8 new places to eat this month | Let’s Eat

We’re seeing a bumper crop of restaurants. Also on this week’s menu: Breakfast tacos, a review of the stylish Greek restaurant Almyra, word of a saucy chicken cutlet sandwich, and plenty of restaurant news. Ippolito’s is coming back!

— Mike Klein

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What’s up in restaurant world? Ube dumplings for dessert are one highlight at Nan Xiang Soup Dumplings’ new King of Prussia location, and the sunny bar-restaurant shown below is the new Carina Sorella, opening Wednesday in a combined former flower shop and print shop in Bryn Mawr. Nan Xiang and Carina Sorella are two of eight restaurants opening in the next two weeks in Philly and the suburbs. There are scooped bagels, cheesesteaks, pizza, brunch food, and more.

Philly’s breakfast taco scene has never been better or more wildly varied, writes Jenn Ladd, who has spent many a morning scouting out more than two dozen places offering them, from Chester County to South Jersey.

🌮 Read on for Jenn’s look at how the breakfast-taco scene began and has evolved over the past 15 years.

🌮 Field notes: 15 can’t-miss breakfast tacos.

You’re looking at what might be the sauciest chicken cutlet sandwich around. Jenn Ladd stopped at Collegeville Italian Bakery Pizzeria Napoletana, and while that name might be tough, the chicken is tender. And saucy. Like multiple-napkin saucy. Here’s why they say “it’s all about the dip and drip.”

“Is there a more festive new restaurant space in Philly right now than Almyra?” critic Craig LaBan asks after his visits to the latest creation by the team behind Estia near Rittenhouse Square. Read on to see what he thinks about this “ambitious new addition to the dining scene.”

This year’s Italian Market Festival will feature an Italian hoagie contest for the first time, and there will be a hero among the lettuce and onions: Retired Eagles defensive end Fletcher Cox will be a judge. It’s 10 a.m. Sunday, May 19, at the main stage at Ninth and Washington. Contestants include Lorenzo’s (which won best cheesesteak last year), Woodrow’s, Campo’s, Cosmi’s, Paesano’s, Carmen’s, and Martha. Sponsor Deer Park will donate $5,000 to the charity of the winner’s choice. Deer Park also has slid into sponsorship of the greased-pole climb, promising a free month of water to whoever grabs a Deer Park bottle at the top.

🎉 Everything you’d want to know about the Italian Market Festival is right here.

Ippolito’s — which slung seafood on the corner of 13th and Dickinson Streets for decades before it closed in late 2018 — is coming back. Sammy D’Angelo, grandson of Giuseppe Ippolito and owner of the Samuels & Sons wholesale seafood house in South Philadelphia, says to expect the retail store’s reopening in late December. This time around, Ippolito’s focus is on prepared and ready-to-eat meals, though it will still offer fresh seafood.

Roache & O’Briens — the Main Line watering hole that Irish immigrant John O’Brien founded in 1933 on Lancaster Avenue in Haverford and passed to his son, Fran, and Fran’s wife, Sally — has changed hands. The new owner is Dan Clark of Pub & Kitchen, Trattoria Carina, the Diving Horse, and the new Carina Sorella; he and his team say they will maintain the name and the throwback look and feel. Read the O’Brien family’s Facebook farewell here.

Plaza Azteca, a Mexican chain that serves the East Coast, is opening in Providence Town Center, replacing Tio Juan’s Margaritas. No date yet; the liquor application was filed last week.

Lederach Corner Store. Don’t let the homespun name fool you. Though Lederach is just a crossroads near Schwenksville in central Montgomery County, this 19th-century house is not some quaint dining nook.

Inside the former tea room and general store, Sara Picard and Trish Parrish, health-care executives by day, have set up a slick, Art Deco restaurant and cocktail bar, including an onyx piano beneath globe lights for nightly music. The vibe is energetic; the room volume is largely determined by your distance from the piano.

Chef Austin Lambert’s menu is heavy on the appetizers, including a mini cheese board ($8) and ahi tuna crudo ($23) over crispy rice and avocado. Popular main dishes include bone-in pork chop ($36) over five-spice parsnip puree and rainbow carrots, pan-seared smoked halibut ($34) over smoked Yukon potatoes with watercress in lemon-thyme beurre blanc, and the tofu curry ($32) with basmati rice. Decent wine list ($11-$17), and an assortment of cocktails, New York-priced from $14 into the low-$20s.

There’s an “adults only!” disclaimer on the website. Also, there’s an upfront $25 deposit to hold the reservation on Toast to minimize no-shows.

Next up: a speakeasy-style lounge is coming to the second floor with a private keypad for entry.

Lederach Corner Store, 701 Cross Rd., Lederach. Hours: 4-9 p.m. Wednesday, 4-10 p.m. Thursday, and 4 p.m. midnight Friday and Saturday.

McCrossen’s Tavern, the Fairmount-area fixture (520 N. 20th St.), will mark its 30th anniversary Sunday afternoon with a block party, including wine tastings from New Zealand’s Decibel Wines. Brother and sister Michael Rodolico and Joyce Brennan bought the bar, founded in 1937, from their uncle Neil in late 1993. It’s now run by Rodolico and his nephew, Jamie Brennan. There’s a direct Decibel connection: In 2008, Brennan’s brother Daniel arrived in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, sight unseen, with dreams of creating vegan and vegetarian-friendly varietals. His line now includes the single-vineyard Decibel, the more experimental Giunta, and the premium Testify.

Rival Bros. Coffee has gone to Brewerytown for its third cafe, opening at Poth Brewery Lofts at 3145 W. Jefferson St. with seating inside and out. Breakfast sandwiches as well as other baked goods from Mighty Bread Co. are on the menu. Rival also owns Enswell, the cafe/cocktail bar, in the Touraine in Center City.

Sabrina’s Cafe, the Philly bruncherie, has opened its sixth location: Philadelphia International Airport in Terminal C.

The Pita Chip, the fast-casual Middle Eastern shop with a build-your-own menu, will open its fourth location in late summer in the Comcast Concourse (1701 JFK Blvd.).

Bethesda Project, which provides emergency shelter, housing, and supportive services for those experiencing homelessness in Philadelphia, will host its 27th annual party & auction on May 31 at Reading Terminal Market. Tickets for the nighttime event, which features a sampling of food from market vendors, start at $150.

Otto’s Taproom & Grille (1216 N. 29th St.) has launched a Wednesday night sandwich initiative, rotating monthly, with proceeds benefiting the Brewerytown Community Garden. First up from executive chef David Sposato and chef de cuisine Shawn McConnell is a South Philly chicken cutlet on a Sarcone’s roll with broccoli rabe, roasted red peppers, and sharp provolone ($18).

What is the signature item sold by the Little Hot Dog Wagon, aside from hot dogs?

A) Burgers

B) Fish sandwiches

C) Pizza

D) Kraut

Find out if you know the answer.

What’s going on at Fifth and Bainbridge Streets? There’s a new orange liquor sign in the window of the Olly pizzeria. — Steve R.

Signs point to a reprise of Stoned Pizza, the New York City-based, cannabis-friendly “supper club” run by Chris Barrett, known as Pizza Pusha. Stoned was briefly open twice last year as a BYOB before it was shut down over licensing issues. The liquor-license applicant listed in PLCB records is South 5th Hospitality LLC. According to records filed with the Department of State, Barrett is South 5th’s officer.

State Rep. Mary Isaacson (D., Phila.), whose staff manages nightlife task forces in the Queen Village area, said Tuesday that her office has filed a petition to intervene with the PLCB; she wants to be sure that any neighborhood concerns are addressed.

At its opening last spring, Stoned served a cannabis-infused prix-fixe menu of pizza, salads, wings, soft drinks, and desserts and allowed cannabis smoking. The bar area was used for seating. Recreational marijuana is not legal in Philadelphia, but small amounts have been decriminalized, meaning that police will not arrest for minor offenses. The city has, however, shuttered establishments that allow indoor cannabis smoking, including the Lair in West Philadelphia. Stoned was officially shut down in May 2023 because it lacked a business license and health certificate.

When Stoned reopened last August, Barrett said that the food would not be infused, but that cannabis smoking would be permitted. Philadelphia’s Clean Indoor Air Act prohibits indoor smoking at public establishments unless the business has a tobacco license. Stoned was shut down again on the day it reopened over a few unresolved kitchen violations. Although those issues were corrected, the business has remained closed, and a city spokesperson said Tuesday that an application for a tobacco permit had not been received. Barrett has not replied to messages seeking comment.

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