Feeding Frenzy

Restaurants opening, closing and pending

by Drew Lazor

NOW SEATING

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Otolith Sustainable Seafood, 143-147 W. Girard Ave., 215-426-4266, otolithonline.com

Open for close to three weeks on the corner of Girard and Mascher, Otolith Sustainable Seafood is an ambitious new venture from husband and wife Murat Aritan and Amanda Bossard (not pictured — those are their kids, Andre and Bella). The couple, both of whom have extensive experience in the industry (Aritan fishes out of Alaska), hope to raise the local profile of sustainable seafood — products caught in American waters by those taking population count, waste, transportation/fuel costs and so forth into consideration — by offering hard-to-find fresh-frozen stuff like smoked black cod, pink shrimp, spot prawns, Bering Sea scallops and five types of salmon.

The owner of this new restaurant/bar/club wants to stay incognito — but that'll be hard considering the high-profile nature of the concept he's rolled out at Third and Girard. The space has four floors: 50 seats for dining and drinking on the ground level; salsa dancing on the second floor (free lessons every week); a private lounge on the third; and an open-air deck on the fourth. Chef Paulo Carbajal (Coyote Crossing) has crafted a menu that features a convergence of Cuban and Mexican ingredients. Specialties include the aguacate relleno, an avocado stuffed with shrimp marinated in chipotle cream salsa; achiote-glazed chicken; and the Pargo Tricolor, a red snapper filet pan-seared in olive oil and garlic and served over Q-Ba's tri-colored sauce.

NoLibs' Almanac is expanding its selection. John Manhardt's market now features a freezer case to accommodate local meat products they're sourcing through the Lancaster FarmFresh Co-Op — bison sausage from Quarryville's C.L. Bison Farm, whole chickens from Friendly Farms and lamb from Lititz's Meadowrun Farm are among the new offerings. They're also carrying ground turkey, pot pies, chicken sausage and more from Jersey's Griggstown Quail Farm; in September, they'll begin taking cut-to-order meat requests from Green Meadow Farm in Gap. They've got a line on sustainable seafood through Otolith (see above) and ice cream from Chilly Philly and Bassett's. Manhardt has also tweaked Almanac's zoning, allowing them to offer hot prepared foods in addition to the market's fresh sandwiches, soups and salads.