along with a plate of restaurant news. And more cheesesteaks.

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– Michael Klein

With light at the end of the tunnel, my colleague Jenn Ladd got to thinking about the pandemic’s impact on the culture of restaurants. Which recent changes will stick, and which will be washed away by happy-hour margaritas? Jenn picked the brains of various players in the Philly food community about what happened last year and what might come next — such topics as crowds, mask-wearing, and even how we will order food.

West Philly’s Derrick Hayes was dissatisfied with a “cheesesteak” he was served in Atlanta. So he started making them himself professionally, importing Amoroso’s bread. After a shout-out from the Philly-bred rapper Eve, he’s been on a roll with Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks. Contributor Christopher A. Daniel tells us how Hayes is empowering a new generation of entrepreneurs.

And while we’re on the subject of cheesesteaks, know that Washington, D.C. has experienced a boom in the number of eateries slinging them. Oh, and since this is a hometown specialty, let’s take a gander at critic Craig LaBan’s list of his favorites. If you think of this as a spectator sport, you can watch people eating not one but two 2-foot cheesesteaks in Broomall on Wednesday night as Delco Steaks is running a contest that you might say is two two much. And for a heartwarming look, CBS News has shot a segment on Dustin Vitale, who sold cheesesteaks as a fundraiser to send his mother, Gloria Walker, on a trip to Egypt. Vitale says it’s supposed to air Thursday, March 25 on CBS Evening News.

Craig also tells us about R. Scott Hanson, a homesick college professor from Austin, who creates a righteous Tex-Mex barbecue hybrid he calls North by Texas. You can try NXTX Tex-Mex BBQ on Sundays at Cadence restaurant on Girard Avenue. Asked if he would quit his day job for the pit life, he said: “Having spent this long in academia, it’s hard not to want to leave at least one foot in after all that time and effort. But weird things happen in your 50s, and the success of this surprised me.”

While we await word on the fate of KeVen Parker’s Soul Food Cafe in Reading Terminal Market (shuttered since his untimely death in January), we’re heartened by the expected mid-April arrival of Sweet T’s, a Black-owned bakery known for sweet potato-based desserts. In the meantime, catch Tia and Mark El on weekends at their pop-up-style “day stand.” Sweet T’s (taking Metropolitan Bakery’s stand) and El Merkury (taking Condiment) are the two latest new-tenant announcements. I’m hearing that another is imminent.

Pop-tarts have gone handmade at Philly bakeries, and the approaches are all over the place. Jenn found sleek and sophisticated pastries, riffs on the classics, and even savory varieties, such as one with turkey, stuffing, mashed potato, and cranberry topped with a gravy drizzle. It’s true comfort food when you want to eat your fillings.

Colleague Nick Vadala found 15 interesting spots for rye, bourbon, rum, vodka, and other spirits in the greater Philadelphia area. (For a treat, chat up one of my faves: Onetime bootlegger Joanie Verratti owns Pollyodd, a limoncello shop in South Philly.)

Golabki and pierogi and kielbasa, oh my! Wednesday, March 24 is the launch of Mom-Mom’s Kitchen’s hole-in-the-wall takeout Polish foodery at 1505 South St., next door to Bob & Barbara’s Lounge. Backstory: Ryan Elmore and Kaitlin Wines started the biz from a cart in Northern Liberties in 2014, opening a facility in Bridesburg in 2018, and — just as the coronavirus shut everything down in spring 2020 — snagging a Guy Fieri DDD shoutout for their cheesesteak pierogi. (”It’s silky, luxurious melts in your mouth,” the platinum blond one said.) The pandemic, alas, sent Elmore and Wines to chill — literally, they were selling the prepared foods frozen. Their comeback hours for now are 4-10 p.m. Wednesday-Friday and 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday. Ordering tips are on Insta.

Old City is getting hot bagels this week as Philly Style Bagels opens at 218 Arch St. on Thursday, March 25. (The nabe lost its bagel outlet last year when High Street on Market relocated to Ninth and Chestnut.) Philly Style’s Fishtown flagship, closed since January, will reopen the same day.

ReAnimator Coffee will take over River Wards Cafe in Port Richmond in May as Joe Livewell, who opened the shop at 3118 Richmond St. five years ago (after having been a ReAnimator roaster), moves on. Catch Livewell by March 31, and wish him well on his forthcoming nuptials. ReAnimator, by the way, says it will honor River Wards’ gift cards.

Ten months after it was trashed during the Center City unrest, Marathon Grill has reopened. It’s a changed neighborhood that is slowly rebuilding from the damage and the depths of the pandemic. Down the street, Monk’s Cafe has come back (with delivery and takeout so far), and nearby, Jennifer Carroll and Billy Riddle have brought back Spice Finch to the Warwick.

To continue my cheesesteak theme, I’d like to shout out the meatless ones at Boardwalk Vegan, Krissy and Randy Sumey’s pandemic-pivot eatery at 28 N. Manoa Rd., just off West Chester Pike in Havertown. Stay tuned for their story, which had them transitioning from event planning to opening a restaurant with a tasty and totally plant-based menu of Jersey Shore-ish foods, such as pizza, sandwiches, wings, burgers, red-gravy Italian dishes like ravioli, even “fish”-and-chips.