Brian McManus visits Cebu in Old City and finds a restaurant/club in a bit of an identity crisis.

The tuna ceviche is light and fresh. It’s one of the best tapas here, but places a distant second to the garlic-, onion- and soy-seared beef which is the only thing at Cebu I’d recommend.

Another thing I’d recommend: Dining at Cebu on a late Saturday night with someone you’d rather not talk to.

Dining out Loud [Philadelphia Weekly]
Cebu [Official Site]

Craig LaBan reports on Cebu, the Filipino restaurant in Old City and finds that the restaurant isn’t doing the cuisine justice.

There were some better efforts on the menu. Among the best were tasty lumpia spring rolls filled with shrimp and ground pork, tender Manila clams roasted with fermented black beans and chorizo, and an enormous bowl of exotic lobster-coconut bisque that had more than enough tamarind-chile zing and lobster meat to compensate for the occasional bit of shell.

But just when it seems Cebu is about to hit a homespun home run with authentically tender stewed kare kare oxtails, the kitchen shyly neuters the peanut sauce to stunning blandness by opting not to add bagoong, a salty fermented shrimp paste that would have lent the dish a crucial spark of funk. It does appear as a subtle undertow in a vinaigrette for the side of green beans. But it was too little bagoong too late.

One Bell – Hit or Miss

Cebu [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Cebu [Official Site]

Cary Neff who has owned the Sansom Street Oyster House for the past seven years is opening a brasserie at 5th and Bainbridge. No name or date has been set for the opening. [Table Talk, Philadelphia Inquirer]

All month, Bootsie’s, 38 S 19th Street, is offering a deal. Order one entrée at full price and get the second at half price. [Bootsie's]

Shula’s 347 is set to open next Thursday at the Philadelphia Marriott West in West Conshohocken. The 347 refers to Don Shula’s wins as an NFL head coach. No word on when Kotite 40 will be opening. [Table Talk, Philadelphia Inquirer]

The Wild Onion in Rosemont is now smoke-free upstairs until 11 PM. [Main Line Restaurant Guide]

MenuPages now has menus for over 2,000 local restaurants including new spots like Osteria, Cebu and Fogo de Chao. [MenuPages]

Daniel Stern’s Rae at the Cira Centre is expecting to open for dinner on December 12th. Rae’s web site shows a sneak preview of the menu. [Table Talk]

The 100 block of Chestnut Street gets two new restaurants as the Filipino Cebu has opened and today marks the debut of Zento, an Old City sushi spot that features three different menus (kitchen, sushi and sushi roll). [Feeding Frenzy]

L2 is now open for lunch. The romantic restaurant at the corner of 22nd and South will keep the lunch menu simple, expect burgers, wraps and salads. [Feeding Frenzy]

BYO crackdown in New Jersey? Customers of New Jersey BYOBs can only bring in wine and beer. Spirits can bring fines in excess of $10,000! [Table Talk]

A.D. Amorosi has this tidbit in his weekly column. Billy and Michael Weiss, owners of Pure, Palmer and Transit have added gay icon Woody’s to their list of properties. [Ice Pack]

Philadelphia Weekly is running an ad in this week’s paper, page 87, for Cebu Restaurant & Bar, Coming Soon. “Old City’s newest restaurant concept.” We haven’t seen anything else on Cebu but assume it would be a Filipino restaurant.

Elsewhere in today’s Weekly there is an ad stating that the new/old Dr. Watson’s will open this month.

Dr. Watson’s Pub [Official Site]