Feeding Frenzy

Restaurants opening, closing and pending

by Drew Lazor

>> NOW SEATING

Café Hausbrandt's Massimo Taurisano, wife Carrie Lapp and two other partners spent last week opening Academia, a cafe poised to further preach the gospel of Italian coffee to the droopy-eyed masses. Hausbrandt beans are Academia's cornerstone, but the extensive panini and pastry menus are nothing to shake a weird gloved Euro finger at. Two more are on the way: a Marketplace Design Center outpost should open in a few weeks, and a Penn Square location will be ready by April. Bite This: Panini offerings include the Giusto, cured beef, goat cheese, tomato and olive oil.

>> WAITING LIST

Ian Moroney and Hillary Bor, the couple behind acclaimed BYOB Pumpkin, say they'll have this neighborhoody deli/market ready to go by March 1. A welcome addition to an area that mostly boasts coffeehouses and takeouts, it'll offer bagels, homemade gravlax and coffee in the mornings; there'll also be a deli case filled with antipasto-type grub and semi-prepared foods (crab cakes, mac 'n' cheese, etc.). Bite This: Moroney's sandwich menu will feature choices like smoked trout, lettuce and tomato and warm roast beef with celery root remoulade.

Soft-opening Feb. 19, this 48-seat spot looks to offer more than its buzzed-about 45-bottle rum list. Owner Adam Kanter will be bartending and helping out head chef Patricia Galer behind the line. Her 26-item tapas menu includes a handful of dishes that count the titular liquor as an ingredient (e.g. sirloin tips with a rum demiglaze). Bite This: Kanter's favorite plates are a Chilean sea bass with an avocado cream glaze and the amazing-sounding habañero grilled cheese.

Jennifer Haver, who once managed New Hope's Cravings, hopes her 40-seat all-day cafe will provide relief for South Streeters sick of the pizza-cheesesteak-pizza-cheesesteak grind. For breakfast, expect coffee, egg sandwiches and danishes; lunch will feature deli-style sandwiches, panini and wraps; come night, fondue will be the focus. Everything should be ready to go by mid-March.