Staff Blog
WEEKEND FOOD NEWS: Apothecary Bar + Lounge, Prive, Sassafras
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Check the logo! Details on Apothecary Bar + Lounge (102 S. 13th St.) are still scarce, but here's some stuff we recently heard about the project, a collaboration between restaurateur Bruno Pouget (of Surf City, N.J.'s Blue) and Philly's URBANSPACEDEVELOPMENT.
- Blue chef Steven Cameron (who was recently nominated for "Best Mid-Atlantic Chef" by the James Beard Foundation) will offer a small-plate menu in the "bespoke cocktail lab," which'll look something like a modernized old-school apothecary shoppe.
- Pouget says that NYC mixologists, "liquid libertines" The Tippling Bros. and an actual pharmacist have been brought in to develop the drink selections, which'll run the gamut from custom "elixirs" to classic cocktails.
- There will be a rooftop deck.
- apothecarylounge.com should be live by next week.
- Right now, they're sticking with "spring" in terms of an opening. Since they're currently staffing, we're going to guess early May.
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Down in Old City, we've got Privé ("private" in French) going in at 246 Market Street, former home of Delilah Winder's Bluezette. Owners are Nick and Billy Lavdas, cousins who own West Berlin, N.J.'s Victory Lane and Haddonfield, N.J.'s Corner Bistro, respectively. Chef is Egg Harbor Township native Peter Karapanagiotis, who's worked the kitchens at Buddakan and Brasserie Perrier. (He's also a business student at Drexel. Where does dude find the time?!)
Karapanagiotis' menu will be "Mediterranean tapas" — heavy Greek influence, with French, Spanish and Italian touches mixed in. Look for small plates like short rib-stuffed peppers, braised calamari pizza and traditional Greek dishes using imported cheeses like feta and halloumi.
The two-story, 150-seat space should be open by May.
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Recently, we reported that Old City's long-running Sassafras (48 S. Second St.) would be converted into an Ugly Mug by Cozco Management's Andy Cosenza (Glam). Turns out we were misinformed; that is not the case (Cozco has not returned numerous phone calls). So what IS going into the space? Easy: Sassafras.
Donal McCoy, who owns the nearby Serrano/Tin Angel, and longtime friend Neill Laughlin (Copabanana, Eulogy) are "bringing the old girl back." They closed on the sale this past Monday. McCoy, who actually tended bar there about six years ago, says they're cleaning and sprucing up the 30-year-old space and returning it to its "former glory." The eclectic, international menu will stay — the famous lamb burger will make a comeback. Along with ostrich, buffalo and maybe even yak burgers. (Yes, yak burgers.) They'll have about 30 beers by the bottle, six on tap and a big selection of Irish whiskeys. (Both partners hail from the Emerald Isle.) McCoy is confident he'll have it open by the end of March.
Additional news on these places and more in the 3.13 edition of Feeding Frenzy.
[...] While we were drinking our faces off this weekend at various Beer Week events, Drew Lazor of the City Paper was burning the midnight oil. He has scoopage on new drinky lounge Apothecary, word on Bluezette’s replacement Prive and - lo! - news on the rebirth of Old City stalwart Sassafras. [...]
[...] and chef Peter Karapanagiotis, is set to open on or around Monday, Aug. 25. (We first mentioned it here.)Details, a menu preview and more photos after the jump.The two-story space (formerly Bluezette) in [...]