Three and a half years after fire shut down the quirky Wine Dive on South Street West, Chris Fetfatzes, Heather Annechiarico, and Susan Freeman are reviving it in a former nail salon in Rittenhouse.
Its soft opening at 1534 Sansom St. — next door to Marathon Grill and on the same block as such nightlife destinations as Ladder 15, Oscar’s Tavern, and Shay’s Steaks & More — will be 4 p.m. Oct. 31 with limited hours and an abbreviated menu. Grand opening is set for Nov. 6. Hours will be 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. with the kitchen open until 1 a.m., with a late-night menu offered after 10 p.m.
Bar at WineDive Rittenhouse, 1534 Sansom St.
This incarnation of WineDive, in a smaller space, is a bar only; the bottle shop section at its opening in 2020 did not make it to Center City — neither did the space between “Wine” and “Dive.”
Fetfatzes describes WineDive as “Old Hollywood meets Atlantic City,” drawing retro inspiration from the early casino days, specifically the cheesiness of the Playboy Hotel. The interior, seating about 30 people at tables and 14 at the bar, blends amber glass blocks, dark wood paneling, tufted seating, and low lighting.
The facade of WineDive (and Liquorette upstairs) at 1534 Sansom St., as seen in June 2024.
The menu includes roast beef sandwiches inspired by South Philly luncheonette Shank’s & Evelyn’s, with horseradish and provolone on seeded kaiser rolls; chicken cutlets; loaded baked potatoes; shrimp Lejon (the bacon-wrapped shrimp dish made famous by Clam Tavern in Delaware County); wedge salads with creamy Russian-ranch dressing; and brûléed pimento cheese dip with Cheez-Its. Desserts include rotating baked cookies, ice cream sandwiches, and soft-serve “ice cream bumps” in flavors such as brown butter and warmed apple pie.
Wine director Tim Fordham has assembled a list of 20 wines by the glass list that will change six times a year, with selections including grower Champagne, Alpine whites, skin-contact orange wines, and classics from Burgundy, Barolo, and Bordeaux. Freeman said the list also would include wines from women-owned wineries and female winemakers.
WineDive’s previous location, as seen in January 2020, was 1506 South St. It was next to what was then the Cambridge and is now Sonny’s Cocktail Joint.
Cocktails lean toward nostalgia, Fetfatzes said, with interpretations of drinks such as the Rusty Nail, Surfer on Acid, Pickle Martini, Mind Eraser, and Tequila Sunrise.
WineDive’s signature $5 house wines will return, and weekly themed programming will include Microdose Mondays (small pours of rare and allocated bottles), T for Tuesdays (a late-night happy hour focused on wines and spirits beginning with T, such as tempranillo, txakoli, and tequila), Bottomless Baked Potato Wednesdays, “Naturdays” (highlighting natural wines and pét-nats), and industry brunch Sundays, a 10 p.m. late-night brunch aimed at hospitality workers and night owls.
The owners, branding themselves Happy Monday Hospitality, also have Grace & Proper, Sonny’s Cocktail Joint, and Quick Sip Delivery, an on-demand wine delivery service.
Upstairs from WineDive, they’re working on Liquorette, a European-style cocktail bar to open in early 2026. They also intend to reopen the original South Street WineDive, at 1506 South St., in the future.
There were Irish step-dancing vampires and opera-singing vampires. Vampires who claim to hunt billionaires and vampires who moonlight as emergency medical technicians. And, in at least one instance, a vampire who doubled as a heavyweight champ.
Such was the lineup of the first-ever Miss American Vampire Philadelphia pageant, where 13 wannabe bloodsuckers donned their best vampiric drag to compete inside heavy metal bar Doom Friday night. Contestants were thirsty to show that vampires contain multitudes (and, perhaps, for a little bit of blood).
Back then, MGM hosted the regional beauty competition to promote the movie House of Dark Shadows, with finalists going on to compete in Los Angeles for title of Miss American Vampire and a guest-starring role on the long-running vampire soap opera Dark Shadows. Native American activist Sacheen Littlefeather won the crown, though she never redeemed her prize.
The stakes of Doom’s pageant were far lower than a TV appearance and eternal life, though just as competitive. Contestants were judged by a panel of full-time goths and burlesque performers on their creativity and vampiric presence as they competed in the standard pageant categories: A costume parade, an interview, and a dark art — or talent with a touch of the occult.
The crowd reacts as Ezra Markel’s vampire persona “Isolde the Saturnine” eats the human heart she concocted during the talent portion of the Miss American Vampire Pageant at heavy metal bar Doom in Philadelphia on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025.
Prizes included $100 cash, a new set of fangs, and comic books donated from Atomic City Comics. Skull and mixed metal artist Sue Moerder prepared a Bob Mackie-inspired gothic crown, with feathers and pearls sprouting from an arrangement of ornate obsidian gems.
“Vampires represent the alternative, the occult, the bat-brained, the gothic … [people] on the outskirts of civilization,” Delgado told The Inquirer. “We just wanted to show that this bar is a safe cave for vampires to commune.”
Both floors at 421 N. 7th St. were packed as contestants flitted across the makeshift stage in costumes that highlighted the full expanse of vampire-dom. There were homages to both the German and Transylvanian versions of Dracula in peasant blouses and bejeweled collars, as well as more contemporary interpretations, with floor-length evening gowns, corseted waistlines, and lots of red lips.
Lilith Lobotomy — a blue-haired vamp whose bio alleged she bakes cakes and stalks billionaires — was an immediate favorite, earning thunderous applause when she turned away from the audience to drop her floor length duster. Emblazoned in sparkling blood red font on the back of her black dress was the phrase “Eat the rich.”
Logan Laudenslager performs as “Lilith Lobotomy” during the talent portion of the Miss American Vampire pageant held at Doom. She performed a rendition of “Phantom of the Opera.”
Madame Lobotomy would go on to win the coveted title of Miss Off Putting — Delgado’s spin on Miss Congeniality — after belting out the song “The Phantom of the Opera” while twirling a lit candelabra.
She was still no match for Norah Morse, who took home the Miss American Vampire Philadelphia crown after shocking the judges with her interview. When asked how she prepared for the competition, Morse scoffed.
“I don’t know what you mean,” she said in a thick Transylvanian accent. “I’m a vampire and I showed up.”
Contestants get ready backstage to performing during the Miss American Vampire Pageant at heavy metal bar Doom.
Judge and burlesque performer Caress Deville said Morse represented the commitment she was looking for. “I was gagged,” Deville said. “That’s exactly how you would answer if you were a real vampire.”
During her crowning, Morse’s human mother rushed to the front of the crowd to take photos. Even vampires, it seems, yearn for mom’s approval.
In the world of us mortals, Morse goes by Alex Decker, a 29-year-old from Bellmawr who has been drawn to vampires since she was a child. Decker lives with contamination OCD, she said, and envies the freedom of the undead.
“Life would be a lot easier if I was a vampire who could just drink blood all the time,” Decker said. “I have been weird and creepy and insane my entire life.”
Jenna Painter, of Willow Grove, performed as a naughty ‘Count Orlok” during the Miss American Vampire Pageant at heavy metal bar Doom, throwing off a trench coat to reveal a leotard and garters.
Competing to be America’s next top vampire
For some contestants, Miss American Vampire Philadelphia was an opportunity to transform their mortal selves into bolder and braver versions that were battle-tested from centuries of living.
When Doom announced the pageant on Instagram in early October, the post received more than 4,500 likes, Delgado said, and hundreds of shares. More than 50 hopefuls sent in applications via a Google form that asked for their vampiric backstory and talent, forcing Holden and Delgado to spend hours deliberating.
Delgado was unsurprised that the pageant took off. They were, however, shocked by the lack of trolling.
“I didn’t know how serious everyone who applied was at first,” Delgado said. “It’s supposed to be campy.”
On Friday, the beauty competition toed the line between a drag show and an actual Miss America preliminary. The judges pressed contestants on tough questions, such as how they choose their victims, and if it’s ethical to let them live post blood-sucking.
For Mira Castigin, of Camden, the most important quality to look for in a vampire is fun.
“What’s the point in being immortal if you let life pass you by?” she told the crowd.
Castigin’s vampiric persona is Elmira, a bewitching goth girl who shares Castigin’s day job as an EMT in hopes of atoning for her sins. The competition was an excuse for Castigin to air out some special pieces from her vintage clothing collection, including a petticoat and a pair of London Underground shoes.
Mira Castigin’s vamprie persona “Elmira” is applauded after performing during the Miss American Vampire Pageant at heavy metal bar Doom. For her talent, Castigin sang opera.
“I think it’s always fun to do your makeup and get dressed up no matter what day it is,“ Castigin, 25, of Camden, said. ”And this is like a more thought-out version of that.”
Castigin opened the talent portion by singing an operatic aria, setting up the audience for a night of bewitching tricks. One vampire played the violin, while another danced an Irish jig to a Type O Negative song. Cassius King — a silent movie star turned vampire — wowed the audience by performing feats of strength, at one point picking up his assistant and turning him upside down.
Rachel Rushmore — aka “Vampire Rachel” of Philadelphia — waits backstage during the Miss American Vampire Pageant at heavy metal bar Doom.
Rachel Rushmore, 34, of Fishtown, had a simpler talent, using sleight of hand to summon a tiny bat. Rushmore said she felt called to compete after 15 friends — including several who don’t even live in Philly — sent her Doom’s Instagram post.
Onstage, Rushmore transformed from mortal Rachel to Vampire Rachel, a temptress and philanthropist who had been around since “the age of powdered wigs and Ben Franklin.” Vampire Rachel wears maroon floor-length gowns and bedazzles her face with gems borrowed from Marie Antoinette. The real-life version works in children’s book publishing and had never performed in front of a crowd before.
“I called myself Vampire Rachel because it’s hard for me to be somebody who I’m not,” Rushmore said. “Tonight I’m Rachel, but more.”
In East Asian folklore, the Jade Rabbit is a celestial figure known for compassion and hospitality. When a hungry goddess tested the kindness of animals, the rabbit offered itself as food. Moved by this selfless act, she granted it immortality, sending it to live on the moon.
There, the Jade Rabbit eternally mixes the elixirs of life for the gods — a symbol of generosity, sacrifice, and eternal service.
At Jade Rabbit, the cocktail bar that opened this week beneath Maison Lotus in Wayne, siblings Pearl and Paul Somboonsong are mixing their own elixirs — if not for the gods, then for, well, Main Liners.
The Jade Rabbit Moon Landing cocktail gets its bubble on at Jade Rabbit.
In March, the Somboonsongs opened Maison Lotus, an upscale Vietnamese restaurant and all-day cafe at 175 Lancaster Ave., the former site of Margaret Kuo.
As they planned the two-story restaurant, they decided that the basement would be an ideal spot for a speakeasy-style bar as a passion project, alongside a banquet room where they’d host private events and mah-jongg games.
Pearl Somboonsong grew up on the Main Line, where her parents, Win and Sudita Somboonsong, created a string of restaurants, including Mikado Thai Pepper, Teikoku, Azie, and Blue Elephant.
The bar at Jade Rabbit in Wayne.Dining tables at Jade Rabbit in Wayne.
After college, she lived in New York and Chicago, “and there was always a speakeasy scene,” she said. Philadelphia has one, too. But not so much on the Main Line, as she discovered when she moved back to join her brother in Win Hospitality, the family business.
There are stylish bars, she said, but “I was asking, ‘Why is there not really a place where I can have that same experience where the cocktails are really the focus?”
Hamachi with calamansi, pickled radish and chive oil at Jade Rabbit.
Of course, Jade Rabbit is licensed, unlike a true speakeasy. But it has the characteristic unmarked door leading down from Maison Lotus as well as a low-lit, low-key vibe for its eight bar seats plus 18 more at tables. Opening night was fully booked, and there are 30 on the waiting list for tonight, Pearl Somboonsong said. It’s only open Thursday and Friday for now; more days may be added if there is demand.
Bartender Curtis Daulerio and Win Hospitality beverage director Katrin Kanikkeberg set up the bar, whose cocktail menu is Vietnamese-inspired. For a drink called the Circle Jawn, they use a Porthole Infuser, a circular contraption invented for the Aviary, a seminal speakeasy-style bar in Chicago.
The Circle Jawn steeps on the bar at Jade Rabbit.
The Circle Jawn is meant to resemble a bowl of pho, so Daulerio loads the infuser with vermicelli, roasted carrots, basil, and spices such as star anise, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and coriander seeds. Then he pours Diplomatico rum, Pedro Ximenez sherry, and black walnut bitters into the porthole. The drink ($39 for two), which is poured atop a large ice cube, picks up new flavors and colors as it steeps.
Like many new bars, Jade Rabbit also has a FlavourBlaster, the device that creates oversize bubbles and smoke on top of a drink. “Of course, we play with fire and smoke and stuff, but I didn’t want it all to be gimmicky,” Pearl Somboonsong said. “At the end of the day, it has to be about class. The goal is an amazing, well-balanced cocktail.”
Crystal dumpling dessert at Jade Rabbit.
Jade Rabbit offers three options for reservations: There’s a $30 per-person deposit for a bar seat; the customer orders à la carte drinks and food, and the deposit is applied to the final bill. In the dining seats, there’s a $145 five-course food and cocktail pairing menu with hamachi, flower dumplings, Chilean sea bass, A5 Wagyu steak, and crystal dumplings filled with guava and strawberries — all unique to the lounge. The third option is a three-course cocktail progression, which covers any three cocktails for $65.
À la carte food includes bites such as Bangkok toast (brown sugar butter and bourbon creme anglaise atop milk bread), umami popcorn, and Japanese street corn, plus larger plates including the steak and sea bass.
Jade Rabbit, beneath Maison Lotus, 175 Lancaster Ave., Wayne, maison-lotus.com/jaderabbit. Hours from 5:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday. Reservations suggested, though walk-ins are allowed.
When it’s getting chilly out, I want spaghetti, red sauce, and something fried — with no frills. At Villa di Roma, I ordered the eggplant parmesan and that’s exactly what I got: four crisp breaded discs smothered in mozzarella, served over spaghetti and house-made marinara. Behind me two women shared four martinis as they dug into their pasta. No matter what you order, the vibes of Villa di Roma (one of the picks in The Inquirer’s inaugural edition of The 76), are simply perfect, white tablecloths, drop ceilings, warm service, and all. It feels like a restaurant full of regulars, and I’m ready to become one. Villa di Roma, 934 S. Ninth Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147, 215-592-1295, villadiroma.com
— Zoe Greenberg
A grilled corzetti pasta coin cradles a slice of American wagyu beef and Cooper Sharp foam at Vetri Cucina, where this mini-cheesesteak bite was featured on Vetri’s monthly pasta omakase tasting.
Grilled corzetti pasta with wagyu and Cooper Sharp foam at Vetri Cucina
There’s a new wagyu cheesesteak in town unlike any other, and it has redefined the possibilities of the fancy steak genre in one unforgettable bite.
This creation was just one of 15 incredible courses at Marc Vetri’s monthly “pasta omakase,” a chef’s-counter feast reserved for six lucky people inspired by the small-bite tasting meals of Japan, where Vetri operates a restaurant in Kyoto. Instead of sushi, though, Vetri’s meal centers around creative pasta whimsies: tagliolini with uni and caviar in sake butter, or a culurgione made with carob dough wrapped around duck confit and duck X.O. in an intensely reduced sauce brightened with citrus — essentially duck à l’orange as a dumpling.
Each dish was a jewel of craft and surprise, and a reminder why Vetri remains one of America’s undisputed pasta kings. But he’s also a Philly guy through and through, so one of the most unexpected highlights was reserved for the end of the meal when a small coal-fired grill was brought out. Vetri flashed some stamped pasta coins known as corzetti over the flames. Then came sheer slices of ultra-rich wagyu beef, which he seared and layered atop the pasta with a roasted onion and foamy flourish of aerated Cooper Sharp cheese.
Cinched together with a toothpick, I popped it into my mouth like a mini-taco made of pasta. The familiar flavors of Philly’s favorite street food unfolded with uncommon richness, but also a delicate touch that rendered every element vivid and clear.
Of course, who knows when this wonder will appear again? Vetri’s omakases have remained a scratch pad lab for the chef to experiment with new ideas. The menus are ever-changing and, at $300-plus a person, they’re a major splurge. The corzetti cheesesteak bites received such a rousing response, however, Vetri is considering adding them as an amuse-bouche to the regular menu at Vetri, or perhaps some future event. Vetri Cucina, 1312 Spruce St., 215-732-3478, vetricucina.com
— Craig LaBan
Chicken slider on the happy hour menu at Village Whiskey, 118 S. 20th St.
Hot ’n’ spicy chicken slider at Village Whiskey
Everybody knows you go to Village Whiskey for the burger — if not the regulation Village, then the signature Whiskey King with blue cheese, maple-bourbon glazed onions, applewood bacon, and seared foie gras. But when it’s happy hour and you just need a little somethin’ to balance a shot or a beer, you can’t beat the hot ’n’ spicy chicken slider, still $5. It’s a cute little chunk of brined and fried chicken thigh, atop a thick dill pickle chip, doused in “buffalo aioli,” and sandwiched between a wee toasted sesame bun. A toothpick spears a second pickle chip and holds the sandwich together. Hot ’n’ spicy? Not really, but it hits the spot and is gone in three bites, plus a chomp or two for the second pickle chip. Village Whiskey, 118 S. 20th St., 215-665-1088, villagewhiskey.com. Available only at happy hour, 4 to 6 p.m. daily.
— Michael Klein
Carbon Copy vanilla soft serve swirled with blood orange olive oil and sea salt.
Blood orange olive oil-topped soft serve at Carbon Copy
As much as I miss the sticker-laden grime of Dock Street’s former West Philly location, there’s a lot to love at the taproom that took its place — say, the in-house beer and wine, the fried artichokes with horseradish sour cream dip, Wednesday night quizzo.
On a recent visit, I kept it simple by ordering the always-sublime pepperoni pizza (shoutout to that wood-burning oven) and a dry Cayuga white. The standout, though, was dessert: vanilla soft serve swirled with blood orange-infused olive oil and sea salt. This airy vegan treat cleanses the palate after a heavy meal of bread, cheese, and red sauce. It isn’t too sweet, but the blood orange brings its own juicy flavor kick. Just be prepared for the occasional too-salty spoonful.
Note: If you’re feeling more nostalgic than Italian, consider the adorable baseball hat sundae, topped with whipped cream and sprinkles. Carbon Copy, 701 S. 50th St., carboncopyphilly.com
It’s a bad day to be a vaguely beach-y can of vodka iced tea with a sun on it.
Local vodka distiller Stateside Brands,best known for its top-selling Surfside hard iced teas and lemonades, is suing Anheuser-Busch InBev, alleging that the beverage conglomerate ripped off Surfside’s can design when creating Skimmers — a recently launched line of competing vodka-based hard teas and lemonades — according to a federal lawsuit filed in Philadelphia on Tuesday.
The suit centers on “strikingly similar” packaging used by Surfside and Skimmers, which debuted in April. Both cans use the same central design elements to give off a vibe of causal debauchery, the lawsuit alleges, which could dupe consumers into believing that Skimmers is associated with Stateside.
Stateside is seeking a permanent injunction that would force Anheuser-Busch to change Skimmers’ packaging. They are also suing for an unspecified amount of damages, including “any and all profits” that Anheuser-Busch has earned from selling cans of Skimmers.(For context, the spirit-based ready-to-drink cocktail market is valued at more than $2.7 billion, more than double its valuation in 2021.)
“Anheuser-Busch could have selected from a vast universe of design elements to create a can that stood on its own,” the lawsuit states. “Instead, it opted to mimic Stateside and freeride off its popular and successful Surfside design, product, reputation and goodwill to gain an unfair marketplace boost.”
Image included in complaint of a direct comparison between Stateside Brand’s Surfside hard teas and Anheuser-Busch’s recently launched Skimmers line.
Stateside is represented in the suit by Center City law firm Reilly, McDevitt & Henrich.
“Every element — from our design and packaging to the way we show up in the world — has been intentionally crafted to reflect who we are, our values and what we stand for,” a Stateside representativesaid in an emailed statement. “We are dedicated to … ensuring our brand and the trust our customers place in it remain clear, recognizable, and uniquely ours.”
Anheuser-Busch “will vigorously defend” against the accusations, a spokesperson said over email. “We believe this lawsuit is without merit.”
Surfside is the canned cocktail-de-résistance for Stateside, a distillery cofounded in Kensington in 2013 by area natives Clement Pappas and Matthew Quigley and their brothers. The company initially specialized in “craft vodka” and later hard seltzers, but struck gold in 2021 when it launched Surfside, a 4.5% ABV, 100-calorie cocktail of vodka mixed with various teas (and later lemonades).
In 2022, Stateside sold 200,000 cans of Surfside. In 2024, the company sold over 4.9 million cans, according to the lawsuit. This summer, Forbes hailed Surfside “the fastest growing alcohol brand in America” after Stateside said it was on track to sell 12 million cans this year alone.
The sunshine-y cans are as prevalent nationwide as they are in Philly. Surfsides have been the best-selling spirit in Citizens Bank Park three years running, and the distiller entered a 15-year licensing deal to turn Xfinity Live! into Stateside Live! this fall.
Surfside, the canned cocktail brand from Kensington-based vodka distiller Stateside Brands, has become a national player in the spirits-based RTD scene.
Stateside’s lawsuit contends that Skimmers’ packaging borrows three elements to create an indistinguishable identity:
a gradient of different colors of bands covering the lower third of the can,
A white background overlaid by a sun and each brand’s name,
A rim color that pulls from the lower third’s color scheme.
“Anheuser-Busch obtained a substantial unfair competitive advantage by forgoing the effort required to develop its own brand identity and is instead freeriding on Stateside’s significant investments of time and money,” the suit reads.
Anheuser-Busch is one of the biggest brewers in the world, responsible for Budweiser and Bud Light and foreign brews, such as Stella Artois and Modelo. The company entered the canned cocktail market with Cutwater, a line of drinks with ABVs as high as 13%. At only 4.5% ABV, Skimmers is meant to be a chiller alternative.
A hawker carries drinks, including Surfside canned cocktails, around Citizens Bank Park during a Philadelphia Phillies game in 2024. Surfside canned cocktails lead the stadium’s alcoholic drink sales.
“We live in a culture where dupes are everywhere, and normally it’s the smaller companies knocking off the big guys with a cheaper product. This is a big guy knocking off a smaller one.”
This isn’t the first time Anheuser-Busch has been called out for jacking some beverage swag: Outdoor apparel brand Patagonia sued the beverage producer for copyright infringement in 2019 after it launched a beer called Patagonia and began selling it at ski lodges. Both parties settled out of court in 2021.
Still, said Gerben, the lawsuit may not be a slam dunk for Stateside. The beverage upstart never filed a trademark to protect the Surfside product design, based on records from the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
It’s common for some beverage companies to trademark the designs of their bottles, said Gerben. Jack Daniels has one for the distinctive square shape of its whiskey handles, while Maker’s Mark has one to protect its iconic drippy red wax seals.
That level of granularity is typically reserved for more sophisticated companies, explained Gerben.
“Surfside really only took off in 2022,” he said. “They were probably only focused on how to meet demand.”
Jersey Kebab — the Haddon Township restaurant that made headlines earlier this year after its owners were arrested, and eventually released, by ICE — is moving.
On Sunday, Muhammed Emanet and his parents, Celal and Emine, will close their small Turkishrestaurant, where colorful sweets line the display case up front and platters of kebabs sizzlein the back. It’s the second time this year the business has shuttered.
This time, the restaurant will relocate just a mile down the street, to 729 Haddon Ave., in Collingswood. The family hopes to reopen by the second week of November.
The Emanet family hadn’t planned to relocate until recently, after their lease expired on their current space at150 Haddon Ave.
According to Muhammed, the Emanets’ landlord informed the family he was not interested in renewing the contract at the end of their five-year lease in August. The landlord suggested using his apartment upstairs to expand the restaurant — if the family agreed to a 50/50 split in the business, Muhammed told The Inquirer.
The Emanets’ landlord could not immediately be reached for comment.
“As soon as [the landlord] said that, it sent us into a frenzy where we had to hurry up and figure out where we’re going to move to,” Muhammed said. The family paid to use the Haddon Avenue storefront for two more months and began looking for a new space elsewhere.
Emine and Celal Emanet at their Jersey Kebab in Haddon Township in March, after Emine’s release from ICE detention.
Muhammed and his father, Celal, supplement their earnings from Jersey Kebab by running a delivery business that transports Del Buono’s Bakery’s bread to other South Jersey diners and restaurants, including Stardust Cafe, the current occupant of 729 Haddon Ave.
Stardust’s owners, Jerry Goksun and Jennifer Vincent, recently transformed the long-lived, retro-themedPop Shop diner into a more modern all-day eatery. The couple opened the restaurant in July, but upon hearing that the Emanets were searching for a new home for Jersey Kebab, offered the space on Collingswood’s main shopping street. (Goksun and Vincent did not immediately respond to The Inquirer’s request for comment.)
The Emanet family plans to move into the restaurant as is, adding Turkish decor and music to replicate the ambiance of their former space. The restaurant’s menu will expand beyond platters of iskender, adana, and shish kebabs. New items planned include a traditional Turkish breakfast spread (think homemade jams, cheeses, bread, and omelets) and Turkish ice cream made with goat’s milk.
Muhammed Emanet (rear) greets patrons as his mother, Emine Emanet ,(fourth from left) and family and friends serve serve food inside their Jersey Kebab restaurant on Sunday, March 30, 2025. The party – part welcome home, part thank you, part end of Ramadan – was to thank their neighbors who helped them through the terror of ICE arrests and detention.
Celal and Emine Emanet were detained by ICE in February, forcing the restaurant to close. The couple emigrated legally to the United States from Turkey in 2008 but fell out of status when their visas expired. In 2016, they applied for legal permanent residency and have been awaiting the government’s decision on their application since.
Celal was released a few days after his initial arrest, but Emine was held in an immigrant detention center in Elizabeth, N.J., for a little over two weeks. The South Jersey community lobbied for her release, writing letters, holding rallies, and raising funds. Emine was released in mid-March, and when the restaurant reopened later that month, it was flooded with well-wishers and neighbors.
The couple has been navigating deportation proceedings since March. Celal’s first deportation hearing took place in May, with another set for March 2026. Emine’s first hearing was scheduled for this month but was recently postponed to 2027.
Emine and Celal Emanet at their Jersey Kebab restaurant on March 13, 2025, the day after Emine’s release from ICE detention.
Given their situation, Muhammed’s parents have not had time to process the change in their business, he said.
“They aren’t even really thinking about it — they’re just pushing through it,“ Muhammed said. ”My mom is trying to see how she’s gonna decorate the entire place. My dad is trying to get all the paperwork done. I’m trying to get all the people hired and the management worked on. So, everybody just locked in.“
Despite the challenges, what keeps the Emanet family going is being “God-believing, God-fearing people,” Muhammed said. “It doesn’t really matter what we go through — we know our faith is going to lead us exactly where we need to be anyway.”
And Haddon Avenue is a prime location for the restaurant’s loyal clientele, he said. “Jersey Kebab in Collingswood is a big turning point for us, for our name and legacy to grow.”
The wine trade is one where true innovations are few and far between, and understandably so. Experimentation with new ideas is simply more complicated when your product takes years to make and is expected to age gracefully for a decade more. The slow pace of due diligence — even on common sense modernizations like the introduction of screw caps — leads vintners to be risk-averse and helps explain why the revival of historical winemaking practices is more common than truly new methods.
Intrinsic Wine Co., out of Washington state, are exceptions to this rule because this label was created to be an established winemaker’s idea lab. This passion project was created in 2016 by the then-head winemaker of one of Washington’s largest wineries, Columbia Crest. Intrinsic wines are expressly designed to challenge the status quo and explore the kinds of innovations that smaller wineries with fewer resources are unlikely to pursue.
This unusual cabernet sauvignon-based blend — made in a way that steps outside the norm on many fronts — serves as a good example of Intrinsic’s work. First, a heaping helping of malbec replaces the merlot that would typically be used in a Bordeaux-inspired recipe, adding a vivid violet hue and a suggestion of earthy sweetness like glazed carrots. Next, the winemaker keeps the grape skins and solids in contact with the wine for a remarkable nine months — far longer than the few weeks that are normally considered an “extended maceration.” Finally, it employs a wholly fresh idea during this process called “skin swapping,” where the cabernet wine ages on the malbec skins and vice versa, in a process intended to build harmony between the varietals long before the individual components are blended together.
Stylistically, the result is a seamless and lush red wine that tastes quite intense. Its blueberry and blackberry flavors have amplified floral and herbal notes, and while the wine is not fully dry, it features far less of the “vanilla frosting” effect imparted by traditional aging in new oak barrels. All in all, what the winemaker has achieved is a post-modern flavor profile that is more sensual than intellectual and that younger audiences will embrace.
Intrinsic Red Blend
Intrinsic Red Blend
Columbia Valley, Wash.; 14.6% ABV
PLCB Item #96329, on sale through Nov. 2 for $19.99 (regularly $23.99)
Everyone seems to be zoomed in on protein these days, but while protein is important, I suggest an expanded nutritional perspective. Instead of focusing on that one nutrient, consider a meal’s PFD — protein, fiber, and deliciousness. The acronym works, because together, these three elements provide the broader nourishment needed to ride life’s waves and to maximize the pleasure in doing it.
This skillet recipe offers easily ample PFD in about 30 minutes. The protein is meaty fillets of cod, which also bring health-protective omega-3 fats and essential minerals to the plate. (Alternatively, any thick, steak-like fillet will work, such as salmon, halibut, or sea bass.) The fillets get nestled into a barely softened sauté of shredded cabbage, carrots, onion, and ginger. (You can slice the cabbage and carrots yourself, or use a package of slaw mix as a shortcut.) The vegetables introduce the gut-friendly fiber factor, plus a wealth of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.
A mixture of miso paste, softened butter, and a touch of honey, slathered on the fish and dolloped on the vegetables, amplify the deliciousness of these already-tasty ingredients. Add a little water to the pan and a brightening drizzle of rice vinegar, cover it, and let the resulting steam cook the fish until it’s flaky, the vegetables relax into a warm slaw, and everything is imbued with the savory-sweet richness of the miso butter.
Sprinkled with fresh scallions and served with rice, if you’d like, it’s a meal that can save a busy weeknight all the while maximizing nutrition.
Skillet Cod With Miso Butter and Warm Slaw
An umami-rich mixture of miso paste, butter, and honey imbues this saucy skillet cod and warm, gingery slaw with savory-sweet flavor. It’s quick to prepare as written, but can be made even faster by subbing the cabbage and carrots with a bagged slaw mix.
4 servings
Total time: 30 minutes
Storage: Refrigerate for up to 2 days.
Ingredients
3 1/2 tablespoons shiro (white) miso
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon honey
4 (6-ounce) center-cut cod fillets, patted dry
1 tablespoon neutral oil, such as avocado or canola
1 medium yellow onion (8 ounces), halved and thinly sliced
1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced into thin matchsticks (about 1 tablespoon)
5 cups (9 ounces) lightly packed thinly sliced green cabbage
2 medium carrots, sliced into ribbons using a vegetable peeler
1/3 cup water
1 tablespoon unseasoned rice vinegar
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 scallions, thinly sliced
cooked rice, for serving (optional)
Steps
In a small bowl, combine the miso, butter, and honey, and mash with a fork until well incorporated.
Spread a scant 1 tablespoon of the miso mixture on top of each cod fillet.
In a large (12-inch) skillet over medium heat, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the onion and ginger, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion starts to soften, about 2 minutes. Add the cabbage and carrots, and cook, stirring frequently, until slightly softened, about 2 minutes more.
Arrange the fish, miso side up, on top of the vegetables. Scatter small dollops of the remaining miso mixture over the vegetables in the pan. In a liquid measuring cup, combine the water with the rice vinegar, then drizzle the mixture over the vegetables in the pan, taking care to avoid the fish. Cover and cook until the fish is just cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish, and adjust the heat as needed to maintain a steady, but not overly strong, steam.
Transfer the fish to a cutting board or large plate. Stir the vegetables to coat them in the sauce and season with the pepper.
Divide the warm slaw among plates or shallow bowls. Top each portion with the fish, garnish with the scallions, and serve warm, with rice on the side, if desired.
Substitutions: Cod >> other firm fish, such as halibut or salmon. Sliced cabbage and carrots >> one 12-ounce bag slaw mix. Rice vinegar >> apple cider vinegar. Honey >> maple syrup or agave. Yellow onion >> white onion. Scallions >> chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves.
Gluten-free? Be sure to seek out gluten-free miso.
Nutrition | Per serving (1 fish fillet and 1/2 cup vegetables): 318 calories, 22g carbohydrates, 88mg cholesterol, 11g fat, 5g fiber, 33g protein, 4g saturated fat, 599mg sodium, 12g sugar
This analysis is an estimate based on available ingredients and this preparation. It should not substitute for a dietitian’s or nutritionist’s advice.
From cookbook author and registered dietitian nutritionist Ellie Krieger.
Hey there. I goofed last week on some key dates. The print edition of The Inquirer’s 76 will be included in newspapers on Thursday, Nov. 13. The Inquirer’s Food Fest at the Fillmore in Fishtown is Saturday, Nov. 15. And while we’re at it: Tuesday, Nov. 18 is the unveiling of the 2025 Michelin Northeast Cities winners in an exclusive ceremony at the Kimmel Center.
There’s been a recent bumper crop of fine new pizzerias in the city and suburbs. Let me tell you about the rustic grandma pies, the puffy Neapolitans, bar pizzas with verve, a gluten-free option, and even tasty slices sold out of a gas station.
🍕 Tip: Do not miss the drunken grandma pie at the new Anomalia Pizza in Fort Washington — or anything else on the menu.
Cuzzy’s Ice Cream Parlor in Queen Village, which closed abruptly a year and a half ago, reopened last weekend at 762 S. Fourth St., two blocks from the previous shop, doling out such flavors as brown butter pecan, vanilla beans, chocolate cake, cinnamon apple streusel, pistachio biscotti, maple walnut pie, coffee, and grape sorbet. Watch Instagram for the shop’s hours.
Restaurant report
What’s tasty out there? In the current installment of “The Best Things We Ate This Week,” the Food team and friends chronicle their dining travels: Zorba’s for the shareable lamb platter (above), pasta from Fiorella, soft-serve from a brick-and-mortar Mr. Softee, and a smash burger that was so incredible, our correspondent forgot to photograph it.
Briefly noted
The Buttery’s Malvern flagship (233 E. King St.) will reopen Saturday after a redesign, an expansion from 18 seats to 62, and a new menu including pizza, tartines, sandwiches, and bowls. The first 100 customers Saturday will receive a free sable cookie with purchase.
Pica’s Restaurant, the Upper Darby landmark, will close its dining room after service Sunday, as it readies for its move to Broomall. The restaurant will remain open for takeout for the foreseeable future.
Philly Cider Week begins at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Headhouse shambles (Second and Lombard Streets) following Headhouse Farmers Market sales. Vendors will vend till 7 p.m.
Ange Branca, owner of South Philly’s Kampar, took to Instagram earlier this week with an update on repairs to the restaurant, idled since February by a fire. Water damage was extensive, she reports. Kampar will set up an ikan bakar (grilled-fish) market pop-up at Jet Wine Bar (1525 South St.) from 4-9 p.m. Sunday. Two ways to go: Pick your whole fish and sambal from the outdoor stand, where it will be priced by weight and prepared (walk-ins OK), or dine inside for dinners at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. ($75pp) featuring five Malaysian fish dishes. Cocktails and wines available. Reservations are here.
Provenance (408 S. Second St.) will host an Oct. 29 collaboration dinner honoring the late chef Jim Burke and benefiting Twist Out Cancer, for which Burke’s wife and business partner, Kristina Benene Burke, works. Provenance chef-owner (and Burke disciple) Nicholas Bazik will be joined by chefs including Ron Mckinlay (formerly Canoe, Toronto), Alex Kemp (My Loup), Eli Collins (a. Kitchen), Evan Snyder (Emmett), Tim Dearing (Ule), Greg Heitzig (the Fountain Inn; former CDC of Pineapple & Pearls, Washington), as well as Provenance pastry chef Abby Dahan. It’s $395 per person (plus tax/gratuity/beverages) with all profits going to the foundation.Seatings in the wine cellar are available at 7 p.m., and at 5 and 8:30 p.m. upstairs.
Honeysuckle’s first wine-centered event will be a ticketed five-course dinner with André Mack and Maison Noire Wines on Oct. 30. It’s $175 per person, plus tax, tip, and fees). Tickets via OpenTable.
Opera Philadelphia will join Jean-Georges Philadelphia for a collaboration of music and food — a tasting menu interspersed with live performances — on Nov. 20. Details are here.
Marcie Turney and Valerie Safran of Safran Turney Hospitality (Barbuzzo, Bud & Marilyn’s, Darling Jack’s, etc.) were named to Out magazine’s 31st annual Out100 list. They’ll join fellow honorees Nov. 21 at the Out100 event at Nya Studios West in Hollywood.
❓Pop quiz
Old City’s Amada, chef Jose Garces’ flagship restaurant, marks its 20th anniversary this month. Can you name one of the restaurants where Garces was chef just before it opened?
A bonus: Anyone remember the name of the restaurant that preceded Amada’s Old City location? Email me.
Ask Mike anything
What’s going on with High Note Caffe at 13th and Tasker? From the outside, it looks like it’s been ready to open for at least a few years now. — Caitlin D.
Owner Frank “Franco” Borda has taken his sweet time (four years!) converting his long-running restaurant into a supper club. It’ll be offering sporadic ticketed jazz and opera performances to start out. The first two dates, in early November, are sold out, but the next is Dec. 12. Here’s the calendar.
📮 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.
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“Philadelphia has no good pizza” is one age-old chestnut that needs to be put to rest, as so many pizzerias, such as the expanding Angelo’s, Beddia in Fishtown, Pizzata in Rittenhouse and South Philadelphia, and Sally near Fitler Square, are raising the local game. The Pennsylvania and New Jersey suburbs have plenty of quality, too — for example Brooklyn Original in Haddon Heights, Verona in Maple Glen, Pizza West Chester, and Johnny’s on the Main Line.
Here are 11 prime pizzerias that have opened in the last several months, as well as intel on four others on the way.
Suburban Philadelphia pizzerias
Anomalia Pizza
Deena Fink and Frank Innusa traded careers in show biz to entertain on an entirely different stage: a slice shop across from the Fort Washington Regional Rail station. Their drunken grandma pie is a thing of beauty: a crispy, almost buttery-bottomed square topped with fresh mozzarella and ribboned with a thick, creamy vodka sauce amped with pancetta. Read on for their story.
Anomalia, 414 S. Bethlehem Pike, Fort Washington, 215-628-3845, anomaliapizza.com
Barclay Pies
Gluten-free arugula pizza from Barclay Pies.
TJ Hunton and Daniel Romero, whose immediate family members have celiac disease, are behind this cheery newcomer in Cherry Hill’s former Season’s Pizza offering gluten-free crusts (using Caputo’s GF flour) along with a line of conventional pies, plus other stuff (chicken tenders, wings, fries, cookies) that are gluten-free from inception. The lineup: five red pizzas (plain, pepperoni, sausage, pineapple, and a vegan margherita featuring cashew milk mozzarella cheese by Miyoko’s Creamery) and four whites (arugula, mushroom, broccoli, and buffalo chicken). Allergen info and protocols are up on their Instagram. Plain and pepperoni slices are available over lunch.
Pizza Margherita at La Pizza & La Pasta restaurant at Eataly in King of Prussia Mall.
The Italian marketplace opened earlier this month in King of Prussia Mall with two pizza options: a sit-down experience in the restaurant with well-crafted, puffy-crusted Neapolitans, as well as a counter with Roman-style pizza by the slice.
Grandma pie from Genova Pizza 2 Go, 748 Sicklerville Rd., Williamstown, N.J.
Pizza from a gas station? Since it’s Jersey, of course it’s full service at this new branch of Audubon’s Genova Pizza, tucked inside Marathon Gas. The grandma pies, with their crispy, olive-oil-slicked crusts, and the thicker-crusted Sicilians are the big draws. Bonus: Brothers Ali and Omar Doukali are planning yet another location, in Sicklerville, according to South Jersey Food Scene.
Chef Brad Daniels checks a Rocky pizza at Gloria Sports & Spirits, 1500 Main St., Warrington, on Oct. 20, 2025.
It would be far too easy and wildly inaccurate to brand the sprawling Gloria in Central Bucks’ Shops at Valley Square “a sports bar.” Yes, the bar is ringed with TVs and there are two golf simulators and a shuffleboard table. Happy hour is on from 3 to 6 p.m. weekdays. But Gloria’s pedigree explains why this is right up there with the best bar pizza in the northern burbs.
It’s led by Vetri alumnus Brad Daniels, who with his partners also owns the acclaimed, high-end Tresini in Spring House, turning out light but sturdy-crusted 13-inch rounds with quality toppings. And not the same old. Take the saganaki, a riff on the Greek fried cheese. Daniels slices and preserves lemons, and lays them alongside mozzarella, feta, garlic, and oregano for a sweet-tart flavor bomb. The “brock party” gets plenty of shaved broccoli, along with ricotta sauce, roasted garlic, and mozzarella. The red pies get just enough Bianco di Napoli sauce, and he uses fior di latte on them instead of generic mozz.
This week’s big Main Line pizza news is John Bisceglie’s soft-opening phase of a second Johnny’s Pizza, in a strip center near the farmers market in Wayne. It’s a companion to his Bryn Mawr original, which appears in The Inquirer’s 76 for his 20-inch cheesesteaks and “unforgettable pies both thick and thin(ish), rectangular and round, red and white.”
Owner Gary Lincoln demonstrates the kiosk ordering system at Knot Like the Rest Pizzeria in Pine Hill.
Gary Lincoln’s latest South Jersey pizzeria, which opened less than two months ago, is assuredly knot like the rest. It’s all online for delivery, and walk-in customers must head to two kiosks for their slices and pies — no ordering from a counterperson. Punch in your order, perhaps a Pickle pizza (pickles, bacon, cheddar, mozzarella, ranch dressing), a “Zinger” (secret sauce, steak, banana peppers, mozzarella, American cheese), or a Knotty Vodka, with its edges ringed with garlic knots. Eat at the counter or a few round tables. Lincoln also owns New Wave Pizza in Turnersville and All About the Crust in Woodbury.
Knot Like the Rest Pizzeria, 1193 Turnersville Rd., Pine Hill, 908-382-7960, knotliketherest.com
Philadelphia pizzerias
15th Street Pizza & Cheesesteak
Sauce is applied to a pizza from 15th Street Pizza & Cheesesteak.
A decade ago, Andrew and Michael Cappelli took over the shuttered pizzeria next door to their cigar shop on 13th Street near Locust — popularly known as Gay Pizza — and reflagged it Pizzeria Cappelli. It still rocks till 4 a.m. Last summer, feeling that Rittenhouse needed a slice shop for the wee-small hours, they opened a companion in the former Starbucks at 15th and Latimer. At 15th Street Pizza & Cheesesteak, serving a variety of thin-crust slices till 3 a.m., the hits include the white garlic with ricotta and anything topped with Buffalo chicken. Do not skip the garlic-Parm wings.
Owner Steve Calozzi holds a slice of a 24-nch tomato pie at Italian Family Pizza.
Bucks County-bred Steve Calozzi moved to Seattle for a while and ran pizzerias there before returning to Bucks. Now he’s working out of the former Subway shop at 17th and the Parkway, across from Friends Select School, and his specialty is the Trenton-style (cheese on the bottom) 24-inch pizza, available whole and by the slice. Order the meatballs and the cannoli, too.
Italian Family Pizza, 1701 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy., 215-801-5198
Puglia Pizza
Roman pizzas from Puglia Pizza, 901 South St.
Last time I checked in with Cosimo Tricarico, he was running the quaint Caffe Valentino in Pennsport. But after it closed in early 2021, even his phone number died. Recently, I heard that a Cosimo was running a fine new pizzeria at Ninth and South. One and the same. Although he still owns Valentino’s building, Tricarico and his girlfriend had decamped for his native Puglia, where they had kids. Now they’re back here, and Tricarico is mixing it up in pizza world — football-shaped Romans as well as traditional rounds. Don’t miss the sfilatini, which are thin, pressed baguette sandwiches with fillings like meatballs and vegetables.
Though not a pizzeria by any stretch, this new bistro inside the Suburban Station building (aka One Penn Center) has five excellent pies — all 14-inch rounds. The reds get a sauce made of San Marzano D.O.P. tomatoes.
Of particular note is the Funghi, whose wild-mushroom mix gets a topping of Dijonnaise, fresh mozzarella, and rosemary gremolata.
Wild mushroom pizza with Dijonnaise at Rhythm & Spirits, 1617 JFK Blvd.
Cerveau, opening in the next few weeks at 990 Spring Garden St., will be a cicchetteria serving shareable pizzas, pastas, and small plates with Mediterranean flavors. Chef/co-creator Joe Hunter was among the partners at the former Pizza Brain, which closed last year.
Lillo’s Tomato Pies, the Trenton-style pizza purveyor from Hainesport, Burlington County, is supposedly close to opening in Gloucester City at the former Thomas Murphy’s Pub (157 S. Burlington St.) after a protracted liquor-license process.
Tomato pie from Lillo’s Tomato Pie, 2503 Marne Highway, Hainesport.
Marina’s Pizza, a slice shop expected next month at 1425 Frankford Ave. in Fishtown, will be the pro debut of Mason Lesser, whose maternal grandfather, Angelo Lancellotti, owned dozens of shops in the area over the years.
Pizzeria Cusumano, backed by Sal Cusumano of the Angelo’s Pizza shops in Berlin and Voorhees, is finally back on track for its opening at 872 Haddon Ave. in Collingswood. Cusumano, not willing to share a projected opening date, said work has just begun, more than four years after he signed an agreement to buy the building.
Some pizza gossip
Maybe this is non-pizza gossip, but Vince Tacconelli of the Tacconelli family’s New Jersey branch says he is looking at a December opening of Bar Tacconelli, a 50-seat Italian cocktail lounge on the former site of Versa Vino, 461 Route 38 in Maple Shade. He and partners Stacey Lyons (ex-Attico) and GregListino (the restaurant-equipment firm Rosani) plan to offer oysters, charcuterie, fried bites, and pastas — served late into the night, with a focus on craft cocktails. But no pizza, as it’s four minutes from Tacconelli’s Maple Shade location.
