It’s pumpkin spice szn | Let’s Eat

With the arrival of fall, we catch you up on all things pumpkin spice — and there is a latte to cover. Also on tap for you: Craig LaBan is high on a Himalayan restaurant, Philly’s bagel scene gets a shake-up, two new pizza shops open, we take you out to Pepperidge Farm’s Goldfish factory for a tour, and there’s a new Japanese restaurant in Devon worth a look-see.

🗞️In breaking news: It’s one diner to go. They’re tearing down the Melrose Diner.

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Even before Saturday’s autumnal equinox, our current snap of fall has inspired bakeries and restaurants to warm the air with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, and create treats with pumpkin spice and pureed pumpkin. Hira Qureshi shares 22 tasty fall-season ideas.

Korshak’s Bagel’s 2½-year ride is coming to a close. Owner Philip Korshak has set Sunday as the last day. Jenn Ladd chatted him up to find out why, and his answer — like his bagel formula — is complex and nuanced.

A GoFundMe has been set up to provide three weeks’ severance for Korshak’s 11 employees.

When one bagel shop closes, another opens. The new Cleo Bagels is drawing lines in West Philly.

🥯We on the Food team have our favorite bagels in the Philly area. Please take a moment and tell me yours.

Have you ever had a Handsome Chicken Lollipop? A bowl of Manchau soup? Momos four ways? Not only does critic Craig LaBan recount the deliciousness at Gayatri “Gigi” Giri and Bahrat Bist’s Mount Masala, a Nepali BYOB in Voorhees, but he tells their love story, which deserves to be shouted from the mountaintops.

Bist, by the way, happens to be in the soft-opening mode at Nepali Momo Kitchen, a modest dumpling/noodles/rice shop, at 532 N. 15th St. in Spring Garden.

Pepperidge Farm’s bakery in Lancaster County churns out cinnamon swirl bread, Milanos, and dark chocolate chip cookies. It’s also on pace to produce 55 million pounds of Goldfish crackers this year, or about 20% of the national supply. Jenn Ladd and photojournalists Lauren Schneiderman and Allie Ippolito take you on a tour of the seldom-seen plant.

Two new pizzerias have joined the club: Eda’s in Roxborough is inspired by New Haven pizza and CJ&D’s in South Philly does Trenton-style tomato pies — neither of which is commonly found in Philly.

Center City’s got game(s). The sports-entertainment chains are moving in. Puttshack is opening this fall on the ground floor of Liberty Place (1526 Chestnut St.), teeing off against Five Iron Golf (2116 Chestnut St.). I reported recently that Flight Club, specializing in darts, has applied for a liquor license at 1417 Walnut St. Now I see that Beat the Bomb, an upstart out of Brooklyn that combines an escape room with video games, has applied for a license at 1218 Chestnut St., also known as the Bailey Building. It’s down the street from the forthcoming Barcade video-arcade palace and the current Lucky Strike bowling alley. Beat the Bomb, backed by $15 million in financing for a national expansion, “rewards” those who lose the escape-room game with a foamy bath and other indignities (see above). Opening is penciled in for 2024. Realtors Scott Benson and Shane Hart of Metro Commercial are also seeking a restaurant tenant for 3,000 square feet of space on the building’s Sansom Street side, across from Fergie’s and a few doors from Barstool.

Speaking of fun: Garage, the bars in Fishtown and South Philadelphia, is expanding to Center City. Fittingly, it will be located beneath a garage.

Dine Latino Restaurant Week is on through Friday, as the Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce marks Hispanic Heritage Month with a free appetizer or dessert with the purchase of two dinner entrées at two dozen restaurantes.

PETA Latino is recognizing the top vegan bocaditos (appetizers) served by Latin-owned restaurants in the United States, and Bar Bombón’s albóndigas (meatballs) — served in a vegan Romesco and mojo verde sauce and accompanied by a side of herb grilled bread — made the list.

Two veteran restaurateurs have gone to the Main Line with Takumi, a roomy, stylish Japanese bistro whose grand opening is Wednesday near the Whole Foods in Devon Village, replacing Lumbrada Cocina.

Eddie Zheng and Yvonne Yang also have Qu Japan Bistro & Bar in Center City, choosing to ramp up the hot and cold menu options at Takumi. One example, shown above, is an appetizer of uni scallop carpaccio with truffles from executive chef, Larry Jiang, who trained at Nobu. He’s offering all the rolls and nigiri, flights of salmon and tuna, and cooked options such as creamy kimchi udon, fried rock shrimp, and tuna crudo topped with caviar and truffle.

When I say “roomy”: There’s a 10-seat sushi bar and a 10-seat cocktail bar (liquor license is on the way), plus 130 seats in the dining room.

Point of interest: Zheng and Yang also have the popular Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao soup-dumpling locations in Cherry Hill and Queens, N.Y.

Takumi, 821 Lancaster Ave., Wayne. Hours: 11:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Marco Polo in Elkins Park Square (Old York Road and Church Roads) has been closed since June 18 by smoke and water damage after a fire in its shopping center. The landmark Italian restaurant seems to be gone forever, though management has been silent since posting a statement in June that the closing is temporary. Last week, a reputed “longtime former employee” posted on the Elkins Park Happenings Facebook group what appeared to be a farewell, sparking anguish from customers. I called Tony Duva, who with his family has owned Marco Polo for 18 of its 28 years. He said that they were still awaiting a resolution from the insurance company and that nothing has been resolved about the future. However, Maria Romano, a Realtor with Delphi Property Group, said the lease is up and she is offering the space. Quick now: What was the restaurant in Marco Polo’s space before Chef Lo opened it in 1995? Read down for the answer.

Broth Thyme, a soup-centric yearling at 102 S. 13th St. in Midtown Village, has closed, as has O Sole Mio at 824 S. Eighth St. in Bella Vista. Both restaurants’ front doors had been festooned with legal notices.

⚾ Why doesn’t Citizens Bank Park have a stand dedicated to hoagies? Nick Vadala explains, as part of our “Curious Philly” series that provides answers to your burning questions.

🥨 Center City Pretzel Co., which happens to be in South Philly at 816 Washington Ave., is looking to return “soon” after repairs from a fire a year ago.

🍽️ Three Philly restaurants have made the New York Times’ annual 50-best list, and I explain why it’s a bigger deal than you may think.

⚾ Former Phillies pitcher Joe Blanton threw us a curveball. He tells Matt Breen about his post-baseball life as a Napa vineyard owner.

🐝 Last spring, Opera Philadelphia’s props truck was swarmed with bees as it parked outside of the Academy of Music. What happened next?

A) Jerry Seinfeld donated an autographed copy of the Bee Movie script to the company for a fundraiser.

B) A beekeeper rounded up the bees and made honey, which went into a specialty cocktail to support the company.

C) The sound technician stalked off after being unable to stop the persistent buzzing.

D) The truck was booted. It was all a PPA sting.

Find out if you know the answer.

(The answer to my question above: Before it was Marco Polo, it was Gullifty’s, related to the Bryn Mawr restaurant.)

📮 Have a question about food in Philly? E-mail your questions to me at mklein@inquirer.com.

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