The Shore’s Italian Renaissance | Let’s Eat

Going far beyond Chicken Parm, Craig LaBan takes us on a tour of the Jersey Shore restaurants redefining Italian cuisine.

Also in this edition:

— Mike Klein and Kiki Aranita

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Musette, an all-day café with coffee, small plates, and nonalcoholic drinks opens in Rittenhouse, as reported by Jenn Ladd.

A dozen restaurants are slated for July openings, with two specializing in steak frites — a Stephen Starr spot at the Jersey Shore and D.C.-based Medium Rare, which is heading to Fishtown.

But no, it won’t be another Next of Kin. Expect inventive cocktails, house made cordials, and the revival of esoteric classics, from Kyle Darrow and John Grubb at their new location in Washington Square West. As Kiki Aranita reports, it opens this fall after only minimal redecoration.

Restaurateur Ellen Yin and her team at High Street Hospitality Group are putting together the Bread Room, a new bakery, workshop, and event space, around the corner from High Street in the Franklin Residences (834 Chestnut St.). It’s due to open later this summer.

AI is factoring into Wokworks, Brennan Foxman’s healthy stir-fry chain, for its opening this fall at 5 Franklin Ave. in Bryn Mawr. Foxman and a partner expect a patent shortly for their robot, nicknamed Wendy (shown above), that controls the woks’ flipping and tossing to deliver “wok hei” — the smoky, seared flavor and texture found in better Cantonese cooking. Foxman, who was 22 when he founded Wokworks in 2013, said Wendy is more advanced than other commercial robot woks, which tend to simply tumble the food. (Chinatown entrepreneur Kenny Poon is going the robot route for Kenny’s Wok, due in September at the Comcast Center’s marketplace.)

Porco’s Porchetteria, Chad Durkin’s takeout shop in Point Breeze, won its place on the map nearly six years ago with his juicy, cracklin’-topped roast pork sandwiches served on house-baked ciabatta. Last weekend, Durkin rolled out a new option: a seeded steak roll, created with neighboring Baker Street Bread. The secret involves toasting the sesame seeds before baking. Coupled with the crunch from the cracklings, there is a lot going on here.

Porco’s Porchetteria, 2204 Washington Ave. Hours: 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday-Sunday.

How to slide into Philadelphia? William Johnson and Anesha Garrett, who founded DE Slider Co. in Wilmington in 2021, will give away 100 sliders starting at 4 p.m. Friday as they launch the Slider Co., a three-month pop-up in the courtyard at the Luxe (1705 N. American St.) in South Kensington. This fall, according to the website, they will open a brick-and-mortar Slider Co. shop at 2043 Frankford Ave. in Fishtown. Friday’s giveaways are the Fat Mama cheeseburger (Angus beef patty, sharp Cheddar, house pickles, baby greens, red onion, tomato, and tarragon-Russian dressing) and the Kitchen Sink (a vegan crispy quinoa patty, vegetable ceviche, baby greens, black bean-sriracha sauce, and avocado purée, served on a sweet potato bun). The pop-up will also feature additional sliders, sides such as buffalo Brussels sprouts, drinks, and cookies. Hours: 4-10 p.m. Thursday and Friday, noon-10 p.m. Saturday, and noon-8 p.m. Sunday.

Raven Lounge (1718 Sansom St.), which hosted a diverse slate of DJs, bands, and comedy shows over its two decades, is nevermore. Owner Jonathan Hunter wants to pursue a new line of work, possibly building on his background as a liaison between the local bar community and the city. He is collecting memories on the bar’s Facebook page.

Queen Village Neighbors Association has gathered about 20 restaurants for its first-ever restaurant week, July 18-Aug. 3, excluding Saturdays. They will offer $20, $40, and $60 meals. Participants include Fitz on 4th, Cry Baby Pasta, Southwark, Bridget Foy’s, and Famous 4th Street Deli. Details are here.

Angie Brown’s chef series at Rex at the Royal (1524 South St.) will resume Aug. 17 with chef Brian Meerbott (Meerbott Hospitality), and pick up with Caribbean food from Chaz Brown (Sept. 15); a collab between Brown and her daughter, Samantha Johnson (Oct. 13); Cybil St.Aude-Tate of Honeysuckle (Nov. 17); and Cristina Martinez (Casa Mexico) on a TBD date in Dec.

Ross & Co., a sprawling bar-restaurant in downtown Hatboro from the owner of Ambler’s Gypsy Blu, closed last week, after a little over a year. Owner Bob Ross is selling both places, saying he has had enough of the restaurant business after 45 years.

Ember & Ash and chef Tim Dearing of the supper club Ūle are teaming up for a live-fire collaboration dinner celebrating Shore cuisine on July 24 at Ember & Ash (1520 E. Passyunk Ave.). Expect fine-dining takes on clam chowder, an oyster tart in a kombu shell, boudin blanc with smoked mussels and crawfish tails, and grilled butterflied trout. The dinner is a la carte, but reservations are recommended.

The Good King Tavern is holding its 9th annual Bastille Day Block Party on July 13, 12 to 6 p.m. There will be crispy shrimp with saffron aioli, chicken brochettes, French hot dogs, and street burgers with Raclette cheese as specials. Expect live music (including a full band, DJs, and Liberty Bellows accordionists) and festival-style communal tables. No reservations, cash only.

This is a specialty cheesesteak at Barry’s Steaks & Hoagies in Roxborough, which reopened recently in its new location. What is it?

A) the Philly Mignon (marinated filet mignon and Cooper Sharp)

B) the Vegan (Beyond Steak and Violife Just Like Cheddar)

C) the Alpine (Swiss cheese and brown gravy)

D) the Oh, Deer (venison and Muenster cheese)

Find out if you know the answer.

Just saw this sign at 719 N. Second St. in Northern Liberties. What is it? — Colin S.

Mana had little online presence as of last week, but by digging into corporate records, I found the owner: Tom Lau, whose Philadelphia restaurant holdings include Center City’s Aki Nom Nom and Feng Hot Pot. He told me that Mana Modern Chinese will serve dim sum and some regional cooking and will open July 16. Meanwhile, Lau is also developing Ichigo Ramen Sushi a block north at 831 N. Second St.

Mana happens to be one of a dozen new restaurants expected to open this month, including two by Stephen Starr in Atlantic City.

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