Mike’s Steaks has replaced Frank’s Old Philly-Style Sandwiches in the Comcast Center. Mike’s offers burgers, hoagies and hot dogs in addition to steak sandwiches.

Fuel has opened at 1917 E Passyunk. Q102’s Rocco Cima is the man behind the 500 calories or less storefront. [Meal Ticket]

Rouge sous chef Dustin Chalermkittichai is set to become the chef at El Camino Real. [The Insider]

D.P. Dough passes another hurdle, calzones are coming soon…. [D.P. Dough]

Ambler gets a kick as a branch of Lafayette Hill’s From the Boot has opened. Additionally the posh looking Dettera has also opened on Butler Pike. [The Insider]

Grub Street has a slideshow of Square 1682, the hotel restaurant opening at 17th and Sansom on October 14th. [Grub Street]

Restaurant Week hinted that Ly Michaels’ was going to become Tazia. And now we know the details. Tazia will be a restaurant specializing in tapas sized Asian bites. [The Insider]

Del Frisco’s takes Craig LaBan’s advice and installs a stripper pole. [Philly Chit Chat]

Fish is looking to open next week (licensing permittiing) in the former Astral Plane on Lombard Street. Michael Klein has some details on the under $20 menu. [Table Talk, Philadelphia Inquirer]

The Piano Bar closed at 20th and Arch. We’re only surprised it lasted as long as it did. [The Insider]

This week in Philadelphia Magazine’s Restaurant Club Newsletter.

• A Center City Dumpster War Boils Over
  Del Frisco’s versus Chris’ Jazz Cafe
• The State of A.C.: Can Casino Restaurants Survive the Recession?
  Stephen Starr is cutting his losses. Will others follow?
• Eat Up Fall: Two Events You Should Know About
  PhillyMag has details and discounts to two events that are not to be missed

Restaurant Club Newsletter [Philadelphia Magazine]

Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse has a special deal for Thursdays. From 5 to 9pm they are offering $5 bar bites, $4 Stella Artois and $6 glasses of red and white wines.

Among the bites:

• Filet Mignon Tips with chateau potatoes
• Pesto Crusted Salmon with a spring mix in balsamic reduction
• Cheesesteak Dumplings with spicy ketchup
• Steak Quesadillas
• Vegetable Quesadillas
• Wild Mushroom Gnocchi served with white truffle oil and Parmesan dust

Deal of the Day: Del Frisco’s Thursday VIP Happy Hour [UWISHUNU]
Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak House [Official Site]

The Illadelph turns us on tips us off to to Del Frisco’s “Get Friscy” ad campaign that embraces the restaurant’s reputation for the provocative.

Del Frisco’s Stays With The “Sex Sells” Theme, May Have Graduated From Strippers To Escorts [The Illadelph]
Del Frisco’s [Official Site]

Today’s Inquirer has a story regarding millions of dollars that contractors claim are owed to them for work done on Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse. 

Six filings in state and federal courts, as of Friday, pit contractors against the restaurant or against the general contractor. In a seventh pleading, the restaurant is suing the general contractor, alleging that its mismanagement delayed the opening by a month. And in an eighth case, the general contractor has filed notice that it intends to sue the restaurant and the building’s owner.

Steakhouse owes millions, contractors say [Philadelphia Inquirer]

Another steakhouse is in Craig LaBan’s sights. He gave Stephen Starr’s Butcher & Singer 3 Bells, how will the Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse fare?

Forget all the steak house hype, David Snyder says Del Frisco’s Double Eagle has what it takes in the food category too.

Given the chain’s New Orleans roots, it’s not astonishing that Del Frisco’s seasons its food generously. Steaks receive a liberal dusting of kosher salt, black pepper and a little butter at the finish. Yet all of the natural flavors of these perfectly cooked cuts still shine through. The 16-ounce prime strip delivers the signature bouncy texture you expect. I still dream about tender pieces of 22-ounce bone-in rib-eye melting on my tongue. But the long bone tomahawk rib-eye steals the show. This tender, dry-aged specimen also gets a week of wet aging, giving it deep, distinctive flavors. Even if you’re hungry enough to finish all 32 ounces, you’ll instinctively want to save some to take home as an excuse to keep the mammoth bone as a trophy.

Stop and Frisco’s [City Paper]
Del Frisco Double Eagle Steak House [Official Site]

I’ll Eat You reviews Stephen Starr’s Butcher & Singer and provides the lowdown on the steak as well as a few chuckles. [I'll Eat You]

Philly Food and Drink gets to go to a press tasting at Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak House.  [Philly Food and Drink]

Sometimes it’s good to be reminded that little hole-in-the-wall pizza shops can do up a good pizza. La Rosa Pizza also delivers halfway across the city. [Drawing for Food]

If the taste of the mole burger at Snackbar can match its looks, they’ve got a winner. [Unbreaded]

Plenty of vegetarian options and a Lady and the Tramp goes to Italy vibe at Mr. Martino’s. [Veggicurious]

Mac & Cheese finds has some suggestions for ordering the mushroom po’boy at Local 44. [Mac & Cheese]

Fidel Gastro listifies the reasons he’ll be going back to Iron Hill North Wales. [Fidel Gastro]

Messy and Picky finds a good but pricey bagel at the Famous Fourth Street Delicatessen.  [Messy & Picky]

Have you all heard enough about steakhouses yet? Can you even stand one more piece of info about them?  Of course you can! You love them. Or love to hate them. Or both, we can’t really tell.

The eagle-eyed KleInsider noticed that some of the menu prices at Union Trust have been slashed significantly since the original menu was released. Like that Wagyu strip just lost $50 off of its original $150 price, among others. You can check out his whole comparison list here. The current Union Trust menu is available on their website. Union Trust told Klein it was a ‘printing error’ and that the current (cheaper) prices were what diners were actually charged all along.

Also over at the Inky, architecture critic Inga Saffron delves into the many bank-to-steakhouse transformations with a focus on Union Trust and Del Frisco’s. There are some interesting highlights, especially the staggering quantities of  cash they each spent on renovating these grandiose spaces.

What’s up with Union Trust’s menus? [The Insider]
Changing Skyline: Grade-A Prime Locations [Inquirer]

Are any of you wondering what Union Trust, the $12 million steakhouse that is scheduled to open this Friday, might be like? How it might be different from the other two steakhouses in town located in former banks? Us too!

The entire staff of Foobooz attended the opening party on Saturday night, along with what may have been anywhere from 1,200 to 2,500 other people, and we’d love to tell you all of the details, but it was so crowded that it was impossible to discover anything useful about what the restaurant will be like in its normal state of operations. We can tell you that the restored ceiling is beautiful because it was the only thing we could get an unadulterated view of at this Philadelphia Rat Fuck.

Back in November, Foobooz attended the Del Frisco’s opening party, which was also packed to the gills and we thought it might be fun to do a compare/contrast of the special Philadelphia weirdness of both opening parties. Check it out after the jump.
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