Great times for pizza lovers | Let’s Eat

The Philly area’s pizza scene has been on an upswing of late. I can count nine reasons to be particularly excited about it all. Also this week, my colleague Allison Steele finds a seafood-y happy hour at Aether in Fishtown and joins the crowds at Blue Corn, a vibrant Mexican spot in the Italian Market, while I groove on the menu at Cafe Lift’s outpost in Narberth. If you need food news, click here and follow me on Twitter and Instagram. Email tips, suggestions, and questions here. If someone forwarded you this newsletter and you like what you’re reading, sign up here to get it free every week.

— Michael Klein

Philly's pizza scene has evolved over the years, and now it's getting downright interesting. A few brand-new parlors are getting major attention, while several shops on the horizon show promise.

I run down the activity. You will have to, as well. The three hot newcomers do not have phones.

1. Danny DiGiampietro, whose now-closed Angelo’s Pizzeria in Haddonfield drew aficionados for his New York, Trenton, and “grandma”-style pizzas, has brought his uncompromising quality to a new Angelo's on Ninth Street near Fitzwater Street in Bella Vista. (By “uncompromising”: DiGiampietro announced on Instagram Saturday that the batch of dough that he had made Friday did not measure up. He trashed it. No pizza that night.) DiGiampietro bakes his own sandwich rolls (while also buying 50 to 100 loaves a day from neighboring Sarcone’s) and prepares everything from scratch. Don’t bother calling; there’s no phone. It’s at 736 S. Ninth St., open from noon to 9 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday.

2. Marinara meatball? Hot potato? Or how about kalettes — the tasty cross between kale and Brussels sprouts? Last month, Mark Mebus opened the all-vegan 20th Street Pizza at 108 S. 20th St. as an offshoot of his popular Blackbird Pizzeria in Northern Liberties. Dough is naturally leavened. Hours for now are noon to 8 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday; there’s no phone there, either.

3. Five years ago, Joe Beddia demonstrated that by using quality ingredients and patience, you can make outstanding, perhaps even America’s best pizza, out of a deck oven. His new location of Pizzeria Beddia, which opened less than two weeks ago at 1313 N. Lee St. (on a Fishtown backstreet between Frankford Avenue and Front Street), is packing in crowds nightly for a simple menu and a bar. Its reservation book, which goes out 60 days, has been filled since Day One, but more than half of the seats are kept open for walk-ins. The idea is to arrive as close to 5 p.m. as possible and head to the bar.

4. Chef Bobby Saritsoglou is saying early May for Stina, the Mediterranean restaurant that he and his wife, Christina, are opening at 1705 Snyder Ave. in South Philadelphia. Central to the menu will be pizza made in a wood-fired, high-temp Neapolitan oven. The pizza, he said, will be a cross between the soft-centered Neapolitan and the sturdier New York; like the rest of the menu, the pizza varieties will include North African and Turkish flavors.

5. Targeting Memorial Day is Gigi Pizza, the latest from Chris D’Ambro and Marina De Oliveira (nearby Southwark and Ambra). It will adjoin their new Olly, at Fifth and Bainbridge Streets in Queen Village (separate entrance, at 504 Bainbridge). Their Pavesi wood-burning oven not only will turn out Neapolitan pizzas but the bread used in sandwiches.

6. Daniel Gutter, who made his name baking 10-by-10-inch, crunchy-crusted, Detroit-style pizzas under the Pizza Gutt name out of the Spring Garden Street bar W/N W/N, is opening his own pizzeria, Circles & Squares. It's shaping up for a May opening at Tulip and Firth Streets in Kensington, the former Lil Lina’s Slices & Scoops. As the name suggests, his product line will be broadened.

7. Vince’s Pizzeria, the toast of Northeast Philly, has inspired not one but two new locations coming to Bucks County from different branches of the family. One even will have a beer wall.

8. More Detroit pizza? Oh, yes. Brooklyn-rooted Emily and Matt Hyland’s rep confirmed to me that they are coming to Philadelphia with Emmy Squared, a scalable spinoff of their Pizza Loves Emily brand that specializes in Detroit-style pizza and top-flight burgers. No location has been signed; stay tuned.

9. Wyndmoor, the slice of Montgomery County next to Chestnut Hill, is expecting to see a June opening of Enza, a family friendly pizzeria with plenty of wine developed by Jay Overcash and Zavino/Tredici owner Greg Dodge. Chef Steve Gonzalez will be turning out traditional pies as well as more specialized varieties, plus Italian dishes. It’s under construction in a new building at 909 E. Willow Grove Ave.

Avalon Bistro | Bryn Mawr

John Brandt-Lee has syndicated his popular West Chester bistro to the former Marbles and Verdad space at 818 Lancaster Ave. It's now soft-open. Wine system offers 30 by the glass.

Hops Brewerytown | Brewerytown

The former Flying Fish Crafthouse at 31st and Master Streets has been reimagined by the crew behind Bernie's and the newly reopened U.S. Hotel Bar & Grill (see below). Sixteen beers and three wines on tap, plus cocktails, 6 TVs, a projection screen, 2 pool tables, foosball, and shuffleboard.

Midnight Iris | Southwest Center City

Name change for Keen at 1708 Lombard St.

Olly | Queen Village

Family-friendly American bar-restaurant from the Southwark/Ambra crew at Fifth and Bainbridge Streets should be opening any day. A companion pizzeria called GiGi will follow.

Separatist South Philly | East Passyunk

Upstate Pennsylvania brewery is expecting to open its taproom any day at 12th and Morris Streets, just steps from East Passyunk Avenue.

U.S. Hotel Bar & Grill | Manayunk

Long-running Manayunk destination at 4439 Main St. reopens April 3 after a top-to-bottom redo under new ownership (Bernie’s and Hops Brewerytown). American classics on the menu, Prohibition-era cocktails, wine list of primarily Americans, 9 beers, 4 TVs. FYI: A new Bernie’s is on the way just down the block at the former Derek’s, 4411 Main St.

Common Wealth | Old City

The bar-restaurant at 319 Market St. is vexed by problems with its liquor license.

Cosi | Old City

The 22-year run has ended for this coffee chain at Fourth and Chestnut Streets, which was known as XandO way back when. The locations at 1700 Market St. and 140 S. 36th St. remain.

Aether, 1832 Frankford Ave., 5-6 p.m. Sunday to Friday

The newest addition to the Frankford Avenue corridor in Fishtown, upscale seafood restaurant Aether recently launched a fish-forward happy hour that offers a taste of its menu. The restaurant is lit by glowing candles and glass, gold-flecked globes, and the bar is an attractive place to post up.

During happy hour, cocktails such as negronis, gimlets and old fashioneds are $8. Selections of wine are $8, beer is $6. But it’s also easy to compose a meal from the happy hour offerings, such as $2 oysters and clams, fried squid for $8 and $10 mussels, and a $14 burger or shrimp po’boy with fries. The menu also includes a few vegetable-based options: Brussels sprouts or cauliflower tahini for $7, and a $4 miso-marinated soft egg. — Allison Steele

Blue Corn, 940 S. Ninth St.

The Sandoval family presides over pans of simmering sauces, chalices of fresh seafood, and platters of tortillas draped with melted cheeses. The menu at Blue Corn offers everything from tacos and tortas to shrimp cocktail, and the flavors are bright, fresh and reliably delicious.

The unassuming, cash-only spot in the heart of the Italian Market is still a relatively low-cost option, especially at lunchtime. Rustic, hearty fare like the enchiladas mole ($12) and enchiladas suizas ($11) come with vibrant, spicy sauces and fresh herbs, served alongside rice and beans. The guacamole ($10) is large enough to share among two or more. Of course, that includes crispy blue corn chips.

There’s also a cozy bar that serves up margaritas and sangria, plus wine and a selection of Mexican and American beer. — Allison Steele

Open daily for lunch and dinner from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; open until 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

Cafe Lift, 724 Montgomery Ave., Narberth

Fifteen years ago, a then-23-year-old Michael Pasquarello and his now-wife, Jeniphur, opened Cafe Lift, a breakfast-luncher in an old warehouse building on 13th Street between Callowhill and Spring Garden. Cafe Lift, named after the unused freight elevator forever bolted in the doorway, became one of the high points of the neighborhood, whose fortunes eventually took off as a residential area. They also went up the street to open Prohibition Taproom and later Bufad (which closed recently), and now have plans for a Mexican restaurant on nearby 11th Street. Also in their collection are Kensington Quarters in Fishtown and KQ Burger on the Penn campus.

Last summer, they opened a second Lift in Narberth, and while Lower Merion is hardly an emerging neighborhood, its brunch options were fairly limited. And when you add in the prospect of hefty portions worthy of doggie bags, cocktails thanks to a liquor license, and the convenience of a parking lot, well...

Lift's something-for-everyone brunch menu hits the sweet stuff (pancakes, eggs, French toast) as well as savory (notably big sandwiches served with a side salad). Dinner includes sandwiches as well as classics, priced in the low-$20s, such as steak frites; salmon with warm farro salad, root vegetables, and mushroom; and a roasted half-chicken with rye-potato dumplings, braised red cabbage, and duck fat jus.

Tip: A $7 early bird menu served from 8-9 a.m. weekdays includes huevos rancheros, a breakfast sandwich on sourdough, and an eggs/meat platter plus coffee.

Hours: 8 a.m.-3 p.m. daily (brunch), 4-9 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday (dinner).

Some of Philly's mom-and-pop pizzerias are seeing sales surge with online ordering. But the steep commissions required by some third-party companies can cut into profits.

There's a microbrewing boom in Montco: Two brewpubs opened in March: Tannery Run Brew Works in Ambler and Bill’s Best in Glenside. A third, also combining coffee, will open soon in Dresher.

Ardiente in Old City will mark National Empanada Day by giving away its signature empanadas (filled with edamame, black truffle, and shallots) during dinner Monday, April 8, starting at 5 p.m.

Craig LaBan is on assignment. Email him here. ​