Meet your bagel’s new best friend | Let’s Eat

This week, Craig LaBan kvells about a new smoked-fish destination, Jenn Ladd explains how to run a cooking competition in a socially distant world, and I run down plenty of restaurant tips — I’m talking to you, Main Liners.

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– Michael Klein

Craig LaBan visits the Italian Market and shares a taste (or two) of the smoked fish and other “appetizing” fare at Biederman’s Specialty Foods. There’s an old-time feel to the shop, opened by Lauren Biederman, a longtime lox lover. Which might make her an a-fish-ionado.

Careers through Culinary Arts Programs’ annual Cooking Competition for Scholarships is a heated battle among Philly high schoolers. Colleague Jenn Ladd finds that although this year’s contest was executed differently because of the pandemic, the top prize — a full ride to culinary school — remains the same.

A year ago, the world suddenly had been turned fearfully on its head. Everything was uncertain, including the immediate future of restaurants.

With conventional reviews off the table, critic Craig LaBan says he has been able to continue writing about restaurants and restaurant people in ways that seemed often more important than ever because the stakes were so high. From the tales of surviving COVID-19, to the struggles of laid-off servers, rebounding from vandalism, chefs stepping up to feed communities in need, innovative new formats to give diverse culinary voices a chance, and many lists of takeout hits to keep patronizing restaurants safely.

Meanwhile, I found high hopes out there among the restaurant community. Many believe that there’s light at the end of the tunnel, and it’s not an oncoming train.

We headlined this one, “A Jersey guy brought his cheesesteak truck to Philly to help another guy’s mom see the pyramids.” Philly schoolteacher Dustin Vitale has been making cheesesteaks to raise money for a trip to Egypt for his mother. Mike Hauke, who owns the Tony Boloney’s shops in New Jersey, showed up outside his house with his food truck. Together, they reached the fund-raising goal.

First, some hot news: The Bercy in Ardmore is giving way to a luxe Italian steakhouse. It’s a partnership between Bercy owners Joe Monnich and Justin Weathers, and restaurateur Anthony DePaul — hence the name, DePaul’s Table.

Federal Donuts is back in Center City, now in temporary quarters downstairs at 1526 Sansom St., pending a future permanent opening nearby. Its old building at 1632 Sansom will face the wrecking ball in advance of a new high-rise.

Friday, March 19 will mark the grand opening of Down North Pizza, whose mission (besides Detroit-style pizza and wings) is to employ formerly incarcerated people and to reduce recidivism.

Di Bruno Bros. is looking at Friday, March 19 to open its sprawling market in Wayne’s Strafford Shopping Center.

Snap Custom Pizza and its fried-chicken offshoot, Big Dean’s Hot Chicken, are now set up inside the ShopRite market at 6901 Ridge Ave. in Roxborough for in-store pickup and delivery through the third-party services. Snap’s debut will be marked by $4.99 design-your-own pizzas on Saturday, March 20 from 11 a.m.-9 p.m.

Some reopenings: Soup Kitchen Cafe (2146 E. Susquehanna Ave., Fishtown, takeout only, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. daily); The Dutch (1527 S. Fourth St., Pennsport, indoor/takeout, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday); Fond (11th and Tasker Streets, East Passyunk, limited indoor/expanded outdoor/takeout, 5–10 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 5-9 p.m. Sunday, starting March 19), and Baby Blues BBQ (new location at 3432 Sansom St., University City, takeout only, noon-8 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday).

And this week brought word from Harrisburg that restrictions on bars and restaurants in all of Pennsylvania, except Philadelphia, will be loosened, effective Easter Sunday — traditionally one of the busiest dining days of the year. And just because rules are being loosened doesn’t mean that patrons should expect happy hours and other discounts. My friend Michelle Curtis, a spirits pro who is now consulting, just posted on Instagram a mini-rant on the topic. It’s still tough out there for workers. The conclusion: “Wear your mask & tip heavily.”

Ember & Ash, the ambitious American at 1520 E. Passyunk Ave. from chefs Scott Calhoun and David Feola and Gianna Spatoulas, has been offering takeout. But the full, dine-in experience puts you in cozy environs lit by the roaring wood-fired grill, which has a role in every dish, with a well-stocked bar. Creativity on the menu: Corn doughnuts filled with yuzu kosho curd and topped with uni. A “surf and turf” of skate cheeks and sweetbreads with fish sauce caramel and marinated red onions. A “dirty mole,” which is chicken liver and pickled tomatillo, served with toasted sourdough. Smoked octopus with ginger, scallion, and kumquat. How can dessert come from a grill? Calhoun uses a hot ember to scorch the Italian meringue atop a cranberry tart. Even the pig’s head sculpture over the bar has a story: Spatoulas’ uncle Alex Generalis made it as a prop for the 1995 shot-in-Philly sci-fi classic 12 Monkeys.