July 21-27, 2005

cityspace

HIYYYYYY-YA!

spring forward: Haru may have roots in the world of Benihana, but don't expect the same experience. Photo By: Michael T. Regan

New York's Asian fusion lounge Haru chops off a piece of Old City.

by A.D. Amorosi

When someone tells you the Aoki family is coming, the first thing you think is Japanese men in high white hats getting all teppanyaki on your ass; slicing and dicing tabletop stir-fry with a knife-wielding grace to match a John Woo ballet of blood.

No. Kevin Aoki may be the son of Rocky Aoki, the internationally known chef and restaurantrepreneur behind Benihana, but despite the pedigree, that ain't happening at Haru, the Asian fusion lounge owned by Benihana Inc., of which Kevin is marketing vice president. Not at the Harus in Manhattan, not the Haru retrofitted for the corner of Third and Chestnut streets at a former bank that awaited construction since May 2003.

"Because Haru is an urban concept that attracts young professionals on a frequent level, we looked at markets with characteristics similar to Manhattan," says Aoki. "From our reputation's standpoint, people would know our name in Philadelphia. We would attract the same types of audiences as we have in NYC."

Within the theology of the restaubar economy, Haru ("spring" in Japanese) is part and parcel of the Japanese/Asian cultural influx; a curiosity Aoki likens to the popularity of everything from Nintendo to Lost in Translation. "The U.S. is striving for more sophistication from Japanese culture. I think Haru meets that challenge."

Philadelphia has already met that challenge with success stories like Pod, Morimoto and Buddakan. Yet in the same way that Stephen Starr longed to reach into Manhattan, Aoki wanted to enter the Philadelphia market. Haru's chic visage means one more stop where local hipster/doofuses can suck down cold saki and ebi.

There are two sides of this restaurant lounge, designed by Chris Smith, and you can enter through either side and never know the other one exists.

The bank side of Haru — its primary dining half housed in the old Borie Brothers Bank/C L Borie Counting House — looks a lot like my succulent walnut-sauce-topped seared tuna; its tannish tones and wasabi green guiding the eye. The lean stark design of Haru's sushi bar/lounge side is black and glass-lined with brown accents. It's a simple glass tower reinforced by stark black metal and backed with curtains made of ball bearings. With its dark walnut wood tables and host stand, low ebony ceilings and stainless-steel sushi bar, the look is less daunting but still effortlessly moody. For this minimalism and warmth, you can blame architect Tony Chi since that is what he brought to previous Harus.

Turn around and you fall fast witness to the light of the high-ceilinged, ornately-molded room, a space that seems to be where Smith's earthy look of spring took over. Matching the immenseness of executive chef Harumi Kongaya's "Texas-sized cuts," the open-air dining area is lined with edamame-green painted walls and mahogany wood slats; still with the bank's arched indentations throughout. This gives the green, white and clear-toned room a mosque-like feeling; a wide religious vibe nicely aided by the baseball-mitt brown leather seating in banquette, booth and chef-table seating form and the '60s-ish log-flume hanging light fixtures. White columns sprout to include white heating-vent blossoms. A smoked-glass partition removes the diner from the center-squared bar; itself a laminated mahogany and smooth stone top, backed with a white-light box and a glass wall shelved with tiny white candles.

The glass and candles continue upstairs — in glass banister fashion — to Haru's coolest feature: a seemingly small balcony area with a working fireplace, corner brown-leather banquettes and a divan. Doesn't seem like much, but look behind and you're neck deep in another long, low-ceilinged, wide lounge — itself the top half of the low sushi bar immediately below. Here, general manager Howard Hou promises a DJ will spin at least twice a month to suck in the kids on the Buddha Bar tip.

"I moved from one of our Manhattan Harus to be here," says Hou, coolly genial yet excited by this new location. "This promises to be a different animal."

Haru, 241-243 Chestnut St., 215-861-8990.