Feeding Frenzy

Restaurants opening, closing and pending

by Drew Lazor

Now Seating

Han Chiang, who's opened hit Han Dynasty restaurants in Exton and Royersford, brought his aggressively authentic Szechuan concept to Old City in late December. This new location features a large menu broken down by cooking style — cumin-crusted meat and seafood; triple-flash-fried pork or beef; stir fries with shredded long hot peppers; "Kung Pao style" plates done up with peanuts, celery and hot peppers. (Chiang is particularly fond of his dry pot dishes, which hit the maximum rating on his 10-point heat-level scale.) They'll have a liquor license come March or April. Right now hours are 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. More on Meal Ticket.

Marc Vetri's third Philly restaurant, a casual paean to the neighborhood trattorie of Rome, opens for dinner today. (Come March 1, they'll start lunch daily, too.) Amís, which means "friends" in Bergamasque, the dialect of Vetri's Lombardy training grounds (we know, we know, that's not near the Eternal City), is the most laid-back of the chef's ventures, with a straight-up menu built around housemade pastas and salumi. Chef Brad Spence will run the show here, cooking unfussy dishes like gnocchi alla Romana with oxtail ragu; veal cannelloni with porcini béchamel; halibut with tomatoes, raisins and pine nuts; and beef carpaccio with gorgonzola sauce. (For the full menu, visit Meal Ticket.)

Allison Lubert and Heather Esposito's new bakery specializes in sweets designed for people with any number of dietary restrictions. Their lineup, which comprises breakfast-y stuff like mufffins, loaves and breads, as well as dessert items like cookies, cakes, cupcakes and blondies, is entirely vegan and free of gluten, soy, eggs, nuts, dairy products and refined sugars. (Check out the duo's spin on a magic bar, a graham cracker-like crust coated with chocolate and topped with coconut.) Sweet Freedom will also be pouring La Colombe coffee. They'll be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day but Monday.

Little Vittles

Thoreau (1033 Spring Garden St.), a new vegetarian restaurant from chef Mike Jackson of Southampton's Blue Sage, will open Feb. 2. >> Michael "Challahman" Dolich of Four Worlds Bakery is working on a new baking/retail space at 4634 Woodland Ave. in West Philly. He hopes to open in April or May. >> Former Flyers captain Keith Primeau says his Bain's Deli location at Broad and Lombard, originally scheduled for a mid-January opening, should see a debut sometime in February.