Straight from the publicists, shilled for your pleasure:

Buddakan is offering a $14 bento box lunch and will be opening at 4p.m. on Sundays, so your 90-year-old grandmother can also enjoy the Starr experience. Snore.

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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]

The Food Network came to town yesterday looking for a few good chefs.

Clutching coffee and bottled water, foodies anxiously crowded around the swanky bar of 707 Restaurant yesterday morning in hopes of becoming the Food Network’s next Rachael Ray or Emeril Lagasse.
The Food Network chose 707, located at 707 Chestnut St., for an open casting call to view potential contestants for “The Next Star of the Food Network.” Embarking on its fourth season, the show looks for chefs with skill, personality and the ability to make it all seem easy. The winner gets a six-episode cooking show, with the possibility of subsequent seasons.

Food net is here, looking for a few good chefs [Philadelphia Daily News]

This week,The Bite is all over the board, offering French beer (yeah, who knew?), tips on hosting your own TV show and a new place to warm your innards with delicious chocolate.

The Bite appears every Wednesday in the Metro and is written by Foobooz editor Arthur Etchells

The Bite: Smorgasbord of ideas [Metro Philadelphia]

Wo, Philadelphia Weekly looks for the best hot dogs in town and actually uses the phrase, “beige meat rod.”

Among the favorites are the following, including Bootsie’s twice.

• Johnny Rockets
• Five Guys
• 707
• Citizens Bank Park
• Bootsie’s

Wiener Takes All [Philadelphia Weekly]

707 is doing something special everynight for happy hour from 5 to 7 PM.

• Monday Madness – $6 mojitos, $5 wines
• Terrific Tuesday – $7 lemon drops, $3 Fat Angel
• Wine Wednesday – $10 3-wine flights  
• Toasting Thursdays – $5 well, $5 wines
• Finally Fridays – $7 707 Martinis, $3.5 Guinness pints

But it isn’t just drinks that are special. Enjoy complimentary hors d’oeuvres like smoked salmon canapés, grilled cheese bites, pizza and sweet-n’-sour wings.

707 Restaurant [Official Site]

Craig LaBan tries the comfort food of 707 Restaurant & Lounge and finds some worthwhile comfort food updates but not enough to escape a one bell rating.

Yes, there is style galore at 707, which is one of the most handsome restaurants to open this year. But are the scenesters being fed with substance?

That depends, of course, upon what you order from the extensive and affordable menu of updated American classics, which hits highlights with overloaded salads and a nearly perfect omelet. But on the whole, the cleverly fussed-with comfort food – something of a cross between Jones and Marathon Grill – is packed with more “whimsy” than “yummy.”

One Bell – Hit Or Miss

707 Restaurant & Bar [Philadelphia Inquirer]
707 Restaurant & Bar [Official Site]

We spotted the zoning notice a couple of weeks ago but now it’s official. A Goodburger is coming to the 1700 block of Chestnut Street. Goodburger is out of New York and specializes in charcoal grilled burgers. [Feeding Frenzy, City Paper]

Two more restaurants for Bella Vista. La Golosa is taking the former home of Dessert on 6th Street and French BYO, Cochon is aiming for a September 21st opening. [Table Talk, Philadelphia Inquirer]

Michael Klein reports that the Swanky Bubbles in Cherry Hill paid $1.6 Million for their liquor license. It may very well be a record. [Table Talk, Philadelphia Inquirer]

707 is adding brunch starting Sunday, September 9th. [Feeding Frenzy, City Paper]

707 Restaurant & Bar introduces their 707 Lounge concept this Saturday, July 7th or 07-07-07 if you want to keep the 707 theme going. The night will feature a DJ from 10 PM to 2 AM. There will be drink specials available until midnight and the kitchen will stay open until 12:30 AM.

707 Restaurant & Bar [Official Site]

Brian McManus wonders what the point is to all the high-end design at 707 if the food doesn’t deliver.

Dinner’s a bust, but at least it’s a scene. Later in the week, lunch sees 707 sparsely occupied, but service is still slow, the food still takes an age to come, and when the dishes do arrive, they disappoint.

Where My Dogs At? [Philadelphia Weekly]
707 Restaurant [Official Site]