Feeding Frenzy

Restaurants opening, closing and pending

by Drew Lazor

NOW SEATING

Opening this Monday, April 5, Wishing Well is a joint venture from longtime friends Chris Martino and Carmen Cappello, the latter returning to his hometown after years cooking in Atlanta. Their redo of Pat Bombino's opened the space considerably, making room for a mahogany bar with 12 taps and plenty of high-top seating (the spot can accommodate a little more than 60). Cappello is offering bar and dinner menus; aside from his signature egg- and scrapple-topped SHAME Burger, he'll do eats like beef/jalapeño pierogies, black-eyed pea hummus and pork osso buco with mascarpone polenta. They'll be open daily from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m.

WAITING LIST

Filling the first and second floors of the 10 Rittenhouse building, Philly's Serafina location (there are five in NYC) is up for a fall 2010 opening. The restaurant, which specializes in Northern Italian fare (a focus on pasta, risotto, grilled meat/fish and pizza), will have room for about 100, with views out onto the street from 18th and Sansom, plus outdoor seating. Apps will run $7 to $15 and entrées will range from $17 to $28.

Ryan Pollock, a former architect, plans on unveiling this café on Fairmount in mid-April. He'll use LeBus breads and Boar's Head meats to craft specialty sandwiches, all of which are named after U.S. cities.

SquareBurger, Stephen Starr's burger/shake shack on Franklin Square (Sixth and Race streets), has reopened for the season.

Adsum is the name of the collegiately polished restaurant (think chalkboard menus and old-school lab tables doubling as guest seating) former Lacroix chef Matthew Levin is opening at Fifth and Bainbridge in May or June. Levin envisions the restaurant as a neighborhood bistro featuring down-to-earth grub.