Craig LaBan’s 25 favorite Shore restaurants | Let’s Eat
Roy Rogers is back, an uncommon Latin restaurant you should try, tiki comes to Penn’s Landing, and a rash of closings.
If you need a Jersey Shore dining recommendation, our man Craig LaBan has 25 of them for you.
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Also in this edition:
Roy Rogers returns: The Fixin’s Bar, too.
Bakery duo: Two bakers have teamed up, and the results are brilliant.
Read on for news: So many bar and restaurant closings. And there’s a new burger I want you to meet.
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Craig LaBan is back from his annual Jersey Shore sojourn. Let him share with you word of a hidden clam shack, Latino and Caribbean kitchens, a bayside fried chicken hut, an elegant Avalon classic that still feels fresh, and so much more.
Nearly three decades after the last Roy Rogers restaurant in the Philadelphia area moseyed off into the sunset, a new location opens today in South Jersey. Roast beef, chicken, burgers, and, of course, the Fixin’s Bar — just as you remember it.
Jenn Ladd stayed closer to home to feast on such dishes as res asada, enchilada, queso frito, cerdo asada, and Chontales cheese with housemade hot sauce at the new Pinolero, which specializes in harder-to-find Nicaraguan cooking.
It’s difficult to say whether there’s anything in common behind a recent spate of shuttered bars and restaurants, but:
The Cauldron Magical Pub, the Harry Potter theme bar, has vanished from its home of three years at 13th and Locust. (The whole U.K.-based company shuttered.)
Kraftwork’s 15-year run at Montgomery and Girard in Fishtown ended Sunday. Realtor Allan Domb, who owns the bricks, is looking for a new owner.
Mac’s Tavern in Old City, founded by actors Rob McElhenney and Kaitlin Olson of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia fame, has been buttoned up after 15 years.
Redcrest Kitchen at Sixth and Bainbridge is winding down operations, just short of its third anniversary.
Seorabol’s original location in Olney will close Thursday after 30-plus years. The Center City offshoot is unaffected.
Tria’s location at 12th and Spruce Streets (shown above) will do last call July 3 after 18 years. No impact on the 18th Street location, and a new cocktail bar is all lined up to take the space.
Two of Philly’s pop-up bakers teamed up to split rent. The results are pure joy and deliciousness, regularly scheduled baked goods, and comedy. Let Jenn introduce you to this duo.
Three bars withdrew from Center City Sips over what owners describe as “mayhem” on one block on Sansom Street, with thick crowds blocking traffic and racking up citations. Sips organizers, meanwhile, say the event is not to blame. Beatrice Forman gets in the middle of it.
Scoops
Marsha’s is coming to the recently closed Woolly Mammoth sports bar at 430 South St., and creator Chivonn Anderson intends it as Philadelphia’s first queer women’s sports bar. Anderson, 43, a Girls High and Temple grad who has been bartending and managing in the city for years, has named it after pioneering transgender activist Marsha P. Johnson. Anderson says there is a need for a space dedicated to showing women’s professional and collegiate sports, where people who love sports feel comfortable, and where the LGBTQ+ community can be safe. “The universe presented an opportunity for me and I knew I had to take advantage of it,” she told me. After learning that Chris McNichol of Woolly Mammoth had wanted to sell, she put on her Realtor hat and handled the purchase of the building, while Josh Weiss of MSC represented McNichol. Anderson is aiming at a late-summer opening.
Ridge Hall is coming together as food hall and community hub at 15 S. Ridge Ave. in downtown Ambler, just down the street from Rita’s Italian Ice. Organizer Russell Mahoney tells me that by September, there will be about a dozen vendors — all established businesses. First up, due to open in late July or early August, will be Nate Baynes’ 2 Street Sammies, Chris Barnes’ Lucky’s Roadside Stand, and Wanna Spoon?, featuring Little Ambler Bakehouse goods by baker Amy Ludwig and Bassetts ice cream. Already, Mark Mayer’s Twisted Gingers Brewery is set up inside the building, next to the hall. Upstairs is a vast space that can be used for events.
Restaurant report
River Tiki. Liberty Point on Penn’s Landing has set up a tiki bar on the upper floor under bartender Jason Elliott, who ran an indoor tiki bar back in 2017 at the old location of Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co.
The roomy River Tiki, a 120-seater with Delaware River views and a forest’s worth of thatch and bamboo, has 22 cocktails on the menu. Punch bowls are portioned for two (a seashell), four (a volcano bowl, set aflame), and six.
There’s also a full zombie menu that includes all three Don the Beachcomber recipes (from 1934, 1950, and 1956).
Chef Jack Peterson has added a tiki-themed food menu in addition to Liberty Point’s regular menu, including BBQ pizza and tuna nachos (shown below).
River Tiki at Liberty Point, 211 S. Columbus Blvd. Hours: 4-10 p.m. Monday–Thursday, 4 p.m.-midnight Friday, noon-midnight Saturday, noon-10 p.m. Sunday.
Briefly noted
Dizengoff, Mike Solomonov and Steve Cook’s Tel Aviv-inspired spot in Rittenhouse, has shifted to an all-day operation with one menu.
Doggone hot out there, but Positano Coast by Aldo Lamberti will host the third annual Pours for PAWS event with Young Friends of PAWS from 6-9 p.m. today. The $90 ticket includes a three-hour open bar, vegetarian/vegan bites, music by DJ Byrd, and a silent auction. Tickets and details, via phillypaws.org/poursforpaws.
Hop Sing Laundromat in Chinatown is running a special on the first Thursday of the month (so July 3): 13 cocktails priced at $10, plus a 20% gratuity. The promo’s ending date has not been determined.
Chef Nic Macri at Royal Tavern is reviving his Dog Days of Summer promotion, but with a twist. Instead of enlisting hot dogs from guest chefs, he has put up a Google form to solicit ideas from the public. Submissions will be accepted through July 13, when he will narrow it down to four dogs in four categories. A public vote will determine the winning weiners that will be featured on the final day, July 31.
Need a hoagie in South Jersey? Hira Qureshi has six of them, including the Godfather at Bagliani’s.
❓Pop quiz
What is the key ingredient in this “General Tso” dish from the new Burtons Grill & Bar in Wayne?
A) cauliflower
B) baby potatoes
C) chicken breast
D) brioche
Find out if you know the answer.
Ask Mike anything
What’s happening at the former Hawthornes at 11th and Fitzwater Streets? — Tracy M.
Get ready for the Lodge by Two Robbers, an offshoot of the spirtit company’s popular Fishtown bar, restaurant, and tasting room. It’s about three weeks out. Expect more cocktails, a full-on brunch menu, and one of the juiciest burgers I’ve tried recently. Chef Ashok Nayar, brother of founders Vivek and Vikram Nayar, is keeping his smash burger in Fishtown, but will offer this plump pub burger containing 50% dry age and 50% chuck from butcher Pat LaFrieda.
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