Elisa Ludwig heads to Chestnut Hill where she visits Bocelli to find whether the top of the Hill has a spot worth heading.

All of this would be forgivable were the food better than just average. And with a by-the-book straightforward menu like this one, the bar should be reasonably attainable. Mostly, though, the cooking is just not careful. The antipasto plate is a series of helpless vegetables cooked into mushy compliance: crumpling slices of grilled eggplant and melted squash and limp blades of roasted pepper, all swimming in more olive oil than your bread can soak up. The only things not half-dissolved are vaguely sweet carrots, a handful of olives and undercooked potato wedges. Meanwhile, perfectly good mushroom caps are crammed with a gummy filling of crabmeat, lumps of sausage, spinach and roasted pepper.

Uphill Battle [City Paper]
Bocelli [Official Site]

Bad news for those who worry about the “Manayunkization” of Northern Liberties. Girard Avenue isn’t safe from the likes of Four Corners Management (Drinkers, Noche, Loie, etc.) who are looking to open a 1,500- to 2,000 seat music venue. The old Global Thrift at Front and Girard was targeted but the deal fell through as the landlord decided to go with a Hispanic grocery store instead. [Impresario, Phillymag.com]

Chestnut Hill is getting a new Italian BYOB, Bocelli across from the Borders at the top of the hill. Bocelli owners Raphael Habib and Roberto Lakhaoua have another location in the Gwynedd Valley train station. [Table Talk, Philadelphia Inquirer]

Frozen margaritas, DJs and outdoor seating are all on the menu for the new El Fuego set to open in May at 2104 Chestnut Street. [Food Frenzy, City Paper]

The Mansion at 19th is now O.N.E. at Rittenhouse and owned by the father and son combination of Chris and Fran Twardy. [Icepack, City Paper]

A taste of New Orleans is coming to Ridge Pike in Conshohocken. H.I. Rib & Co. is hoping for a June opening. [Table Talk, Philadelphia Inquirer]

Crepes are coming to Manayunk as Cavo Crepe Café is looking to start turning out the French street fare favorite by mid-March. [Food Frenzy, City Paper]