David Snyder tries out the new incarnation of Girasole and finds excellent pasta but some price inconsistency.

Restaurants love to trumpet their hand-crafted pasta, but all too often housemade gnocchi are dense and leaden. Girasole’s gnocchi, on the other hand, is the best I’ve eaten in a long time — resting in a thoughtfully humble sauce of crushed plum tomatoes and stracchino cheese, each petite morsel had just enough heft to prove its worth before the bite melted away with the warmth of my palate.

Another pasta that caught my eye was the elusive passatelli. Traditionally, this thick, flourless pasta/dumpling hybrid — seen only in soups, and almost never in restaurants — is made with eggs, Parmigiano-Reggiano and bread crumbs, which give it a uniquely grainy texture. Angela Iovino adds a touch of flour to her version for consistency and serves it in a light sauce with sausage and porcini mushrooms for a wonderfully rare treat.

Mostly Sunny [City Paper]
Girasole [Official Site]

Philly Mag may have Osteria slipping from 1st to 4th in its list of best 50 restaurants but after reading these two accounts of the restaurant we know we’ll have to be back soon.

Eateria III: The Return to Osteria [McDuff's Food & Wine Trail]
Osteria [Veggicurious]

Adam Erace visits 6-year old August in South Philly and finds little has changed over its existence and that’s just fine.

August subscribes to the if-it-ain’t-broke-don’t-fix-it school, but [chef Mary Ann] Brancaccio definitely has the chops to push further, evidenced by her tender artichoke hearts sauteed in white wine with sun-dried tomatoes, cannellini beans and leeks. It was a dish of refreshing tangs and sharp angles, accentuated by a view of new cherry blossoms and a generous green drizzle of unfiltered extra-virgin olive oil. I sopped the latter up with the excellent bread from Faragalli’s bakery, just down the street.

August [Philadelphia Weekly]
August [Offiicial Site]

Yo Jersey! We know you’re out there and although it may seem like we’re ignoring you…. Well anyway, here’s a cool deal at Catelli’s Ristorante in Voorhees.

Each Friday the restaurant offers a bistro menu where none of the plates cost more than $10.

Some of the choices have us salivating. Homemade potato chips with truffle oil and gorgonzola cream? Heck yeah! Lobster fra Diavalo with rigatoni pasta, lamb chop Milanese. All for $10 or less.

Check out the full menu after the jump.

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A reader tips us off that Les Bons Temps has closed. It is rumored the space has been sold to a Borgata chef and will reopen as an Italian restaurant.

With the strange saga that between John Mims and former partner Howard Taylor we can’t say we’re overly surprised. But we love that space and sure would like to see it be successful.

UPDATE: Michael Klein has more details. Chef Luke Palladino, who oversees a handful of Borgata spots is leasing the spot for an Italian wine bar and restaurant. [The Insider]

Le Virtu will be serving Abruzzese summer food in the garden next to their Passyunk Avenue restaurant. Expect lamb chops, sausages, steaks,shrimp, calamari, vegetables and smoked mozzarella all cooked on an outdoor grill. 

“Little Tibet” Coming to East Passyunk [Blogalicious] 
Le Virtu [Official Site]

Table 31 is dropping out of the the steakhouse arms war and is going Italian. Rick Nichols has the reasons behind the change.

Steaks rarer at Table 31 [Philadelphia Inquirer]

Why settle for a happy hour when you can have all night?

That’s the offer at Table 31 where they are now offering a $9 bar menu and drink specials after 5pm, Monday through Saturday.

Chef Chris Scarduzio is offering pizzas, sliders, pastas and more for just $9 at the bar. Wash down the yummies with $7 margaritas martinis, $5 glasses of wine and $3 beers.

Full menu after the jump.

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There are a lot of great sandwiches in Philadelphia and in today’s Metro, The Bite highlights two for the ages from Paesano’s.

The Pantheon of Sandwiches [Metro Philadelphia]
Paesano’s [Official Site]

Adam Erace checks out Melograno’s new digs and finds that the space may be bigger but the food is as good as ever.

Double Your Pleasure [Philadelphia Weekly]