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Category: Michael Klein

  • The area’s crop of new restaurants for March: Popup Bagels, Puerto Rican barbecue, and a six-course tasting menu

    The area’s crop of new restaurants for March: Popup Bagels, Puerto Rican barbecue, and a six-course tasting menu

    The first Philadelphia-area location of a TikTok-famous bagel chain, an Italian kitchen and bar, a Puerto Rican barbecue specialist, and a posh tasting-menu BYOB are among the restaurants on the dining radar for March. As usual, most opening dates are in flux.

    Bengaluru Cafe (809 N. Second St.): This vegan/vegetarian South Indian restaurant, due to open March 20 in Northern Liberties, is inspired by Karnataka, a state in India, with a menu focused on street-food staples and shareable plates, including chaats, tomato masala salad, and vada pav — a popular snack of spiced potato fritter tucked into soft bread with chutneys. Owner Sri Saravanan has quite a commute: He opened his first location two years ago in Fairfax, Va.

    Carmen’s Table (200 E. Evesham Rd., Glendora): Roselyn Gonzalez, part of Booker’s Restaurant Lounge & Grill in Camden, is opening this Puerto Rican barbecue restaurant with her family in the former Kitchen 519 on March 27. She’s drawing on the recipes of her mother, Carmen, who supported her family by selling plates of food. Expect smoked meats informed by Caribbean flavors, including her mother’s sofrito.

    Cugini’s (6522 Lower York Rd., New Hope): Cousins Frank Picone and Anthony Adragna are taking over the former New Hope Star Diner on Route 202 in Solebury Township, Bucks County, for a 135-seat “Italian kitchen and bar” that aims to split the difference between date-night dining and family-friendly fare. Adragna previously owned and operated Cafe Antonio in Morrisville; Picone comes from a restaurant family that founded V&S Pizza in Fairless Hills and Ariana’s Pizza in Levittown.

    Dining room of Duo Restaurant & Bar, 90 Haddon Ave., Westmont, N.J.

    Duo Restaurant & Bar (90 Haddon Ave., Haddon Township): Brothers Artan and Arber Murtaj and Andi and Tony Lelaj, who own the Old World-style Italian Il Villaggio in Cherry Hill, have soft-opened their pub on the former site of Keg & Kitchen. Bar menu includes burgers, a crab cake sandwich, and raw oysters, while the regular menu covers rib-eye meatballs, crab cakes, and Italian entrees. It’s open for lunch and dinner daily.

    Booth seating with murals at Mi Vida.

    Mi Vida (1150 Ludlow St.): Knead Hospitality of Washington, D.C., is in the opening days of its first Philly project: a splashy Mexican restaurant in East Market, open daily for lunch weekdays, weekend brunch, and nightly dinner with a full menu and 23-seat bar stocked with 130 tequilas and mezcals.

    PopUp Bagels (10 Coulter Ave., Ardmore): “Grip, rip, and dip” is the phrase that pays at PopUp, a burgeoning franchise with a social-media following that started in 2021 as a baking enthusiast’s pandemic project in Westport, Conn. The first of 10 Philadelphia-area locations is looking to open later this month at Suburban Square in Ardmore, where it will occupy the former Juice Press space next to Drybar and SoulCycle and across from Shake Shack. (Center City, Marlton, and Princeton/Hamilton locations are being teed up.) Popup sells bagels and coffee, but no sandwiches, and the bagels are served hot and whole, rather than sliced. They’re designed to be torn apart and dipped into cream cheese spreads. The company offers weekly rotating schmear flavors and sells bagels in bundles — three, six, or a dozen — rather than individually.

    Two works in progress by chef Chris Bennett for the forthcoming Restaurant 1793 in Merchantville: Black truffle panna cotta with poached lobster, compressed orange, and white asparagus, as well as cocoa-lined foie gras with toasted walnut, apple cider puree, and small winter greens,

    1793 (7 E. Park Ave., Merchantville): A tasting-menu restaurant at the former Park Place from chef Chris Bennett (formerly of June BYOB), 1793 will offer a six-course contemporary American menu (starting at $115). Bennett will emphasize seafood, pastas, risottos, and a consistent duck entrée. A carpenter in his first career, Bennett is building it out to feel like an upscale library, with dark woods and leather seating. He’s aiming for fine dining without formality.

  • One of Philly’s most famous pizza makers is opening a bar in London

    One of Philly’s most famous pizza makers is opening a bar in London

    Joe Beddia, one of Philadelphia’s best-known pizzaioli and a partner in Pizzeria Beddia in Fishtown, is heading across the pond to put his stamp on a North London bar set to open this spring.

    At Bar Etna, in Newington Green, Beddia is a partner with former Philadelphia designer Mike Stampler, who a decade ago co-owned the craft brand Norman Porter in Kensington (the Philly one), and chef-restaurateur Ed McIlroy of the Four Legs group, which owns the Plimsoll and Tollington’s, both London pubs.

    Beddia said the relatively small space will sport “sort of a mid-century Milan vibe.” The menu will include small plates, baked dishes, and pizza. (The British media, quoting a news release about the project, seems amped about the Italian American dishes like “aubergine parmigiana.”) There will be a full bar for classic cocktails and it will have a late-night license, a rarity for London. And so far, Beddia said, they plan to offer soft-serve for dessert, just as he does in Philadelphia.

    “I’m not well-versed in the pizza scene in London yet, but will just try and make the best pizza I can,” Beddia said when asked to define the style he would make.

    Beddia, who grew up in Lancaster (Pennsylvania, not Lancashire), came to pizza-making after stints in Philadelphia kitchens and bars such as Tria, Osteria, South Philadelphia Tap Room, and Zavino, and an internship at Pizza Brutta in Madison, Wis. In 2012, he won zoning approval to take over a deli at 115 E. Girard Ave. in Fishtown, and in March 2013 opened Pizzeria Beddia with a stripped-down, takeout-only model. Cash only, no phone.

    Joe Beddia at Pizzeria Beddia at its opening in March 2019.

    The shop’s deliberately limited output — about 40 pies a night, only a few nights a week — fueled long lines and a cult following.

    National attention followed in 2015 when Bon Appétit named Beddia’s pizza the best in America, cementing him as a national breakout star. After five years and relentless demand, Beddia closed the Girard Avenue shop at the end of March 2018 — it’s now the slice shop Pizza Shackamaxon — to open a larger restaurant nearby with Defined Hospitality, the group behind Suraya, Kalaya, Condesa, R&D, and Picnic).

    In March 2019, “Beddia 2.0” debuted at 1313 N. Lee St. with seating, a bar, and a private hoagie room. A Beddia cookbook followed in 2020.

    In 2025, the restaurant was named a Bib Gourmand in the Michelin Guide. The restaurant also placed No. 13 in the world on the 2024 50 Top Pizza global list and ranked No. 3 in the United States on the same group’s national ranking.

    Joe Beddia (left), with associates Greg Root, Nick Kennedy (rear), Chutatip “Nok” Suntaranon, and Roland Kassis, joins the Michelin Man at the Michelin Guide announcement event at the Kimmel Center Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025, in Philadelphia.
  • Manna Bakery will take over Essen’s Kensington space for a bakery-cafe and restaurant

    Manna Bakery will take over Essen’s Kensington space for a bakery-cafe and restaurant

    What a year it’s been so far for Saif Manna, one of Philadelphia’s most sought-after pop-up bakers. He’s achieved two longtime goals: He married his college girlfriend, Stefaniya Surikova, and he signed a lease for his first brick-and-mortar location.

    Manna Bakery — a farmers market favorite for its Levantine and Palestinian baked goods — is due to open by early April at 110 W. Berks St., Essen Bakery’s shuttered Kensington location. Manna acquired Essen’s equipment and said he must do only light work on the space.

    Saif Manna at work before a pop-up.

    With seating for about 60, the bakery will be open for counter service Thursday to Sunday from the start, serving such treats as ka’ak al-Quds (Jerusalem bagels), Basque cheesecake, cookies, brioche buns, manakeesh, and sumac-spiced chicken buns.

    Manna said he would continue his appearances at the Rittenhouse, Headhouse, and Clark Park farmers markets “because they’re convenient for people in those neighborhoods.”

    How to have a perfect Philly day, according to Saif Manna

    The long-term goal is for Manna to be a bakery-cafe during the day and a restaurant at night. Manna said the dinner menu would include traditional Palestinian dishes he grew up with, such as stuffed grape leaves, stuffed cabbage, oven-baked kofta, lamb dumplings, roasted lamb, hummus, and other dips, along with breads.

    Larry Bodhuin waits on a customer at Manna Bakery’s table at Headhouse Farmers Market on March 1, 2026. At rear is Manna baker Melissa Bensley.

    Manna’s path into baking has the familiar contours of a pandemic-era origin story, but with a longer runway.

    His grandparents lived in Akka until Palestinians were expelled during the Arab-Israeli war in 1948. Manna, 27, was born in California and raised in Dubai. He moved to the United States in 2018 for college at Texas A&M, where he played on its Division I tennis team. He transferred after freshman year to Temple University, where he majored in political science and played tennis. As a junior during the pandemic, Manna started baking cookies in his dorm.

    “Stefaniya [who also played tennis at Temple] encouraged me to sell them,” he said. At first, students lined up for his wares. Then came local TV coverage.

    Some of Saif Manna’s baked goods on the Manna Bakery table at Headhouse Farmers Market on March 1, 2026.

    After graduation, he committed to baking full-time, expanding into pop-ups and larger markets. He lived in student housing because it was affordable, but eventually moved to the Old Kensington/Fishtown area for more space.

    When the Kensington pizzeria Char opened in August 2024, he struck a deal with owner Viraj Thomas to bake there during the off-hours. “As things grew, [the] Char [space] couldn’t keep up with my production needs anymore,” Manna said. “At the same time, I was searching for a brick-and-mortar. Every time I thought I had something, it fell through. It was frustrating, but I kept going.”

    The Berks Street space, which became available last November, seemed like another near-miss. Another tenant was on the verge of signing, he said.

    Manna decided to hit the real estate company with the equivalent of a drop shot: “I went into the [real estate] office and told them, ‘If you sign that [deal], you’re making a huge mistake. Within a year of opening, I’m going to win a James Beard Award.’

    “I needed to get their attention,” he said. “I explained why they should take a chance on me, and they did.”

  • Angelo’s Pizzeria to expand into Federal Donuts & Chicken’s South Philadelphia location

    Angelo’s Pizzeria to expand into Federal Donuts & Chicken’s South Philadelphia location

    Angelo’s Pizzeria, bursting at the seams at its flagship shop on Ninth Street near the Italian Market, will take over the South Philadelphia location of Federal Donuts & Chicken, converting the chain’s largest outpost into a production hub with delivery, takeout, and limited seating.

    The Federal Donuts location at Wolf and Swanson Streets, which opened in March 2024, closed Saturday. Its six employees have been offered jobs elsewhere in the company, cofounder Steve Cook said.

    Danny DiGiampietro of Angelo’s Pizzeria (right) with longtime business partner Jared Braunstein at Angelo’s Baking Co. in Conshohocken, Pa., in December 2024.

    Angelo’s owner Danny DiGiampietro told The Inquirer that the new location would solve key issues for the Michelin-honored pizza and sandwich business, whose house-baked rolls helped propel its popularity from its opening in 2019 after a move from Haddonfield.

    First, it will take the pressure off of the takeout-only Ninth Street storefront, which draws long lines — as well as neighbor complaints. “Ninth Street isn’t going anywhere — we’re not touching that,” he said.

    Second, it will allow Angelo’s to move its third-party delivery out of North Philadelphia, where it launched in a ghost kitchen in October 2024. “We like working with them and it helped prove the concept,” he said of the kitchen, on Girard Avenue near 13th Street.

    A cheesesteak with onions and Cooper Sharp American from Angelo’s.

    Third, with a new kitchen five times the size of Ninth Street’s, “this will bring us back to doing what we used to do,” DiGiampietro said. “We made our bones with specialty sandwiches, like sausage scaloppine and 50 kinds of cutlets. When cheesesteaks and pizza took over, we had to take them off [the full-time menu]. Not knocking the cheesesteaks, but they’re boring. I want to get loose again.”

    He said Wolf Street would also serve as a commissary and operate seven days from early in the morning (with house-baked bagels) to late at night.

    DiGiampietro said the new building had been on his radar several years ago, before Federal Donuts signed on. “At the time, the build-out cost and the timeline — more than a year — just didn’t work for us,” he said. “The cloud kitchen was faster. But when this came back around, we moved on it fast.”

    Angelo’s Pizzeria on Ninth Street during the lunch rush on Aug. 31, 2022.

    Asked how many people will be employed at the new location, DiGiampietro replied: “I have no idea. I just come up with the ideas.” Jared Braunstein, his longtime business partner, added: “We’re reactionary here. We just figure it out.”

    For Federal Donuts, the Wolf Street closure reflects a broader shift in its operating model. Cook, fellow chef Michael Solomonov, and several friends launched the fried chicken/doughnuts/coffee brand in 2011 as a complement to CookNSolo’s award-winning restaurant, Zahav.

    After taking on outside investment in 2022, Federal Donuts began franchising and moving away from a centralized commissary approach.

    The Federal Donuts & Chicken location at Swanson and Wolf Streets just before its debut in March 2024.

    Wolf Street’s kitchen, at 5,000 square feet, was designed for high-volume production. But by the time it opened, that strategy had already evolved, Cook said. “We liked the retail opportunity there. We liked the development story there. But we’re still early on the retail side, and without the commissary to underwrite some of the overhead, it just didn’t really make sense.”

    The move fits into Angelo’s broader expansion pipeline.

    DiGiampietro, with partners, opened Uncle Gus’ Steaks in late 2024 inside Reading Terminal Market. He and the owners of the Wilmington restaurant Bardea opened Angelo’s cheesesteak stand last year in Wilmington’s DE.CO food hall. Actor Bradley Cooper, who walked into Ninth Street anonymously several years ago and bought a sandwich, is DiGiampietro’s business partner in a cheesesteak shop called Danny & Coop’s in Manhattan’s East Village.

    Actor Bradley Cooper (right) and Angelo’s Pizzeria owner Danny DiGiampietro (left) work on the Danny & Coop’s cheesesteak truck, a precursor of their shop, with manager Seth Braunstein in New York in December 2023.

    A long-delayed bakery project in Conshohocken is nearing completion. DiGiampietro said progress has been slowed by the need to bring the older building — formerly Conshohocken Italian Bakery — up to current code.

    He said he hopes to open that retail bakery within a month.

    DiGiampietro said a South Jersey location, planned for the former Di’Nics in West Collingswood Heights, is at least six months from opening. Work is expected to begin soon.

    For now, DiGiampietro’s focus is on South Philadelphia, where the industrial-scale Wolf Street building offers room to grow without the constraints of a dense residential block.

    Angelo’s Pizzeria is setting up at Swanson and Wolf Streets.

    “It’s [in an] industrial [area], it makes sense operationally, and it gives us room to grow without bothering anyone nearby,” DiGiampietro said. “For us, it was a no-brainer.”

    The surrounding corridor — long defined by warehouses and light industry, as well as big-box stores along Columbus Boulevard and the landmark John’s Roast Pork — is also in flux. Across Wolf Street, Isgro’s Pastries is planning a second location — a large-scale bakery and cafe — to open this summer. Just north on Swanson Street, the six-acre former Inolex Chemical Co. site has been cleared for a retail development whose prospective tenants include Shake Shack, Raising Cane’s, and Lidl.

  • Almost Home’s Old City coffeehouse shutters, months after severing ties with troubled Glu Hospitality

    Almost Home’s Old City coffeehouse shutters, months after severing ties with troubled Glu Hospitality

    Almost Home General’s Old City coffeehouse closed this week, capping a complicated two-year joint venture between the Jersey Shore-based chain and Glu Hospitality, the now-disbanded restaurant group that operated the location.

    Robbie Doran, who founded Almost Home in 2000 in Monmouth County, said his company was moving on and plans to open a coffee shop and grocery store of its own at Beach Street Landing in Northern Liberties. They will join Almost Home’s other Philadelphia location, on the ground floor of the Hagert & York development in East Kensington.

    Owner Robbie Doran in the lounge area at Almost Home, 205 Race St.

    Almost Home’s relationship with Glu began around 2023, when Glu founders Tim Lu and Derek Gibbons approached Doran, whom they knew from working in the New York City nightlife scene.

    “They wanted my brand,” Doran said. “I saw the growth with Glu and assumed they knew what they were doing.”

    At the time, Glu was on a tear of openings since its founding in 2019, at one point operating the chain Bagels & Co. alongside seven other vibey restaurants, including Northern Liberties’ Figo and the subterranean Center City ramen bar Chika, both now shuttered.

    In April 2024, Glu and Doran opened the Almost Home location at the corner of Second and Race Streets, on the ground floor of the Bridge on Race building beside the Ben Franklin Bridge. The coffee shop offered cocktails alongside full brunch and dinner menus, and was an immediate hit on social media thanks to its over-the-top lattes and photogenic color-coded bookshelves.

    Almost Home opened in April 2024, replacing a coffeehouse/retailer called United by Blue.

    Doran said the arrangement began to break down early last year after broader issues surfaced at other Glu-owned restaurants. In addition to allegations of wage theft, Glu was running afoul of state liquor laws by using off-premises catering permits, rather than full liquor licenses, to sell alcohol at both Almost Home and Figo. Two other former Glu restaurants — Chika and Izakaya Fishtown — were operating under expired liquor licenses.

    “When things started falling apart, it happened fast — within about two weeks, everything came crashing down,” Doran said. “We were finding things out from the news before hearing about them internally, which isn’t how a partnership should work.”

    Glu partners Derek Gibbons (left) and Tim Lu at Figo in December 2022.

    In March 2025, Lu and Gibbons announced that the entire company was defunct. Later that month, Glu investor Carlton Smith filed a civil suit in Common Pleas Court, alleging that Lu, Lu’s brother, and three men Smith believed to be Almost Home General employees had assaulted him inside the cafe in spring 2024 after Smith asked Lu to return his $100,000 investment; that lawsuit is listed as pending.

    After Glu shut down, Doran said he dissolved Almost Home’s partnership. From then on, Doran said, Lu ran the Old City cafe.

    The shop faced operational challenges. In September 2025, the cafe was shut down by the Philadelphia Department of Health after a failed health inspection found evidence of mouse droppings and uncontained rat poison throughout the kitchen. The report’s findings drew attention on social media that Lu said the business could not bounce back from.

    “The report itself wasn’t unusual from an operational standpoint,” Lu said. “But someone on social media amplified it and added commentary that made it seem worse than it was.”

    Dining room at Almost Home, 205 Race St.

    Other factors contributed to the decline, Lu said, including a harsh winter that caused foot traffic to slow further. “At the end of the day, the business just wasn’t sustainable,” Lu said.

    Doran, who operates eight Almost Home General locations in New Jersey in addition to the East Kensington shop, said the experience affected his business beyond Philadelphia.

    “A lot of the blame fell on him,” Doran said of Lu. “But ultimately, the decisions that were made had ripple effects. Some of that fallout affected me as well, even though I wasn’t involved in those decisions.”

    Doran emphasized that he doesn’t view Lu as solely responsible for the outcome and said he has focused on supporting staff affected by the closure. “I’ve been reaching out to employees to make sure they’re taken care of,” Doran said. “I’m not going to let staff get hurt in the process.”

  • The best sushi, right to your door | Let’s Eat

    The best sushi, right to your door | Let’s Eat

    Restaurants are stepping up their delivery sushi. Here are our favorites downtown.

    Also in this edition:

    — Mike Klein

    If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.

    The best delivery sushi

    With the gap narrowing between casual sushi joints and upscale omakase, Kiki Aranita set out to find the best delivery sushi in downtown Philly. These nine restaurants are clearly on a roll.

    A father-son Japanese homecoming

    🏯 Chef Jesse Ito and his father, Matt, flew to Japan for a rare bonding trip, exploring markets, family roots, and the traditions that shaped Royal Sushi & Izakaya. Craig LaBan and Monica Herndon tagged along to share an inside look.

    🍜 If you toured Japan for nine days with a chef and a food critic, here’s where you might eat.

    Beer festival brouhaha

    This Saturday, there will be two beer festivals with identical-sounding names. Beatrice Forman reports that Philly Bierfest wants the New York-rooted Philly Beer Fest to stop confusing customers.

    Tacconelli’s opens a cocktail bar, but where’s the pizza?

    Vince Tacconelli opens a cocktail bar Wednesday. Although Bar Tacconelli is not a pizzeria, he figures at least he and his South Jersey neighbors won’t have to cross the bridge to Philly for a fun night out.

    Gluten-free bakery opens on the Main Line

    Flakely, the gluten-free bakery, has opened a shop in Bryn Mawr, as Denali Sagner reports, bringing its pastries front and center after toiling in a commercial kitchen in Manayunk.

    The best things we ate last week

    Follow the food team’s travels: tasty spanakopita, scallops and burrata, and a clam pizza that brought beach vibes to Center City.

    Scoops

    After five years behind the smoked-fish counter at Biederman’s in South Philadelphia, Gene Mopsik has moved on. The food maven and erstwhile commercial photographer known as @phillyloxsmith says he lost most of his hours after three spinal surgeries in 14 months. With retirement not an option at age 77, he has started what he calls a small-batch food project. On the eve of Purim, he’s baking hamentashen — poppy, prune, and apricot. Preorders (six for $22) at phillyloxsmith.com should be available through Thursday for pickup Sunday. “I need to stay busy,” Mopsik said. “There’s something about people enjoying what you create.”

    Monto is the name of the pub that the Fergie’s Pub crew is planning to open in Old City this spring. Sandwich meister N.A. Poe is planning a Celtic-Philly menu.

    Blue Sunday, an American-Asian restaurant out of Maryland (there’s a location in Bensalem), is planning a September opening in the former Carrabba’s Italian Grill space at Springfield Mall. It’s also headed into the former Famous Dave’s location at Christiana Town Center in Delaware.

    Restaurant report

    For his latest review, critic Craig LaBan ties on a lobster bib at Bomb Bomb Bar to dig into chef Joey Baldino’s revival of the classic red-gravy bar.

    The oxtail lasagna is one of the rustic South Philly-inspired dishes on the menu at Piccolina, a cozy, new bar-restaurant at the Society Hill Hotel in Old City.

    Briefly noted

    Charlotte Ann Albertson, whose cooking school helped launch many careers (remember Chef Tell?), has died at 90. Here’s her obit.

    Philadelphians are annoying, unfriendly, and stressed. But, as Emily Bloch reports, we have the best sandwiches, according to an analysis of how ChatGPT views the city.

    Cherry Street Tavern, one of Center City’s oldest bars, is for sale as the owners want to hang up their aprons. “There’s just something sacred about the place,” one bartender told Mike Newall.

    Restaurant weeks in progress: Queen Village/Bella Vista (through Sunday) and East Passyunk (through March 6).

    The Philly Chef Conference will host restaurateur Drew Nieporent (Nobu, Tribeca Grill) for a talk/book-signing at 5:30 p.m. Monday at Drexel University’s Academic Bistro (101 N. 33rd St.). In convo with Inquirer food writer Kiki Aranita, Nieporent will discuss his new memoir, I’m Not Trying to Be Difficult: Stories From the Restaurant Trenches. Admission ($25) includes a signed copy of the book (free for students); a light reception will follow. Register here.

    Pita Chip, the Middle Eastern fast-casual chainlet, will mark its first year at the Concourse at Comcast Center with free chicken shawarma or falafel entrees from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. March 3. Limit one per person.

    Panda Fest, the outdoor Asian food and culture festival, is returning to Dilworth Park April 18-19 for its second year. Early-bird ticket sales start Thursday.

    Dig Inn, a farm-to-table fast-casual chain, has set March 13 for its opening at 112 S. 11th St. It’s previewing with a food-drive exchange on March 11 and 12; those who donate a canned good or nonperishable food item get a free bowl in return. Reserve a time slot here. All donated items go across the street to Thomas Jefferson U’s Ramily Market Pantry.

    ❓Pop quiz

    A regular crafted a replica of his favorite restaurant out of Lego bricks. Which one?

    A) Pat’s King of Steaks

    B) Friday Saturday Sunday

    C) Buddakan

    D) Famous 4th Street

    Find out if you know the answer, and see a photo of it.

    Ask Mike anything

    I saw a restaurant online in the city with a dessert that was a carrot cake combination cheesecake. The cheesecake was on top of the carrot cake. Any idea where it could be? — Alan M.

    I’m sure more than a few locals offer this hybrid; the key is finding one on the regular menu. There’s the Cheesecake Lady (in new quarters in Jenkintown, with Cloud Cups’ Kensington location as an outlet); Bredenbeck’s in Chestnut Hill; and the assorted Cheesecake Factory locations. Know of others? Let me know and I’ll include next week.

    📮 Have a question about food in Philly? Email your questions to me at mklein@inquirer.com for a chance to be featured in my newsletter.

    By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.

  • A legendary pizza family opens a ‘Philly’ cocktail bar in South Jersey

    A legendary pizza family opens a ‘Philly’ cocktail bar in South Jersey

    Vince Tacconelli didn’t set out to open another Tacconelli’s — or even a bar — in South Jersey. He saw a gap, and it wasn’t pizza.

    “If you’re in the Maple Shade area on a Thursday night at 8 o’clock, there’s nowhere to get a proper cocktail,” said Tacconelli, 33, a fifth-generation member of the pizzeria family. “We always end up going into Philly.”

    The repeated frustration has led Tacconelli to a new business venture. “I’m trying to build the cocktail bar I want to go to,” he said.

    Vince Tacconelli behind the bar at Bar Tacconelli, 461 Route 38, Maple Shade, on Feb. 21, 2026.

    Bar Tacconelli — an Italian-leaning cocktail lounge and bottle shop with late-night hours — opened in late February about four minutes from the Maple Shade pizzeria he owns with his father, Vince. The concept is aimed at locals who might otherwise cross the bridge.

    The opportunity, he said, came together “pretty organically.” Christine Zubris, a friend who owned Route 38’s Versi Vino, a strip-mall wine bar between the Cherry Hill and Moorestown Malls, told him that she was stepping away after five years.

    Capocollo bombette at Bar Tacconelli, 461 Route 38, Maple Shade, on Feb. 21, 2026.

    “I kind of jokingly said to my father, ‘Let’s take it — let’s get our first liquor license,’” he said. “At first, we laughed. But I kept putting it out there. And sure enough, it fell onto my lap.”

    Tacconelli partnered with Greg Listino, whom he met through restaurant-equipment supplier Rosito Bisani, and Listino’s wife, Stacey Lyons, who operates Attico cocktail bar in Center City. The three of them had joked for years about opening a bar, Tacconelli said. “Next thing you know, they’re on board.”

    Bar Tacconelli during a preview dinner on Feb. 21, 2026.

    They took over the 60-seat space this spring. Lyons designed it with a soft industrial look: an exposed black ceiling with visible ductwork warmed by sculptural pendant lights casting an amber glow. Along one wall, a run of plush, channel-tufted banquettes in muted green sits beneath heavy drapery, while sliding barn-style wood doors lead to a semiprivate room.

    The 12-seat bar has been expanded from the Versa Vino days and now includes a drink rail with room for eight.

    Lyons leads the extensive bar program. Italian wines join eight beers (including a pilsner created by Haddonfield’s Kings Road) and a cocktail list organized into four sections: “Essenziale” and “Frizzante” cover classics and easy, bubbly spritzes, while “Dal Giardino” introduces more culinary, Italian-inspired creations and “Rustico” leans into spirit-forward, amaro-driven cocktails. There’s also an eight-bottle wine dispenser next to the racks of wines for sale.

    Sicilian tomato pie at Bar Tacconelli, 461 Route 38, Maple Shade, on Feb. 21, 2026.

    Tacconelli runs the compact kitchen. There is no pizza, aside from wedges of Sicilian tomato pie — a deliberate choice given the proximity to the pizzeria. “I don’t want to take away from that,” he said. “It actually helps us. Instead of rushing people out, we can say, ‘Head over to the bar — we’ll call ahead, get you a drink.’”

    Tacconelli’s Maple Shade location opened in 2003 on Lenola Road, across from Moorestown Mall, and moved in 2014 to its current home on Main Street. Father and son — the fourth and fifth generations — opened a Haddon Township location in 2023. Those South Jersey restaurants are owned separately from the landmark Tacconelli’s, which began baking pizzas in 1948 in Philadelphia’s Port Richmond section.

    Chicken cutlet under a bed of arugula, roasted cherry tomatoes, and parmesan at Bar Tacconelli, 461 Route 38, Maple Shade, on Feb. 21, 2026.

    At Bar Tacconelli, the food skews small and shareable: baked oysters, chicken cutlet with lemon-parmesan arugula, meatballs, shrimp cannelloni, grilled prawns in salmoriglio, and capocollo bombette — the Pugliese fried meat roll stuffed with caciocavallo and pancetta. Most dishes land in the $14-to-$18 range; lamb chops, four for $24, are an outlier.

    The pricing is intentional. “I don’t want this to be an occasion place,” he said.

    Lounge seating at Bar Tacconelli, 461 Route 38, Maple Shade, on Feb. 21, 2026.

    It’s open from Wednesday through Sunday, with late-night service — potentially until 1:30 or 2 a.m. — aimed at another local shortfall.

    “When I get out of work at 9:30, I have nowhere to eat,” Tacconelli said. “I want a place you can come, hang out, have a Negroni, get something real to eat.”

    Live music, DJs, happy hour, and late-night menus are planned. Tacconelli also saw the liquor license as strategic — keeping it out of a chain’s hands — but the broader goal is to give South Jersey diners a reason to stay put.

    “There are a lot of young professionals around here who don’t want to go into Philly every time,” he said. “I want to be a destination for them.”

    Bar Tacconelli, 461 Route 38, Maple Shade. Hours: 4 to 11 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 to 10 p.m. Sunday.

  • Charlotte Ann Albertson, cooking school founder and culinarian, has died at 90

    Charlotte Ann Albertson, cooking school founder and culinarian, has died at 90

    Charlotte Ann Albertson, 90, a pioneer in Philadelphia’s culinary scene through her long-running cooking school, died Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026, at her home in Harveys Lake, PA.

    For more than five decades, Mrs. Albertson, a longtime Wynnewood resident, ran Albertson Cooking School, which has introduced generations of home cooks and aspiring professionals to global cuisines, wine, and hospitality. In the years before round-the-clock food television, the school also helped to elevate the profiles of local chefs.

    Charlotte Ann Albertson in her element, leading a cooking class.

    Born in Chicago to Joseph and Veronica Sutula, she grew up in Scranton and attended Marywood Seminary and Marywood College, graduating in 1957. She earned a master’s degree in education from the University of Pennsylvania, where she met her husband, Dr. Richard P. Albertson, an anesthesiologist and president of the medical staff at Lankenau Hospital; he died in 2024.

    After their marriage in 1961, Mrs. Albertson taught fifth- and sixth-grade English at the former Wynnewood Road School in Lower Merion. In 1974, after taking classes with food writer/teacher Ethel Hoffman, she launched L’Epicure, later Albertson Cooking School.

    Mrs. Albertson proved adept at recruiting talent for the school, which relies on itinerant faculty. “Her term was always: ‘Be bullheaded — don’t ever take no for an answer,’” said her daughter Ann-Michelle.

    Charlotte Ann Albertson and her husband, Richard, toast at Christmas dinner in 2004.

    Mrs. Albertson’s classes, held at first in her condo kitchen and later at a variety of venues, ranged from the sublime to the whimsical. She booked a woman whom she saw teaching cake-decorating at a department store to share the secrets to the butter cookies of her native Scandinavia. She hired a baker from the Commissary (one of the most popular restaurants in town in the late ’70s) to demonstrate desserts, got a Japanese friend to teach sukiyaki and tempura, and landed a cheese artist to teach how to sculpt cheddar into footballs and pine cones.

    Lankenau Hospital was a rich recruiting ground. Her early instructors included the hospital’s chef, Bruce Cooper. “She was a tremendous supporter from the start, even investing in Jake’s [the landmark restaurant in Manayunk that opened in 1987] for its initial five years,” Cooper said last week.

    In 1977, she met Le Bec-Fin chef Georges Perrier at Lankenau after his teenage stepson required surgery and Dr. Albertson was the anesthesiologist. She persuaded Perrier to teach, and he led classes even as his and his restaurant’s international reputation grew.

    That same year, after reading about the impending closure of the Bellevue Stratford Hotel, Mrs. Albertson invited its executive chef to teach. “He said that he was too old, but he recommended a new guy in town, a master chef working at the Marriott,” Mrs. Albertson told The Inquirer for a 1994 profile.

    He was Tell Erhardt. Although he had a heavy German accent, she said, he was “a charmer” and led 16 classes for her. Chef Tell parlayed that into spots on local TV and, later, frequent appearances on Regis and Kathie Lee and Saturday Night Live. (Chef Tell also inspired the gibberish-speaking Swedish chef on The Muppet Show.)

    Charlotte Ann Albertson (left) with her family (from left): Daughters Ann-Michelle Albertson and Kristin Keifer, grandchildren Caroline and Cole Keifer, and her husband, Richard.

    Mrs. Albertson traveled and studied extensively, taking classes at La Varenne and Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. “She showed us the world — Vietnam, South Africa, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Italy, China,” Ann-Michelle said. “Everywhere she went for culinary work, she took us with her.”

    She and her husband were also notably open about their choice to adopt. “I was adopted in 1967, when it was still pretty taboo,” Ann-Michelle said. “But from the beginning, the message was: ‘You were picked out special.’” The family maintained ties to St. Joseph’s Center in Scranton, from which Ann-Michelle and middle child Peter were adopted. Their third child, Kristin, was adopted privately in 1976.

    Kristin’s dearest memories of the cooking school were the hands-on birthday party classes for kids; children were taught how to bake and decorate a cake from scratch as well as make pizza using homemade dough. “Getting to meet Julia Child multiple times and dine with countless celebrity chefs are also at the top of the list of my fond memories,” all thanks to her mother, Kristin said.

    Beyond the classroom, Mrs. Albertson consulted for food and wine companies, libraries, and cultural institutions. She received the Delaware Valley Restaurant Association’s Panache Award in 1993 for promoting professional growth through education.

    Only later did Ann-Michelle — a pediatric speech pathologist who now runs the cooking school — fully grasp her influence. “People would stop me and say, ‘Your mom did so much for me. I wouldn’t be where I am without her,’” she said.

    As the business grew, Mrs. Albertson directed its success toward philanthropy, supporting causes including the Ronald McDonald House and Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation.

    Mrs. Albertson attended Our Lady of Lourdes Roman Catholic Church in Overbrook and Our Lady of Victory at Harveys Lake. “We went to church every Sunday,” Ann-Michelle said. “The perk at the lake was that I could water-ski to church — and ski back.”

    Mrs. Albertson was a charter member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals and belonged to the Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, Les Dames d’Escoffier, Société Mondiale du Vin, the Philadelphia Culinary Guild, and the American Institute of Wine & Food.

    She is survived by her children, Ann-Michelle Albertson, Kristin Keifer, and Peter Albertson; seven grandchildren; and a great-grandchild.

    A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 25, at Presentation B.V.M. Church, 204 Haverford Rd., Wynnewood. A celebration of life will follow at 12:30 p.m. at Savona, 100 Old Gulph Rd., Gulph Mills.

    In keeping with her spirit, her family asks attendees to wear bright colors in remembrance of her zest for life.

  • Fergie’s Pub owners have hired sandwich maker N.A. Poe for their new bar in Old City

    Fergie’s Pub owners have hired sandwich maker N.A. Poe for their new bar in Old City

    The Monto is the name of the new Celtic bar coming in April from veteran publicans including Fergus Carey and Jim McNamara, who are taking over the former Mac’s Tavern at 226 Market St.

    Carey said the kitchen will be overseen by N.A. Poe, the proprietor of Poe’s Sandwich Joint (at the Human Robot in Kensington and Poison Heart in Poplar) and Poe’s Side Piece (at Human Robot in Brewerytown). Poe plans to blend his South Philadelphia sensibility with Irish pub fare — a mashup he calls the “Poe-gues” menu.

    Sandwich specialist N.A. Poe (right) with Monto co-owner Fergus Carey.

    Poe said his existing lineup of cutlet sandwiches, cheesesteaks, and burgers would form the backbone of the Monto’s menu. He said he would twin those offerings with Irish breakfast, sausage rolls, shepherd’s pie, and fish and chips served on Sarcone’s bread with house-made tartar, along with a corned beef cheesesteak and a pub burger that includes blue cheese and crispy prosciutto.

    “I’m not trying to be overly precious about it,” Poe said. “At this point, I know what works. Irish food isn’t fine dining. It’s approachable. The goal is to take those classics and put a solid spin on them.”

    The partners of Monto (from left): Johnjoe Devlin, Jim McNamara, Gary “Swing” McDonald, and Fergus Carey,

    Carey and McNamara — whose holdings include Fergie’s Pub in Washington Square West, the Jim in South Philadelphia, and the Goat Rittenhouse — have brought in as partners two well-known figures from Philadelphia’s Irish-bar circuit: Johnjoe Devlin, a Glasgow native and a 17-year bartending veteran at Plough & the Stars; and Gary “Swing” McDonald, from South Armagh, Northern Ireland, who has worked for 25 years at such pubs as the Bards, Tir na Nóg, Brownies, Ten Stone, and Murph’s.

    The name “Monto” comes from the bawdy Dubliners mid-1960s song about Dublin’s historic red-light district. “I’ve been singing it for 40-plus years,” Carey said.

    Designer John Fetsko, whose recent work includes the Mulberry and projects with Royal Restaurant Group, is handling the build-out.

    The Market Street address carries its own legacy. Mac’s Tavern, which closed last summer after 15 years, counted South Philadelphia-raised actor Rob McElhenney — now known professionally as Rob Mac — and Kaitlin Olson of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia among its owners.

    For Carey, the opening marks both a return to Old City and another chapter in a decades-long run shaping Philadelphia’s bar culture. The Dubliner arrived in Philadelphia in 1987 and landed behind the bar at McGlinchey’s before he and his late business partner, Wajih Abed, opened Fergie’s Pub. He also helped launch such beer destinations as Monk’s Café, the Belgian Café, and Grace Tavern.

  • Philip Korshak returns to South Philly. This time, bagels aren’t on the menu

    Philip Korshak returns to South Philly. This time, bagels aren’t on the menu

    Philip Korshak, the poet-baker who left town after closing his cult favorite Korshak Bagels 2½ years ago, plans to return to South Philadelphia this spring with a new, deliberately modest venture:

    Korshak Picnic Provisions will be a corner shop built around grilled hot dogs, house-made sourdough biscuits, and the idea that food is community.

    “If I had to model this place after something, it’s Mr. Hooper’s store on Sesame Street,” Korshak said. “The weird little corner shop that’s always there.”

    It’s a former animal hospital at the southeast corner of 13th and Reed Streets, across from the old Faragalli’s Bakery and Columbus Square Park. He is targeting a May opening.

    Korshak impressed both the New York Times and Bon Appétit with his bagel shop, which opened in May 2021 at 10th and Morris Streets. But success came at a price. When he closed it in September 2023, he cited financial and personal strain.

    The shop’s popularity brought pressures that clashed with his ideals. Korshak resisted automation and expansion, wary of becoming something other than a neighborhood bakery. His staff was one of the first in the city to unionize at an independent cafe. (Korshak voluntarily recognized the union.)

    “The staff would prefer to continue,” he wrote in his farewell letter, “but the changes to the process in exchange for efficiency … are not changes I think … are on brand for Korshak Bagels.”

    Bagels by Philip Korshak, whose South Philly bagel shop became a gold standard before shuttering in 2023.

    He also wrote that the shop “simply can’t function economically. And provide a living wage. And work/life balance. And reasonable prices.”

    Korshak’s path back to Philly

    After closing Korshak’s Bagels, Korshak first lived in Seattle but relocated to Austin, Texas — his previous stop before Philadelphia. He had no real plans other than working on a memoir and “spinning my wheels,” he said.

    Then the phone rang last fall. It was Pat Duffy, a friend who owned the building where Korshak used to take his pet cat for veterinary care. “He said, ‘I’ve got this spot. The neighborhood misses you. It could use your vibe,’” Korshak said.

    Korshak initially demurred. “I told him I wasn’t in town and I wasn’t ‘doing the thing’ anymore,” he said. “But just to be thought of — in that world of absurdity and hope — meant everything to me.”

    Duffy walked him through the space over FaceTime. The building, which had been outfitted to become a takeout bakery, had little more than a plumbed floor and sinks. There was no ventilation hood or even potential for a sprawling production line.

    Which was exactly what intrigued Korshak.

    “What I already knew how to do wasn’t that interesting to me anymore,” he said. “What I don’t know yet, that’s compelling.” He moved back to Philadelphia on Dec. 20, settling in Conshohocken.

    The idea for a picnic provisions shop, anchored by hot dogs, came quickly. The corner sits near a bike path, a dog run, a playground, and softball fields. Korshak imagined it as a rendezvous point before or after the park: a place to grab a soda, a cookie, a sourdough biscuit with honey from Green Meadow Farm, or a couple of hot dogs “because dinner’s in a couple hours.”

    “I’m an old guy,” the Brooklyn-born Korshak, 58, said. “I’ve had a lot of hot dogs and a lot of picnics. I like both.”

    Korshak’s reasoning is more philosophical than nostalgic. “The hot dog appealed to me because it can’t really be fetishized,” he said. “You can’t put it on a ‘best of’ list in any meaningful way. It’s ubiquitous. It transcends nationality. For me, food is the connector — it’s not the end in itself. A hot dog almost refuses to be the end in itself. It’s silly, fun, quick.”

    Korshak Picnic Provisions will offer four styles of dogs, all grilled: a standard beef or vegan dog with mustard, relish, onion, or kraut; a Coney-style dog with chili, cheese, and onions (with vegan chili available); a Chicago dog with traditional through-the-garden accoutrements on a poppy-seed bun; and a Pacific Northwest dog topped with cream cheese, fish-sauce ketchup, and cabbage. Though he has not yet selected a supplier, he plans to use all-beef dogs.

    He plans to source buns from Mighty Bread Co., around the corner, shifting away from the labor-intensive, in-house production that defined Korshak Bagels. “It’s not about the hot dog I can make — it’s about what happens when we work together,” he said. “I love baking, but I’m not interested in running big production again.”

    Beyond hot dogs, Picnic Provisions will carry crisps, crackers, jams, honeys, sodas, candy, and seasonal produce. Korshak will keep much of the product line local. He said he is talking to Rhonda Saltzman of Second Daughter Artisanal Bakery and Carol Ha of Okie Dokie Donuts about stocking some of their products. He also envisions stocking non-edible picnic goods — kites, blankets, quilts — reinforcing the shop’s central metaphor.

    There will be baking, just not at former volumes. Helen Mirren, his pet name for his long-ferment starter, will inform a sourdough biscuit and a sourdough-spiked cinnamon roll. (Korshak has been testing at the former Conshohocken Bakery, run by longtime friend Danny DiGiampietro, who hosted his first bagel pop-ups.)

    This time around, he says, the sense of risk is different.

    “It’s all exciting to me,” he said of the new venture, which will have three employees. “The only thing that scares me is if this becomes bigger than it’s intended to be — but I don’t think it will.”

    The goal, he said, is durability rather than buzz. “A friend of mine talks about being ‘hot.’ You can only be hot for so long. After that, you’re judged against whether you were hot or not. But the things people truly love aren’t hot — they’re established. They become part of the common language.”

    “I’ve been around,” Korshak said. “Philly doesn’t exist anywhere else. The people here are the reason it’s the way it is. It’s unlike anywhere.”

    He said he found it “unbelievable” that his last name means something positive to Philadelphians. “How do you not keep trying to do something worthy of that?” he asked. “The goal isn’t accolades. It’s helping someone get through their day a little better — even if you never know about it.”

    Sounding more poet than proprietor, he returned to the idea that first drew him back: movement.

    “I’m incredibly lucky,” he said. “And if you’re not moving forward, you’re not moving at all.”