Craig LaBan turns his eyes towards ¡Cuba!, a Cuban BYOB in Chestnut Hill and finds the promising spot missing some essentials.

At ¡Cuba!, the traditional flavors don’t go nearly deep enough, or far enough beyond, to really merit the prices. Is a simple plate of pulled roast pork shoulder, pernil asado, worth $24 because it comes with a squishy, underseasoned tamale and over-pickled green beans? Ay-yay-yay! Bacalao is traditionally rehydrated salt cod in a piquant tomato sauce. But it loses its funk in a goofy rendition here with fresh cod, a small fillet over dry, parboiled rice beneath a lurid yellow mango cream and a handful of shrimp so tiny and chewy they were hardly worth the flourish.

One Bell – Hit-or-miss

¡Cuba! [Philadelphia Inquirer]

Elisa Ludwig visits Chestnut Hill’s Cuban restaurant ¡Cuba! and enjoys the homespun, soul-pleasing cooking.”

¡Cuba! really hits its stride with a sort of Creole combo plate offered on special with a mound of moros y cristianos (white rice and black beans); a few wedges of fantastically tender, fat-fringed lechon asado (slow-roasted pork scented with oregano and lime); fried plantains (you have a choice of savory tostones or sweet maduros); and a boiled tamale whose soft cornmeal encases salty nuggets of roast pork.

Gleaming the ¡Cuba! [City Paper]
¡Cuba! [Official Site]

May 3rd, New York’s goodburger will be opening its first Philadelphia location at 1725 Chestnut Street. Not a typical fast food burger, these hand formed burgers are served on china plates and paired with real silverware. The menu also offers turkey burgers, chicken sandwiches, veggie burgers, cheddar cheese fries, Texas steak chili and milkshakes made from Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.

April 28th is the day set for the opening of ¡Cuba! in Chestnut Hill. The storefront BYOB will have room for 40 and will be keeping most main courses under $20. [Table Talk, Philadelphia Inquirer]

John’s Water Ice at 7th and Christian is open for the season.

Say goodbye to Mt. Airy’s Hamlet Bistro which serves its last meal on April 23rd.

Jayson Grossberg who was at the highly acclaimed Alphabet Soup in South Jersey is now in the kitchen of 707. [Food & Drinq]

Drew Lazor has some more details on The Waverly. The spot will have a liquor license and room for 90 diners, dwarfing chef/owner Michael O’Halloran’s Bistro 7. [Feeding Frenzy, City Paper]

Michael Klein has the lowdown on the new Field House at the Convention Center. It aims to be just a bar. A bar with 40 TVs including four 60″ plasmas. [Table Talk, Philadelphia Inquirer]

Amid all the openings in Michael Klein’s recent 2008 Hot Restaurants post was this newsy item. David Katz of Restaurant M and for a split second, Silk City is looking to open a spot at 24th and Locust. May or June is the hoped for opening date. [Food & Drinq]

If Latin in Chestnut Hill, or just anything new in Chestnut Hill has you excited, rejoice that Miguel Castañeda says his ¡Cuba! will be open “no later than the very beginning of February.” [Feeding Frenzy, City Paper]

A replacement for J.C. Dobbs is in the works but don’t expect anything till September. In the meantime check out jcdobbs.net [Icepack, City Paper]

Maybe the name Jin House rings a bell. It was at 11th and Spruce before fire claimed it back in 2003. Well it’ll be back later this month next to More Than Just Ice Cream on Locust. [Food & Drinq]

Ugly American opens tonight at Front and Federal. [Ice Pack, City Paper]

A new Cuban restaurant, ¡Cuba! is looking to open in February in Chestnut Hill. The tag line will be “food so authentic, you’ll think you’ll need a passport.” So if you go, don’t tell the State Department. [Feeding Frenzy, City Paper]

P.J. Whelihan’s will have the responsibility of providing the wings to this year’s Wing Bowl. Previous years the wings had been supplied by The Rib Ranch in the Northeast. [Daily News]