Is this the splashiest restaurant of the year? | Let’s Eat
Cool treats with ube, how to stay cool while dining outside, let’s catch the finale of a BYOB, and read about a new bar coming to South Philly.
Chef Nicholas Bazik wants to emphasize the special in special-occasion dining, and he shares his vision for Provenance, opening in two weeks. Also this week, we’ll tell you about the tasty tuber called ube and how to stay cool while dining outside. Read on for word of a new restaurant in South Jersey, a dinner deal in South Philly, and exclusive restaurant news.
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At Provenance, a restaurant that ‘isn’t meant to be full of regulars’
More than two years after getting the keys, seasoned chef Nicholas Bazik has opened the reservation book of Provenance. In his debut as a restaurateur on Aug. 7, Bazik wants to make special-occasion dining special again — not just for customers (here’s the menu) but for his workers, with four-day work weeks — as he prepares to channel the French masters with a custom Molteni stove at his atelier in Society Hill.
Ube is having a sweet moment
From slushies to maritozzi, the sweet purple yam known as ube — pronounced “OO-bay” — is having a moment in Philly’s dining scene, driven by the boom of Filipino cuisine in the city. Hira Qureshi found seven outlets for the vibrant ingredient.
The finale is near for Effie’s, closing after 27 years
Effie Bouikidis is preparing to pack it in at Effie’s, her quaint Greek BYOB, after a 27-year run. She says that she has a buyer lined up at 1127 Pine St. The last night could be as soon as this Saturday, but the timeline remained up in the air as of Tuesday evening. (Check Effie’s Facebook for updates.) Bouikidis, 55, has been a part of Washington Square West since the early 1980s, when her father, Paul, opened Pine Street Pizza at 12th and Pine. It closed in 2015, six years after his death. (That space is now Kiddo.)
Effie’s debuted in 1997, with Bouikidis running the front of the house and her mother, Loula, in the kitchen. When Loula took ill and retired just before the pandemic, the business fell on Bouikidis. “I’m tired,” she told me — a familiar refrain from longtime restaurateurs these days. She has an agreement of sale for the building, including the 65-seat restaurant, which has a nice patio out back. (The buyer has a whole new concept planned, she said.) Well-wishers have been stopping by since she posted of her impending closure on Facebook on July 18. What’s next for her: She wants to get into interior design.
Be cool when dining outside
Remember how, all winter, everyone clamored for warm days and outdoor dining? We got the warmer weather all right. But it’s now too darn hot on many days to enjoy time outside. Restaurateurs tell Henry Savage how the smotheringly hot weeks since June have translated to less revenue, shorter shifts, work hours, and fewer outdoor tables.
P.S. If you’re looking for cooler outdoor options, seek out fans or misters: Libertee Grounds’ mini-golf course pop-up on Eakins Oval has misters, as does Morgan’s Pier at Penn’s Landing. Liberty Point, Harper’s Garden, Juno, and Lola’s Garden are among those offering fans.
Meet Broad Street Love’s new chef
Joncarl Lachman, who owns Dankbaar and Winkel, is the new culinary director at Broad Street Love, formerly Broad Street Ministry (315 S. Broad St.). The nonprofit world? Two years ago, as Ukrainian refugees were pouring into Poland, Lachman, along with Olga Sorzano of Baba’s Brew, entrepreneur John Carne, and Mike Strauss, then of Mike’s BBQ, flew over to help Jose Andres’ World Central Kitchen to volunteer. “We came back from that feeling that you don’t do something like that without having it affect you,” Lachman told me. “I wanted to work toward maybe getting into that kind of life.” He’s been involved in Broad Street Love’s Kitchen Takeover program, which provides meals to hundreds of people a day.
Scoops
Lillian’s, a cocktail bar that will host chefs for pop-ups, is on its way to the corner of 19th and Mifflin Streets in South Philadelphia, perhaps in late fall or winter. Bartender Sam Ahern, previously at Fitler Club and Cicala, plans to offer a full bar and light snacks/charcuterie on the regular in what she calls a cozy, Euro-influenced space with five seats at the bar and about 20 for dining, plus outdoors. “Lillian” was Ahern’s great-great-grandmother. Story goes that she ran a speakeasy in North Jersey, and if you had no cash, she’d accept jewelry — hence the nickname “Diamond Lil.” Follow along on Instagram.
Viggiano’s, which opened in June 2000 in a former funeral home in Conshohocken, has closed, per its Facebook account. Owners Mark and Lisa Viggiano have decamped to their Jersey Shore location, Viggiano’s on Sunset. Meanwhile, the Conshy restaurant space, at 16 E. First Ave., is up for lease.
Restaurant report
Jalsa Indian Kitchen. After 4½ years as a takeout in Laurel Springs, Jalsa has shuffled ownership a bit and morphed into a full-service Indian BYOB in nearby Somerdale’s CooperTowne Center, near the Walmart and an Applebee’s. The main design feature is a 25-foot video screen showing scenes from all over India, while a wide screen on an opposite wall was showing flames when I stopped.
The menu is also all over the map — northern and western India in particular — which partner Sam Patel told me reflects the backgrounds of the chefs. You can get staples, such as butter chicken and chicken Biryani, curries, and assorted chaat, but I’d also steer you to the dabeli (a soft bun filled with masala peanut and tamarind-date chutney, two to an order for $10), the reshmi kebab (marinated chicken cubes in cashew nut paste, Himalayan salt, and spices, $18), the generously stuffed onion-sage naan ($5), and creamy saffron rice kheer ($10). Wrap up with paan ($3), a betel leaf filled with fennel, slaked lime, fruits, date-cardamom, rose petal, and saffron, that is rolled and wrapped at the front counter.
Jalsa Indian Kitchen, 711 Evesham Rd., Somerdale, N.J. Hours: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday for lunch, and 5-9:30 p.m. Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday and 5-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday for dinner. Closed Monday.
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Paffuto.Eight months in, Paffuto chefs/partners Jake Loeffler, Daniel Griffiths, and Sam Kalkut are dipping their collective toes into dinner service on Wednesdays and Thursdays. The South Philly storefront, formerly Bibou, takes on an even homier vibe as the sun dips over Eighth Street.
They’re ramping things up with their dinner menu, which has seven starters, two pastas, and four entrees, including cauliflower picatta, skate Milanese, monkfish cacciatore, and a strip loin (the top price of $27). Above are the poached mussels ($12, topped with mussel aioli, tomato puree, a brioche chip and blue basil); below is spaghetti alla chitarra ($18, mixed with bottarga, olive oil, and chives).
Black bass crudo ($18) in white wine with Rainier cherry and Fresno chili brought together sweet, salty, and spicy. The burst tomato ($15), served with sliced herb focaccia, was a dreamy explosion of summer over a bed of whipped ricotta.
Paffuto, 1009 S. Eighth St. Dinner hours for now: 5-9:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday.
Briefly noted
Milk Jawn will open its Northern Liberties shop (946 N. Second St.) at 6 p.m. Friday with free ice cream cups for the first 100 people in line.
Bar Palmina, a zero-proof bar, has set its soft-opening at 1306 N. Front St. for Aug. 10.
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Bart’s Bagels’ South Philadelphia shop opened last weekend at 769 S. 10th St., across from Dante & Luigi’s at 10th and Catharine. Same menu as the West Philadelphia flagship.
Fork in Old City will close from Thursday through Aug. 6 for renovations, notably the replacement of the bar.
Hi-Lo Taco will partner with Milagro on Friday for a National Tequila Day neighborhood barbecue from 6-9 p.m. with cocktails, pit-smoked brisket, sausage, and ribs, and giveaways.
❓Pop quiz
Krispy Kreme has sold off its stake in what Philadelphia-based company?
A) Tastykake
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B) Rita’s
C) Wawa
D) Insomnia Cookies
Find out if you know the answer.
Ask Mike anything
What’s going on at Sixth and Spring Garden Streets? Will that be an Amazon Fresh? — Chad G.
I got this note late last week, did a bit of digging, and noticed that an entity called “Amazon Retail LLC” was behind a state liquor-license application at this address, next door to the new Carson apartment building. An Amazon spokesperson would not confirm, but the distinctive vertical lime green lines on the facade point to an Amazon Fresh market.
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