Feeding Frenzy

Restaurants opening, closing and pending

by Drew Lazor

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Published: Sep 4, 2007

>> NOW SEATING

Bill and Steve Wood's Knock, a dapper restaurant/lounge, looks to reverse the fortune of a location that's housed a series of drudgy eateries. They're currently on soft-open hours (2 p.m.-2 a.m.), but the plan is to serve lunch, dinner and Saturday and Sunday brunch. After 11 p.m., the dining room seamlessly converts into a lounge thanks to kaleidoscoping tables that drop down to cocktail level. Chef Steven Huey's menu is nominally American with a few global touches. Bite This: Some of Huey's specialties include pork chops served with chocolate sauce and herbed biscotti, and kaboblike sosaties.

Don't let that dead ol' longhorn skull dangling above the bar fool you — Casey Parker and Joe Gunn's bilevel joint is officially alive and kicking. JP's, which opened to a seriously packed house last Wednesday, offers 70-some-odd bottles in addition to choice draughts (Anchor Steam's Liberty Ale, Ace Fermented Pear Cider). Bite This: Trevor Budny's straightforward Mexi menu offers up your choice of meat (chicken roja or verde, plancha-grilled beef, carnitas) in taco, sope, burrito or nacho form.

>> WAITING LIST

Michael Suh says he'll have his third restaurant running by later this month. This installment will be slightly bigger than his Center City and West Philly locations, with room for 25 inside and 10 on the sidewalk. Suh is well-aware of the competition — he'll soon be neighbors with Anjou, and places like Uzu, Haru and Zento are lurking just around the corner. What separates his stuff? "We're more of a grab-and-go-type place, to get a quick bite at an affordable price," he says. Bite This: New menu additions include the volcano roll, soft-shell crab, eel, masago, avocado and scallion topped with two kinds of sauce.

>> LITTLE VITTLES

Brandy Hartley, booking agent for Johnny Brenda's (1201 N. Frankford Ave., 215-739-9684), says they're a few steps away from securing an outdoor seating license from L&I, so diners and showgoers alike can enjoy food and drink along Girard before the weather turns. Elsewhere, Hartley hints at some tweaks to their noted pork sandwich, currently pleasing Iggles fans at JB's stand at the northeast corner of the Linc. "Sharper provolone was definitely mentioned," she reveals. Ooh.

 

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