Acclaimed Delco restaurant Rosemary changes chefs after 8 months

There’s been a shake-up in the kitchen at Rosemary, the popular bistro that brought what critic Craig LaBan called “big-city vibes” to scrappy Ridley Park last summer.

Opening executive chef Elijah Milligan and owner Philip Breen parted ways last month, and Breen brought in a new chef with undeniable big-city vibes: George Sabatino. Most recently culinary director for Safran Turney Hospitality (Barbuzzo, Lolita, Jamonera, Bud & Marilyn’s, Little Nonna’s), Sabatino was chef-owner of Aldine in Rittenhouse and headed a diverse roster of kitchens including Barbuzzo, Bindi, A Mano, Morgan’s Pier, and Rooster Soup Co.

Sabatino was chef in 2011 at Stateside on East Passyunk Avenue, where, coincidentally, Milligan succeeded him after his 2013 departure.

Milligan said he was “pursuing other opportunities that come my way,” starting with a working vacation in New Zealand. Once back home, he said, “I have some really cool projects working.”

Sabatino, who on Thursday said he had already revamped a dozen dishes on the menu, said he would continue his work with local farms and makers, including mushrooms from Mycopolitan; asparagus, beets, rhubarb, dairy, and meats from Green Meadow Farm; and other produce and cider from Three Springs Fruit Farm in Adams County.

His new spring menu is expected to drop in April with such dishes at lump crab toast (milk bread, fingerling chips, trout roe); pork belly and sweet potatoes (chili glaze, cilantro, roasted peanuts); spinach gnudi (cashew brown butter, sage, pecorino); and crispy skinned salmon (mussels, fregola, tomato shellfish broth).

Sophie’s BBQ, shuttered by fire only six weeks after its relocation from Ardmore to 1901 Darby Rd. in Havertown, returned Thursday for takeout and Friday for indoor seating. The partnership with Four Birds Distilling allows for cocktails. Their menu includes staples as well as a few dishes with panache, including butterscotch swirl corn bread with vanilla chai butter, sticky apple jam, and crunchy sea salt, and the “barbqueterie,” a charcuterie board of smokehouse pimiento cheese, grilled white bread, pickled vegetables, and greens.

Margaret Kuo’s flagship Wayne location will mark its last call on March 17 after 22 years, as owners Margaret and Warren Kuo are downsizing. Margaret Kuo — born in Manchuria, raised in Taiwan, and educated at the University of Connecticut — traded a career as a chemist for the dining world after her husband was asked to help run a relative’s restaurant near Philadelphia. Their first restaurant, Margaret Kuo’s Peking, gave many Delaware Countians their first taste of Mandarin and Sichuan cuisine when it opened in the old Granite Run Mall in 1974, treating them to the sound of a gong to herald the arrival of Peking duck to the table. That restaurant closed in 2015 to make way for mall’s demo and redevelopment, and came back as Margaret Kuo’s Kitchen in the Granite Run Promenade in Media. It’s not quite a retirement. The Kuos are keeping that location open.

Al Pastor from restaurateurs Joe Monnich and Justin Weathers, whose holdings include Stove & Tap in Lansdale and West Chester, DePaul’s Table in Ardmore, Revival Pizza in Chester Springs, and Joey Chops in Malvern, has opened a second location, in Havertown. (They launched the Mexican restaurant in Exton in 2017.) Havertown, with 80 seats beneath sombrero light fixtures and ceramic traditional pendants, is a cantina geared to adults and families, said Monnich, while Exton’s setup imbues it with “more of like a pool-party vibe.” The warm-weather patio will nearly double seating. Menu highlights: crispy cauliflower tacos, pork belly al pastor tacos among a dozen varieties, chicken enchiladas, and grilled beef fajitas.