When done well, cheung fun, or Cantonese steamed rice rolls, are made to order and don’t need fillings or toppings to be delicious. Wrapped around beef and Chinese savory crullers, (youtiao), they’re a popular item at dim sum. But the best cheung fun is typically found at vendors dedicated to the silken, slippery, wide noodles, who specialize in perfecting the cheung fun’s crepe-like layers.
Susie Ruan and her husband, Jackie, opened Hen Ji Hou Wei Xuan Cheung Fun, a cheung fun-dedicated storefront at 50 N. 10th St. at the end of January. They relocated from Lewisburg, where they owned and operated a restaurant by the same name in Chinese (but spelled Heng Ji in English). They served standard Chinese American classics there, like broccoli beef with rice, salt and pepper shrimp, and orange chicken, as well as hot pot.
Hen Ji Hou Wei Xuan Cheung Fun, 50 N. 10th St., in Philadelphia. It opened at the end of January
They closed their Lewisburg location at the end of December and relocated to Philadelphia to devote themselves to the art of the steamed rice roll. “We just love making cheung fun!” said Susie, who is originally from Guangdong.
And the Ruans’ are indeed excellent and made fresh to order. Unlike the cheung fun found at most dim sum spots, these are not wrapped around a meat or youtiao filling. Tucked between the gossamer-thin noodle‘s delicate wrinkles are unctuous bits of beef or sliced char siu pork.
Beef bone soup from Hen Ji Hou Wei Xuan Cheung Fun.
Soy sauce, red wine vinegar, and chili oil, found on its counter, are available (and encouraged) as condiments.
Hen Ji Hou Wei Xuan Cheung Fun also serves hearty beef bone broths, skewers of fish balls, and enormous bowls of thin but hearty congee, topped with slivers of fresh ginger. It joins Yin Ji Rice Roll in Chinatown, which opened a year ago, as a cheung fun-focused establishment.
Pork congee from Hen Ji Hou Wei Xuan Cheung Fun.
Hen Ji Hou Wei Xuan Cheung Fun, 50 N. 10th St., 267-888-3233. Open seven days a week, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Counter seating and take-out only.
Chance Anies grew up at the tables of America’s chain restaurants. His mom’s career as a manager opening locations for TGI Friday’s, Olive Garden, Dave & Buster’s and others meant he and his siblings spent some of their most important life events in the glow of neon flair illuminating bottomless breadstick bowls and blooming onions.
“There was something magical about growing up there,“ says Anies, 34. “There was always something for everybody, for anyone who walked in the door, including kids. They were also affordable. And what I’ve found over the years is that middle-class dining like that has been dying.”
Manong, which opened three months ago in the former Tela’s space at 19th and Fairmount Avenue, is filled with references to the mid-tier chains of his youth. From the longhorn skull emblazoned on the sign at its front door, to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade game being played for free by guests in the corner, to actual neon signs from both Applebee’s and Outback alight in its two bathrooms, the cues are here for what Anies calls his chain-inspired Filipino-American steakhouse. There’s even the signature Bloom Shroom, a fantastic fungi riff on the blooming onion, whose deep-fried thatch of enoki mushrooms is irresistible — at least, when it isn’t overcooked or oversalted, as it was on my first visit.
The Bloom Shroom at Manong on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025 in Philadelphia.
This kitchen has largely been more reliable than that, and nailed the shroom on a following visit, when its broom-like sweep of crunchy-earthy mushrooms threads lived-up to their potential. It was also clear after my visits here that catchy labels trying to characterize Anies’ sequel restaurant to Tabachoy, his Filipino BYOB hit in Bella Vista, really don’t do its concept justice. For one thing, it’s not a steakhouse, considering Manong didn’t even have a steak on the menu (beyond grilled beef skewers) for its first three months, when an intriguing hanger steak with fish sauce and pickled onions replaced the prime rib.
Chef Chance Anies posed for a portrait at Manong on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025 in Philadelphia.
The swap was a pragmatic concession to keep the menu on the more affordable side, a prime characteristic of chain restaurant culture Anies says inspires him. With check averages around $50 to $60, including drinks, dinner at Manong costs more than going to Longhorn. But it succeeds in hitting a more accessible sweet spot than most of Philly’s pricier destination restaurants without sacrificing the quality of from-scratch food. There’s a balancing act of handcraft and value here most chain restaurants simply can’t touch.
The dynamite lumpia at Manong in Philadelphia, Pa., on Thursday, March. 5, 2026.
There’s also a level of personality, bold flavors, and storytelling to the food at Manong that is the antithesis of the sanitized corporate restaurant. This menu is a unique reflection of Anies’ childhood and life experiences as a Filipino-American — including his previous careers as an English teacher, medical researcher and food truck operator — that also diverges with its whimsy and creativity from the more traditionally-framed Filipino flavors anchoring Tabachoy.
There’s an equivalent to mozzarella sticks at Manong, the dynamite lumpia, but they’re wrapped inside crispy spring roll wrappers and laced with tender pork and minced jalapeños alongside a sweet chili dip. Manong also offers one of the most distinctive new cheeseburgers in the city, a half-pound patty that spans the width of four small pandesal rolls that are still attached, like King’s Hawaiian bread.
The connected rolls can easily be divided into shareable sliders, but avoid the urge to supersize it into a full one-pound of meat because it throws all the proportions off. The standard serving maximizes its many Filipino flourishes, from the light sweetness on the fresh-baked bread to the tropical backnotes of the house banana ketchup, the calamansi-tanged slaw, and a mayo shaded by bangus (tinned milkfish), whose oily fillets are buzzed into an umami-rich spread that Anies says carries a Pinoy schmear of “je ne sais quoi.”
The 1/2lb balong burger at Manong in Philadelphia, Pa., on Thursday, March. 5, 2026.
The 75-seat Manong, which means “elder brother” in Ilocano, the Filipino dialect of Anies’ father’s family, is close to three times as big as Tabachoy, a 28-seater in Bella Vista so snug you need to access the bathroom through an alley door at the rear of the building. But Anies has made good use of this sunny, high-ceilinged corner space, warming its interior with rustic walnut accents and adding convivial booth seating to both its window walls and a central banquette.
The exterior of Manong on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025 in Philadelphia.
With room for large parties, including a back alcove beneath mounted horns and a vintage truck grill with illuminated headlights, plus 13 seats at the bar, there were more groups of people simultaneously celebrating at Manong than any restaurant I’ve visited in recent memory. Conjuring that kind of joy, and for such a broad cross-section of customers, is one aspect of “everyone’s family” magic that Anies has successfully channeled.
Customers enjoying drinks and food at the bar at Manong in Philadelphia, Pa., on Thursday, March. 5, 2026.The interior of Manong on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025 in Philadelphia.
A drink program overseen by beverage manager Eli Ezer helps buoy the festive mood with a variety of fun, colorful drinks that also offer thematic twists, like the sky blue Otso Otso, a riff on a spicy margarita infused with green peppercorn, lemongrass, and calamansi, or an espresso martini with the added taste of sweet corn (a combo with roots in the Philippines), or a Pinoy version of the City Wide, pairing San Miguel Lite with a shot of Kasama rum.
The Otso Otso cocktail at Manong in Philadelphia, Pa., on Thursday, March. 5, 2026.The Pandan latte at Manong in Philadelphia, Pa., on Thursday, March. 5, 2026.
It’s no surprise this room has a serious noise problem, and will eventually require some significant investment to sound-proof its hard surfaces. It recently opened for new daytime cafe hours to pump out purple ube and pandan lattes with Herman’s Coffee, along with a limited selection of pastries, and plans to expand the daytime menu with breakfast sandwiches for a brunch debut this spring. There’s also a retail bottle shop where a fridge case full of Red Horse beer, natural wines, and sakes add yet another reason to visit.
For now, however, Manong’s dinner is more than a worthy enough draw on its own. Aside from the bloom shroom, all of the skewers are winners, including the juicy grilled chicken thighs glazed in Filipino barbeque sauce and tagalog beef sticks that evoke Japanese negamaki with thin-sliced flank steak bundles on the skewer rolled around crunchy scallions in a calamansi soy-garlic glaze.
Anies aims to evoke the rich chain restaurant pastas of his youth with the “creamy pasta” entree, but it’s infinitely more interesting here with basil fettuccine tangled in a sauce creamed with coconut and Parmesan, flavor-boosted with ginger, garlic, and thin slices of pork belly. The “super duper creamy” version may be tempting, but once again, like that burger, the “more” option was less appealing. When we opted for the bonus of trout roe and shrimp on my second visit, it came in an overly thickened cream sauce that bordered on sludge.
The squash at Manong on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025 in Philadelphia.
One of Manong’s most creative dishes is its singular option for vegans, kalabasa pyanggang, a koginut squash marinated in a garlicky paste of charred coconut husks that’s served with a sweet vinegar lemongrass drizzle over a rich coconut milk sauce scattered with pepita seeds.
I would have loved the grilled swordfish with green mango-bitter melon salad if it had been fully cooked. That’s one fish I don’t enjoy medium-rare. But Manong has its roasted half-chicken down, a juicy lemongrass-infused bird glazed in tart calamansi vinegar and orange annato butter — at $28, a relative bargain in an era of high-priced chicken entrees
The kitchen’s pork dishes are also exceptional, including a traditional lechon liempo pork belly whose superbly tender chunks of meat are set beneath shattering amber sheets of crispy pig skin, atop a silky swoosh of creamy liver sauce.
The lechon liempo at Manong is slow-roasted pork belly topped with crispy skin over a sauce of pureed chicken liver.The pork & beans at Manong in Philadelphia, Pa., on Thursday, March. 5, 2026.
Perhaps my favorite dish at Manong is the “pork & beans”, a multi-cultural mash-up of a juicy grilled pork chop encrusted with green peppercorns and smothered with sweet and zesty mung beans. Think of the canned Heinz baked beans classic, but with a Filipino swagger of cane vinegar, the sweetness of brown sugar, and red yeast rice (typically used in Chinese char siu bbq), and firmer beans that possess a nutty snap of extra texture.
“Is it American? Is it Filipino? It’s neither, but also both,” says Anies, summing up not only this dish, but so much of the menu at Manong, where steaming sides of garlic rice, coconut-creamed spinach, and whipped potato salad studded with more crunchy garlic, corn, and shear potato skin chicharrones create a spirited fusion feast like no other.
Add some calamansi or mango water ice for dessert sandwiched on those fresh pandesal rolls, or the deep purple richness of its ube ice cream, and Manong’s Filipino fusion takes on a distinctly Philly vibe, too. Anies’ chain restaurant childhood may have been the impetus for the affordable and fun spirit of Manong, but he’s created something here that feels like an original.
The ube and mango ice cream sandwich at Manong in Philadelphia, Pa., on Thursday, March. 5, 2026.
Manong
1833 Fairmount Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19130, 445-223-2141; manongphilly.com
Dinner Wednesday to Sunday, 5-11 p.m. Cafe open for coffee and pastries Wednesday to Sunday, 8 a.m.-2 p.m.
Dinner entrees, $19-$35.
About 30% of the menu is gluten-free, including the bloom shroom, cooked in a gluten-free fryer.
Drinks: The cocktail list delivers affordability and style, with a series of classic templates transformed colorful tropical twists, from the sky blue Otso Otso infused with green peppercorn and lemongrass, to a backnote of corn in the espresso martini and Filipino rum mixed with coconut and purple sweet potato for the Ube Halaya. The beer list features both local brews and Filipino imports, including the smooth but potent Red Horse. There’s also a selection of natural wines by the 6 oz. carafe. In addition, a retail bottle shop has a fine selection of natural wines and sakes to go.
For his fourth restaurant on Rittenhouse Square, Stephen Starr said he wants to evoke the jet-set fantasy of Greece of the Onassis era: yacht-club luxury, island sensuality, cosmopolitan polish.
That explains the photos of Jackie O and Aristotle Onassis on the window posters that went up last week on the former Devon Seafood Grill at 18th and Chancellor Streets.
Devon Seafood Grill at 18th and Chancellor Streets, with Stephen Starr’s Parc at rear, on June 8, 2023.
Starr told The Inquirer that the new restaurant, to be called the Pelican Club, is expected to open in October. It will be his ninth restaurant in the neighborhood, his 19th restaurant in Philadelphia, and his 41st in an empire that stretches from New York to Miami.
The Pelican Club will be across the lobby of the Parc Rittenhouse apartment building from his Paris-style brasserie Parc (which opened in 2008), a half-block up the street from steakhouse Barclay Prime (2004), and across the square from Italian powerhouse Borromini (2025). Starr also owns the nearby Continental Mid-town (2004), Butcher & Singer (2008), the Dandelion (2010), El Rey/Ranstead Room (2010), and The Love (2017).
The Pelican Club will occupy nearly 9,000 square feet — slightly smaller than Parc but larger than Barclay Prime. Like its neighbors, it will have outdoor seating facing 18th Street.
The Pelican Club’s concept took shape after Starr reconsidered several possibilities for the high-profile corner space, empty since December 2024 and owned by Starr business partner Allan Domb, the former Council member and mayoral candidate.
“I walked in and started wondering what it should be,” Starr said in a call from Miami Beach, where his steakhouse Slim’s opens Tuesday. “I kicked around several different ideas, but none of them really felt correct for that room. It needed to be something that made sense there.”
Starr said he had considered Middle Eastern and Japanese concepts, but his mind kept returning to Greece. “I know Greek concepts have been done here before, but not in the way I thought it should have been,” Starr said.
To shape the project, he turned to Ken Fulk, who also designed Starr’s old-school revival of the Occidental in Washington, D.C., which opened in March 2025.
A dining room at the Occidental in Washington, D.C., designed by Ken Fulk, as seen in March 2025.
Starr said Fulk “just fell in love with the space and came up with a great idea for how it should look.”
Though Starr wants to keep most details about the Pelican Club close to the vest for now, he said the bar area in front would evoke the living area of a yacht. The back of the restaurant, he added, will feature “very sexy booths.”
The bar at the Occidental in Washington, D.C., designed by Ken Fulk, as seen in March 2025.
Starr said he came across the story of Petros the pelican, long associated with Mykonos, and was drawn to both the image and the symbolism. “It’s this mythical, legendary figure, kind of a protector of the island,” he said. “I thought the name was awesome, and we loved the pelican imagery.”
But he decided against using a plainly Greek name for the restaurant.
“‘Pelican’ kept sticking in my head, and Ken loved the image too,” Starr said. “The Pelican Club gave us the imagery we were looking for, plus something a little more intriguing. You don’t quite know what it is right away.”
Starr said the Pelican Club would be rooted in Greek cooking, with touches extending into the Mediterranean. He said he has been auditioning chefs from Greece — several have already flown in for tastings, and another is due from Athens this week — as he looks for “something authentic” from someone who “really grew up with the food.”
I never thought about eating duck with my granola. But adding granola to a leg of duck confit has turned out to be one of the most enduring ideas executive chef Dwain Kalup has brought to La Fia since arriving at this globally inspired bistro in downtown Wilmington, Del., almost six years ago. Kalup, who was recently named a James Beard semifinalist in the Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic category, has plenty of excellent dishes with diverse inspirations on the ever-changing menu, including a fabulous update of old-school shrimp toast (topped with crunch green papaya salad), kojinut squash-stuffed agnolotti, and irresistible deep-fried brioche beignets with herb butter.
But I can understand why this duck is one dish that never changes. It is a classic preparation at its heart, the meaty Pekin duck legs cure overnight in herbed salt with garlic before slowly simmering to tenderness in a crock of molten duck fat. The finished appetizer is all about contrasting modern flavors and textures: A glaze of yuzu koshu blends sweetness and citrusy spice while dabs of miso-mustard aioli add richness and zing. The crunch of savory granola scattered over top — oats and sesame bound with honey and tahini — lends a toasty snap to each bite of that meltingly soft duck. Add the juicy pop of tart pomegranate seeds along with the minty whiff of freshly torn Thai basil for a final flourish, and this duck has it all. La Fia, 421 N. Market St., Wilmington, Del., 302-543-5574, lafiawilmington.com
— Craig LaBan
The Nova salmon bagel from Radin’s Delicatessen topped with tomato and red onion.
Nova salmon bagel at Radin’s Delicatessen
Radin’s in Cherry Hillis known (maybe even notorious) for mind-bogglingly enormous portions that make one question their economic viability, but their bagel sandwiches are perfectly portioned and surprisingly easy to tackle. This Nova salmon bagel was no exception. Baked that day, the pumpernickel bagel was warm and springy, with no need for toasting. The red onion and tomatoes — my accoutrements of choice —were crisp and fresh. The salmon was buttery, and the generous layer of chive cream cheese had just the right amount of fluff. I could taste a little bit of everything in each bite, resulting in bagel perfection. Radin’s Delicatessen, 486 Evesham Rd., Cherry Hill, N.J., 856-509-5492, radinsdelicatessen.com
— Kiki Aranita
The Breakfast Board at the Sunroom at the Borgata with tasty tater-tots and espresso martinis. A pleasant start to a slow Saturday morning.
Breakfast board for two at the Borgata
A habitual nibbler, uncontrollable snacker, and expert nosher, there are few things I love better than a charcuterie board. Having so many options at my fingertips lights up my tastebuds. Up until recently I thought this rush only came from hard cheeses, jellies, and salty processed pork. Then I visited the Sunroom Lounge in Atlantic City’s Borgata Hotel and discovered its “Breakfast Board For Two.” I waited for it with bated breath.
Arrive it did. There weregenerous portions of bacon, pancakes, croissants, and sugar-topped blueberry muffins. A buttery, cheesy, melt-in-your-mouth quiche was stacked next to a hefty helping of cornbread muffins. A side of golden tater tots made this a totally-worth-the-guilt breakfast experience.
If you are going all in on a totally lazy Saturday morning, wash it down with the Sunroom Lounge’s espresso martini. The splash of vanilla vodka makes it a breakfast-cocktail winner — as in move over, mimosas. Sunroom Lounge in the Borgata Casino Hotel and Spa, 1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City N.J.; 609-317-1000, borgata.mgmresorts.com
— Elizabeth Wellington
The Bowl de Avena oatmeal at La Jefa.
Bowl de Avena at La Jefa
Mornings at La Jefa are usually reserved for coffee and a little treat, like a hibiscus and raspberry concha or a dulce de leche doughnut dusted with pistachio sugar. But on the first warm Saturday in months, I was feeling alive and craved something heartier. This is where the Bowl de Avena came in, an oatmeal that feels special, much like everything else at the cafe from the family behind the historic Center City Mexican restaurant Tequila’s. The oats are steeped in golden milk, dotted with dollops of ricotta and raspberry jam, and then topped with fresh bananas, green apple, and strawberries. Paired with a natural-process pour-over from Guadalajaran coffee roaster Cafe Estelar, it made for the perfect cozy morning with a book and some sunshine. La Jefa, 1605 Latimer St., 215-475-5500, lajefaphilly.com
Philadelphia’s oldest wine school says a competitor is attempting to erase its existence from the internet through a “cyberbullying” campaign and trademark infringement, according to a federal lawsuit.
In the suit, PhillyWine LLC alleges that Keith Wallace and Alana Zerbe, the husband-and-wife duo behind the Wine School of Philadelphia, took extraordinary steps to confuse customers and piggyback on PhillyWine’s prestige, causing PhillyWine economic and reputational damage. The suit, filed Feb. 26 in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, also accuses Wallace, the founder of the Wine School of Philadelphia, of fabricating his credentials and using aliases to open businesses that promote his school.
Wallace and Zerbe “have made it their mission to destroy” PhillyWine “by attempting to erase its existence and take over its name,” the suit says. The two schools have coexisted since the early 2000s — “although not always peacefully,” the suit notes — but tensions escalated at the end of 2025, when Wallace secured what the suit calls a “fraudulently obtained trademark” for the name “Philly Wine School.”
A screenshot from the Philadelphia Wine School’s website using the Philly Wine School name, which PhillyWine alleges infringed on their brand.
Armed with the trademark, Wallace convinced Instagram to suspend PhillyWine’s account in December, according to the complaint, and he has since attempted to take over the school’s Google business listing and shut down its website. Meanwhile, he was propping up his own business through a “self-legitimizing web of deception,” the suit says.
PhillyWine’s enrollment and attendance have been down since December, co-owner Matt Kirkland said in an interview, declining to share specific figures.
“The name confusion has disrupted student registration and appears to be redirecting traffic” to Wallace’s sites, said Kirkland. “I think there needs to be clarity in naming and clarity for students so they sign up for the classes they think they’re signing up for.”
PhillyWine is asking a federal judge to issue an injunction that would prohibit Wallace from using Philly Wine School, or any other confusingly similar name, and from attempting to disable PhillyWine’s online accounts. Without an injunction, the request said, PhillyWine would face an “existential threat.”
“These attacks must end now, and PhillyWine must be allowed to resume its business under normal conditions without further harassment,” the LLC said in court filings.
The lawsuit seeks profits the Wine School of Philadelphia earned from misappropriating PhillyWine’s name through trademark infringement, unfair competition practices, and false advertising. It also asks a judge to nullify the trademark.
Wallace denied the allegations and characterized the complaint as a way for PhillyWine to “bully” him out of the business he spent decades building.
A wine war ferments
Created by former owner Neal Ewing in 1999, PhillyWine is the city’s only wine educator fully accredited by the Wine & Spirits Education Trust, a nonprofit organization which sets international standards for alcoholic beverage education. PhillyWine is one of 47 programs globally — and the only in the tri-state area — approved to teach the trust’s full wine diploma, which PhillyWine has leveraged to host classes with Drexel and James Madison universities.
The Wine School of Philadelphia, founded in 2001 by Wallace,is not accredited by the Wine & Spirits Education Trust. It hosts wine tastings as well as semester-long sommelier courses using curricula from the National Wine School, which Wallace also founded. About 3,000 people attend Wine School of Philadelphia classes annually, according to Wallace.
In 2019, the education trustsent Wallace a letter asking him to cease comparing his school with PhillyWine on his site, the suit says. Wallace said he had “no idea” if he ever received such a letter.
When Ewing retired in 2022, he sold the business to current co-owners Kirkland, a Penn surgeon, and Noelle Allen, a former banking executive andcertified wine educator. Then, a digital wine war began to ferment.
That August, the school learned that Wallace had claimed the Instagram handle @PhillyWine to “antagonize” Ewing, the suit said, and it had to compromise for the now-defunct @PhillyWineSchool. The account @PhillyWine currently has a photo of Wallace as its profile picture and features videos of Wallace and Zerbe filming their wine podcast.
Wallace denied obtaining the Instagram handle togrind an axe, but acknowledged a rift between the two wine schools. “Everyone knows — including my wife and therapist — that I have a sharp tongue, and I have always been critical of certain ways of [teaching] … but I have never said anything nasty or even a little mean” about PhillyWine, he said. “They just do not like me.”
In late 2024, Wallace filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to trademark “Philly Wine School” for use alongside food and wine classes. He obtained the name in December; it had no prior trademarks.
Themove blindsided PhillyWine’s owners. “We frankly saw no reason and anticipated no need for a reason to try to trademark something,” Kirkland said.
The lawsuit alleges Wallace lied in his trademark application by attesting that the Philly Wine School name “has acquired distinctiveness in the marketplace through nearly two decades of continuous use.” But there is no evidence he used that name on his school’s website before filing the application in November 2024, according to the suit.
Wallace chalked the sudden use of “Philly Wine School” on his website up to pride in having the trademark. “When you get something, you show it off,” he said.
Bringing a ‘bazooka’ to a ‘wine fight’
Once the trademark was issued, Wallace “immediately used the document to inflict cyberbullying on PhillyWine,” the suit said.
Wallace successfully asked Instagram tosuspend PhillyWine’s account, according to the complaint, and has attempted to claim the school’s Google Business profile. He also filed a takedown request with SquareSpace, the host of PhillyWine’s website, and created a Google Maps listing for a “Philly Wine School” at 109 S. 22nd St., the Wine School of Philadelphia’s address. Kirkland said the latter action has led to PhillyWine, which teaches three blocks away at the Fitler Club, receiving negative reviews for classes taken at Wallace’s Wine School of Philadelphia.
“A review like that — where someone posts about us and they’re not our student and have never taken our classes — is direct reputational damage,” said Kirkland. Lawyers representing PhillyWine sent a cease and desist on Dec. 31, asking Wallace to abandon his trademark and “discontinue his efforts to take over” or remove the school’s online accounts,according to documents reviewed by The Inquirer.
Wallace confirmed receiving the cease and desist, but rejected allegations of using the trademark to bully PhillyWine or its owners. Instead, Wallace said, he’s the true victim.
“If they wanted these things, they could’ve done them too,” Wallace said. “We’re nothing but peace, love, and happiness. They just have this tiny little lawsuit, and they filled it with all this nastiness.”
A negative PhillyWine review on SOMM, a website operated by Keith Wallace, owner of The Wine School of Philadelphia.
The lawsuit also alleges that Wallace has been untruthful about his credentials and used aliases to start businesses such as the National Wine School and the website somm.us in order to promote his school. (Wallace said he founded somm.us in 2015 and maintains a relationship with the website, but doesn’t control its ratings or content.)
Wallace’s biography on the Wine School of Philadelphia website previously stated he graduated from University of California Davis and was a professional winemaker in Napa Valley. Neither are true, according to the suit.
Wallace declined to say when he matriculated at or graduated from UC Davis or elaborate on his stint in Napa Valley. UC Davis has no record of a person with Wallace’s name or date of birth ever attending, a representative for the university said via email.
The lawsuit’s allegations, he said, have him fearful for the future of his school.
“They brought a bazooka to a knife fight,” Wallace said. “This isn’t even a knife fight, it’s a wine fight.”
After more than six months of searching, The Stoop Pigeon has finally found its home. The women’s sports hub will be located at the intersection of Broad and Pine Streets — giving Philly fans a view of City Hall, and the perfect place to reminisce on past championship parades.
“It’s a location that people immediately identify with,” said Lori Albright, the managing partner of The Stoop Pigeon. “As soon as we say Broad and Pine, people are like, ‘Oh my God, that’s where I watched the Phillies parade.’”
The Stoop Pigeon has been in the making for a few years. It all started with Jen Leary’s creation in spring 2024: Watch Party PHL, which hosted monthly events at local sports bars to bring fans together and provide a safe and inclusive place to watch women’s sporting events — with the sound on..
Since then, they’ve continued to grow — and so has the city’s women’s sports team, including the announcement of its own WNBA team — and Leary realized it was time for a brick-and-mortar location.
“It’s been truly amazing to go from where we were two-and-a-half years ago when I started doing this,” Leary said. “I could not find a single place in the city showing women’s sports at all, let alone with the sound on, to where we are now — packing places with like 700 people wanting to watch women’s sports. It’s incredible.
“It just shows you that if you give people a space, they will come out and support women’s sports, but you have to give them the opportunity to do that. And we are doing that here in Philly.”
Watch Party PHL founder Jen Leary holds the “Philly is a women’s sports town” shirt that went viral after Aubrey Plaza wore it to a Liberty game.
The women’s sports hub, which will be open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to midnight, will double as a cafe by day and a watch bar at night. The cafe includes partnerships with several Philly-based companies, including coffee from Rival Bros, pastries from Crust Vegan Bakery and Second Daughter, and drinks, including locally brewed beers, ready to drink cocktails, and non-alcoholic beverages, from Sterling Pig Brewery, with whom they previously partnered for a women’s sports themed beer.
They’ll serve a number of items named after women athletes and Philadelphia favorites. Some of the items include: The Dawn Staley latte, the Victory Veggie Burger (named after Victory Brewing), Ora-cini balls (named after Ora Washington), Vivian Shoe-Stringer fries, a KFC pulled-chicken sandwich in honor of Kahleah Copper’s “KFC” nickname, and a Tastykake bread pudding as an homage to the Philadelphia-based snack brand.
“The goal was to have a local take on a menu,” Leary said. “This isn’t going to be a restaurant, but we’re definitely going to have things that will make people want to come back. We want to make sure they enjoy their time with us and stay. So we’re going to have vegetarian options, we’re going to have vegan options, we’re going to have allergy-free options.”
With a number of big sporting events coming to Philly in 2026 — including the MLB All-Star Game, the PGA Championship, and the FIFA World Cup — Leary, Albright, and their partners, Fawn McGee and Megan DiTolla, plan to open in June.
“We really want everyone to feel welcome,” Leary said. “So we want it to be family-friendly. You can bring your kids. The whole reason we’re very intentional about not calling it a bar is because we want people who don’t drink to feel comfortable there.”
When The Stoop Pigeon opens, it will join Marsha’s on South Street, which opened in September, as the latest sign that “Philly is a women’s sports town.”
As we enter the final days of the Philadelphia Flower Show, there’s no better time to break out the rosé. That’s because it’s the only wine category named for a flower, though indirectly.
A rose is a rose in both English and French, but that same word is also the term used in French for the color “pink,” since that is the natural color of roses in the wild. When French winemakers describe pink wines (like this delicate beauty from Provence) as rosé, they are not referring to a particular grape, or even to a grape color. They are using their word for pink as a verb to convey that a wine that would normally have been made as a red wine, due to the dark purple color of its grapes, has instead been “pinked” in the winemaking process to yield a wine style that is much paler and lighter in weight.
The Provence region was the first to begin deliberately “pinking” their wines back in the 16th century for reasons that make perfect sense in retrospect. This sun-bathed region of the south of France is too hot and sunny for growing healthy green grapes for white-winemaking, but is ideal for black grapes that don’t scorch as easily.
The cuisine of Provence is famously dominated by seafood, tomatoes, and other vegetables, though, and this lighter Mediterranean fare is not a great match with big, heavy red wines. The elegant Provencal solution was to press their dark grapes immediately — to prevent the transfer of red wine color, flavor, and tannin into the juice — and then to ferment that pale pink juice slowly in their cool cellars as if it were a white wine.
Today’s Provence rosés are always dry and pale, with a focus on refreshment over flavor intensity. They command higher prices than pink wines made elsewhere. The finest examples are more ethereal than ever, with a silky texture, as with this high-profile example from an estate owned by Brad Pitt. This wine’s subtlety and grace make its aromas difficult to describe — a seamless but understated mix of red apple, white tea, and fresh dragonfruit.
On sale for $19.99 through April 5 (regularly $21.99)
Also available at: Moorestown Super Buy Rite in Moorestown ($18.99; moorestownbuyrite.com), Canal’s Liquors in Pennsauken ($19.91; canalsliquors.com), and Total Wine & More in Wilmington and Claymont, Del. ($21.99; totalwine.com)
Chon Tong Thai Kitchen, the family-run restaurant that brought a joyful, brightly colored space to an unlikely corner of Vine Street, abruptly closed late last month after its owner returned to Thailand. The Central Thai specialist, which opened in 2022, was a favorite of Thai expats in Philly.
Owner Thidarat “Grace” Teekabud, whose great-great-grandmother had been a chef for the fifth King of Siam in the late 1800s, came to Philadelphia in 2019 to learn English. She noticed a void in Philly’s food scene and missed the desserts and snacks she grew up with. Opening the restaurant was her solution. (“Chon Tong” means “golden spoon” in Thai.)
Teekabud did not respond to requests for comment.
The real estate broker for the space at 1439 Vine St. told The Inquirer that the owners had already moved back to Thailand after a quick sale of the business and transfer of the turnkey space.
Hoi Tod is a mussel pancake served over gently stir-fried bean sprouts at Chon Tong.
Though the concept initially focused on desserts, Chon Tong became better known among the area’s Thai student community for its boat noodles, fried items like the mussel-studded hoi tod pancake, tum tod (an inventive fried sweet-and-sour papaya salad), and jay tod (speckled with juicy-sweet corn kernels and crunchy tofu), as well as its crispy pork belly (moo tod nam pla).
The property’s broker said that a Chinese-Japanese fusion restaurant will take Chon Tong’s place.
New York’s ubiquitous seafoam-green painted coffee and matcha cafe chain is headed to Philadelphia.
Blank Street will open its first Philly location at 3603 Walnut Street, joining UPenn’s retail district. It’s expected to open in late summer.
The six-year-old chain is known for its micro-cafe look and automated espresso systems for customers to grab matchas and lattes. And soon, Penn students, faculty and surrounding neighbors will experience the quick service inside the 3,500 square foot cafe.
The Philly location will be one of the largest U.S. cafes on Blank Street’s expansive roster, which includes more than 40 locations in the U.S. and the United Kingdom.
“We’re excited to be getting closer than ever to the UPenn community,” said Vinay Menda, Blank Street co-founder and U.S. managing director in a statement. Giving the company, “the opportunity to invest deeply in design and bring an elevated, hospitality-forward experience to the neighborhood.”
The new Blank Street cafe location at 3603 Walnut Street will be their first in Philly.
Founded in 2020 by Menda and Issam Freiha, Blank Street quickly expanded with New York’s pandemic-induced surge of lowered rent storefronts and private equity financing. But soon, the rapid growth raised scrutiny from skeptics, who saw “Blank Street as an avatar of gentrification and automation” resenting “the use of Wall Street money to compete with local businesses,” reported the New York Times. The cafe chain also has its fans, who lean younger and see the trendy matcha drinks as fashionable — even leading the brand to London Fashion Week this year.
Jason Berry came up to Philadelphia for a Wharton reunion and wound up leaving with a restaurant.
Berry, a 2002 graduate, runs the Washington, D.C.-based Knead Hospitality & Design, with his husband, Michael Reginbogin, a Starr Restaurants alumnus.
Bar and lounge at Mi Vida.
Berry was staying at the Loews hotel during his 2022 reunion weekend when a real estate broker mentioned an available space across the street at National Real Estate Development’s $400 million East Market project. “I said, ‘It’s literally right there — let me go look,’” Berry said last week.
Nearly four years later, Berry and Reginbogin have opened Mi Vida, a splashy Mexican restaurant with moody lighting and rich pops of color, next to the Canopy by Hilton hotel. It’s tucked behind the shuttered Mulherin’s Pizzeria and Iron Hill Brewery (likely to reopen), just off of 12th and Market Streets.
The Philadelphia outpost is the fourth Mi Vida location and the 16th restaurant from Knead since its founding in 2015; most are in or near the District. It’s also five blocks from the former Starr restaurant Washington Square — the space that later became Talula’s Garden — which Reginbogin helped manage two decades ago.
Mi Vida’s menu, developed with culinary director Roberto Santibañez, balances traditional Mexican cooking with contemporary touches. There are about 130 tequilas and mezcals at its expansive, 23-seat bar.
For dinner, especially, Mi Vida seems to be built with groups in mind. A $29 starter called Un Poco de Todo — a platter with huevos rellenos, croquetas de esquites, tacos dorados, empanadas de mariscos, and pork chicharrones — is aimed at three people. There are enchiladas, queso fundido, taquitos, and seafood dishes such as aguachile. Berry said per-person check averages are about $50, plus tax and tip.
Enchiladas de jaiba at Mi Vida.
There are at least two splurges: the pasilla chili- and coffee-marinated Roseda Farms rib-eye ($69 for two) and a 40-ounce Roseda Farms tomahawk served with charred onions and chiles toreados for $149.
Mi Vida serves lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch, with weekday happy hour from 2 to 6 p.m. Early response has been encouraging, he said.
“We’ve had a lot of nurses coming in from Jefferson [Hospital] after work, which is wonderful to see,” Berry said. (A group of managers from Starr Restaurants was spotted dining there last week — logical, since El Vez is three blocks away.)
The entrance to Mi Vida in Philadelphia, Pa., on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026.
Reginbogin oversees Knead’s designs, working with architects. The Philadelphia location includes a private dining room and an enclosed patio-style loggia with seating for about 60 guests, plus heaters, fans, and drop-down curtains to extend the dining season. The dining room also features a live-edge communal table and woven chairs, elements introduced in some of the group’s newer locations.
Berry and Reginbogin have another Philadelphia spot — a casual Tex-Mex restaurant called Mi Casa — due to open toward the end of the year at 3151 Market St., part of a rapidly developing corridor of offices and life-sciences buildings in University City.
Berry said developers were also trying to interest them in the Mulherin’s space, which has been empty since February 2025. Knead’s portfolio includes a variety of concepts, including Succotash (Southern), Bistro du Jour (French), and the Grill (wood-fired American). The Mi Vida concept — which he said is the group’s most scalable — also reflects his own background in Mexican cuisine: Before launching Knead, Berry spent about a decade with “elevated fiesta” chain Rosa Mexicano, where he served as chief operating officer during the brand’s national expansion out of New York.
Berry described an expansion to Philadelphia as “practical — it’s a two-hour drive, easy to get to, and a market we understand and respect,” he said. “And the food scene is fantastic. What doesn’t work for one of our concepts might work for another. It’s a market we’d like to keep growing in.”
Mi Vida, 1150 Ludlow St. Hours: 11:30 a.m. 4 p.m. weekdays (lunch); 4-10 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and 4 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday (dinner); and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekends (brunch). Happy hour: 2 to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday. Reservations via OpenTable.
