Feeding Frenzy

Restaurants opening, closing and pending

by Drew Lazor

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Published: Jul 25, 2007

City Grange, a 70-seat eatery geared toward a complete reliance on local, sustainable products, will soft-open Aug. 6 in preparation for its grand opening in early September. Chef Chris Lichtman says his menu will feature American regional and comfort dishes, and he stresses that the restaurant's mission statement is serious — in other words, this isn't just a bandwagon reaction to the "buy fresh, buy local" philosophy steadily gaining ground in Philly. "Everyone here, from the servers to the beverage director, feels deeply about promoting local cuisines," he says. Yep, beverage director — they have a liquor license and will serve choice beers and wines from local breweries and vineyards. Bite This: Menu items will include a rustic casserole with heirloom tomato, eggplant, onion, shaved fennel, basil, thyme and local goat cheese; and corn fritters, a staple of Amish cuisine.

Down Town Club chef Felix Maietta recently filled us in about his new project, a "hybrid" market/cafe set to debut in early fall. The retail space, which will span around 3,000 square feet, looks to feature several areas — display cases with already-prepped entrees for takeout (pasta dishes, gourmet pizzas, panini), a bakery section and a sitdown space with a communal table. The market half will stock upscale dry goods and supplies. Union's tagline —"It's all about you and the food" — is bolstered by Maietta's dedication to local, sustainable goods.

Ian Moroney and Hilary Bor of Pumpkin (1713 South St., 215-545-4448) know what it's like running a restaurant in the dead of summer — usually busy dining rooms can resemble that one relatively disconcerting part of Vanilla Sky where Tom Cruise is all by his lonesome in Times Square. Desolate. That's part of the reason they're offering the stealiest deal we've come across in some time. Visit on Sundays for a five-course dinner — that's a soup, an appetizer, a salad, a main course and a dessert — for $30. Yes, $30. Moroney's offerings change every week, but he's recently whipped up stuff like mussels in a white wine saffron sauce, a baby arugula salad with shaved rhubarb and toasted almonds, and grilled hanger steak and potato puree in a shallot sauce.

 

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