{"id":316093,"date":"2026-10-28T14:26:07","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T14:26:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/316093\/"},"modified":"2026-10-28T14:26:07","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T14:26:07","slug":"a-look-inside-phillys-most-exciting-new-bar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/316093\/","title":{"rendered":"A look inside Philly’s most exciting new bar"},"content":{"rendered":"

Field Day is the most-talked-about bar to open this year. Not only does Jenn Ladd take you inside<\/a>, but she also tells you about its mastermind and his mission<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Lots to cover this week. <\/p>\n

But first, allow me to remind you that The Inquirer Food Festival<\/a> is headed toward a sellout. It\u2019s Nov. 14 at the Fillmore. Tickets and details are here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Also in this edition:<\/p>\n

Out from the shadows: The mysterious cheesesteak and pizza purveyor known as Backyard Cravings has gone legit<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Indian delight: Craig LaBan finds a winner in South Jersey<\/a>. <\/p>\n

86 the diner: Zoto\u2019s has shut off the lights after 53 years<\/a>.<\/p>\n

News and gossip: Read on for news of a new Italian restaurant in East Market<\/a>, a new home for Kouklet, a local bar on its way to a small town in South Jersey, and a matcha cafe adding a third location.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Mike Klein<\/a><\/p>\n

If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Field Day, now open in Northern Liberties, showcases 45 cocktails built around regional ingredients, from birch bark to foraged mushrooms. Jenn Ladd takes us inside the ambitious new bar from James Beard Award-winning bartender Danny Childs and his wife, Katie. Food? There\u2019s Beard-nominated chef Melissa McGrath\u2019s tomato pie, steamed clams, and Lebanon bologna sandwiches<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s more: Jenn traveled to Tales of the Cocktail with Danny Childs to explore his Slow Drinks philosophy and mission to change cocktail culture<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udf78 Check out our picks for Philly\u2019s best cocktail bars<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a small miracle that Sal Burgese got away with running a social-media-star cheesesteak and sandwich pop-up out of his backyard. He is now aboveboard with Backyard Cravings, whose shop opened last weekend. Read on for his only-in-Philly story<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Steve and JoAnne Zoto can talk all day about the diner business. When I wrote last week about Zoto Diner\u2019s closing after 53 years, I had room for only so many of stories they shared. Here\u2019s one more I\u2019m sure you\u2019ll enjoy: <\/p>\n

During the gas shortages of the 1970s, when business slowed, the Zotos had fallen behind on their loan. Hats in hands, the couple went next door to their lender, Union National Bank & Trust Co. Founded by local farmers and businessmen, it was a classic small-town bank. The Zotos handed over the diner\u2019s keys, and the bankers handed them right back. \u201cWe don\u2019t know how to run a restaurant,\u201d Steve recalled them saying. \u201cHang in there.\u201d The bank, now Univest, suspended their payments until they got back on their feet. \u201cToday, that would never happen,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Read about the couple\u2019s remarkable run and what\u2019s next<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A fiery goat curry made with 27 spices is the draw at Nagpuri Saoji in Voorhees, where chef Swapna Sagdeo showcases the little-seen flavors of Central India. Critic Craig LaBan finds plenty more to savor, including crisp tapioca fritters, rustic flatbreads, and richly flavored vegetarian dishes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Legal woes are making headlines in Philadelphia\u2019s restaurant scene. A jury ordered Fearless Restaurants to pay $200,000 in a sexual harassment case<\/a>, while Forsythia chef Christopher Kearse faces assault charges<\/a> and nearly $925,000 in bank judgments over allegedly unpaid loans<\/a> for both Forsythia and his cocktail bar, Known Associates. <\/p>\n

Every part of the chicken gets its due in dancerobot\u2019s $35 Wednesday-only yakitori special, from crispy skin and glazed wings to liver mousse and rich broth. Kiki Aranita calls the elaborate spread a tasty and remarkable bargain<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Scoops<\/p>\n

Dave Goldman and his wife, Tara, who own Urban Village Brewing Co. in Northern Liberties, have a project closer to home in Williamstown, Gloucester County. They\u2019re hoping for a fall 2027 opening of Goldie\u2019s<\/a> (rendering shown above), a neighborhood restaurant and bar with an English-pub feel, at Main and Hall Streets. It\u2019s a ground-up project, on the former site of the town\u2019s public library. The brick building, totaling slightly more than 5,000 square feet, will have a 60-seat bar area, a similarly sized dining room, an upstairs mezzanine with a small bar and room for 60, and a 32-seat front porch. Groundbreaking is scheduled for December.<\/p>\n

Del\u2019s II at Front and Tasker Streets in Pennsport has been shuttered for nearly 25 years. And now, news: Joe Dougherty and associates from Waltz, the homey Italian newcomer<\/a> in deep South Philly, have bought the pile. Plans? \u201cA retro-style diner serving breakfast and lunch is the leading idea,\u201d he told me, \u201cbut nothing is finalized.\u201d Stay tuned.<\/p>\n

Donburi, Japanese rice bowls topped with meat, seafood, or vegetables, will be the specialty at Nomu Nomu Don, an 18-seat BYOB opening in mid-November at 2026 Frankford Ave. in Fishtown-Kensington. Owner Sarah Qi, who also owns Cake & Joe two doors away, plans a menu featuring bluefin tuna, salmon five ways, grilled eel, and steak, with premium additions such as uni and caviar; 10 counter seats; and lunch and dinner daily.<\/p>\n

Kouklet, the Brazilian bakery from Mardhory Santos-Cepeda, is moving up East Passyunk Avenue, where it will become an all-day cafe. It\u2019s taking an auspicious location<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Restaurant report<\/p>\n

Corte, an Italian restaurant from the team behind Corio in University City, opened yesterday in East Market. Here\u2019s a view from inside.<\/a><\/p>\n

Front Street Cafe<\/a> in Fishtown-Kensington is being sold, and the new owner is the Washington, D.C., group that runs the Michelin-acclaimed Tiger Fork. Here\u2019s what we know<\/a>.<\/p>\n

William Penn Inn in Gwynedd, scene of an Oct. 9 fire<\/a>, is on its way back. Its website<\/a> says it\u2019s now serving buffet lunch and dinner, pending a return to full dining room service.<\/p>\n

Bower Cafe<\/a> at 1213 Walnut St. will close Saturday after three years. Owner Thane Wright, citing stiff competition in the neighborhood, low foot traffic, and \u201castronomical\u201d rent, will carry on with his shop at Penn Medicine in University City. He\u2019s also developing a restaurant with his brother in Point Breeze.<\/p>\n

Hart of Catering<\/a> at 21st and Sansom Streets will close its public cafe at the end of business Sunday after four years. Kevin Hart will expand his off-site catering business into the cafe. Hart said he would continue to offer free community dinners on Thursday evenings.<\/p>\n

Amanda Shulman and Alex Kemp of Her Place, My Loup, and Pine Street Grill have applied for a liquor license<\/a> at the shuttered Barclay Pharmacy at 18th and Spruce Streets. The timeline is unknown, and they\u2019re playing the concept close to their chefs\u2019 jackets. I would not be shocked to see Her Place move there, given that Shulman\u2019s supper club is busting at the seams on Sansom Street and that the license is in the \u201cHer Place\u201d name.<\/p>\n

Briefly noted<\/p>\n

The Philadelphia Food as Medicine Coalition has been formed to improve health through nutrition. Kayla Yup sat down with the organizers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Chef Phila Lorn of Mawn and Sao has teamed up with meal-delivery service Home App\u00e9tit on two dishes: Mawn nyawm salad with young papaya, carrots, and pickled cherry peppers, and Sunday chicken curry served with an Italian Market baguette. The curry is inspired by Lorn\u2019s childhood Sundays, when his mother made the dish and sent his father to Sarcone\u2019s Bakery for bread. A portion of sales will benefit Saturday programming at Francis Scott Key Elementary School, which Lorn attended. Orders can be placed through Thursday at homeappetitphilly.com<\/a>, with delivery Monday. The minimum order is $100.<\/p>\n

Jeremy Intille<\/a>, executive pastry chef at Osteria and owner of the bakery pop-up JerBear Bakehouse<\/a>, will compete on season 13 of Food Network\u2019s Holiday Baking Championship, premiering at 8 p.m. Monday and streaming the next day on HBO Max.<\/p>\n

Le Virt\u00f9<\/a> (1927 E. Passyunk Ave.) will offer an entirely gluten-free menu from 5-9 p.m. Nov. 5 and 19. The restaurant will deep-clean its kitchen, bar, and prep areas before each dinner. The \u00e0 la carte menu will feature gluten-free versions of Abruzzese dishes, including spaghetti with goat rag\u00f9, buckwheat tortiglioni with octopus rag\u00f9 and cuttlefish ink, toasted gnocchi, and red wine-braised beef shoulder. No tickets required; reservations through Resy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2753Pop quiz<\/p>\n

Magnolia Bakery from New York City is opening two shops in the Philadelphia region in coming months. What\u2019s its specialty?<\/p>\n

A) two-pound chocolate chip cookies<\/p>\n

B) strawberry tarts<\/p>\n

C) banana pudding<\/p>\n

D) beignets<\/p>\n

Find out if you know the answer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ask Mike anything<\/p>\n

What\u2019s happening at Frankford and Berks in Fishtown, where Taylor Chip was? It looks like something is on the way. \u2014 Maria O.<\/p>\n

Your instincts are correct. Matcha Panda Cafe<\/a>, whose 2022 opening in Chinatown makes it one of Philly\u2019s first matcha-only shops, is taking 1828 Frankford Ave. Matcha Panda is known not only for its in-house pastries and ground-on-premises matcha (imported from Japan) but for the stuffed animals that are part of the whimsical atmospherics \u2014 an offshoot of cofounder Damian Huang\u2019s business as a toy manufacturer. There\u2019s a second store at 2033 Chestnut St. in Rittenhouse, too. Huang says he\u2019s targeting spring for the opening. Building owner Jordan Claffey says Huang is bringing \u201ca highly sought-after category\u201d to Fishtown.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcee Have a question about food in Philly? Email your questions to me at mklein@inquirer.com<\/a> for a chance to be featured in my newsletter.<\/p>\n

By submitting your written, visual, and\/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer\u2019s Terms of Use<\/a>, including the grant of rights in Section 10.<\/p>\n