Meritage is making Tuesday night date night with dinner for two for just $30. The meal includes a whole brined and roasted Giannone Chicken with parsnip puree, sautéed brussel sprouts and Chinese sausage with a chicken jus.

Pair a bottle of wine for an additional $20.

Reservations are requested as only a limited number of the dinners will be available each Tuesday.

We also recommend ordering a Korean short rib taco, now available paired with a Tiger Beer from Singapore for $6.

Meritage [Official Site]

Through Saturday, February 27th only, Meritage will be serving up Korean short rib tacos for the special price of $3. The tacos are served on a crispy flour tortilla and topped with braised short rib, spicy Korean chili sauce and kimchi.

The tacos were all the rage last summer at Ansill, where sous chef Ann Suk Miller previously worked.

Get them now and then compare and contrast them to David Ansill’s just added Korean tacos at Ladder 15.

Meritage [Official Site]

Ann Suk Miller introduced Korean tacos to Philadelphia while she was at Ansill and now she’s bringing them to the menu of Meritage. The short rib tacos will be on the menu next week for $3 a piece.

Korean tacos have been all the rage in Los Angeles where an armada of twittering taco trucks have created quite the buzz about the grassroots Asian fusion.

OG Korean taco queen brings her specialty to Meritage [Meal Ticket]

The revamped Meritage gets a thumbs-up from Trey Popp in City Paper as the formerly formal restaurant has gotten a redo and the menu has been made over by Susanna Foo alum, Anne Coll.

[T]here’s a comfort-food aspect to Coll’s cooking, too. Half-moon dumplings with crisp-crackle shells carried a soft and soothing cargo of foie gras. A warming sweet-potato purée flanked one entrée; giant medallions of crisp-fried potato slices added a simple pleasure to another. My tea-smoked pork tenderloin was a little overcooked, but it had a dusky, moody flavor that I can still feel on my breath. And that lean tenderloin cut — which I’d never order on its own — was just right as a foil for the fatty brick of pork belly on the other side of the plate. The full-flavored hanger steak, rose-hued in the middle with a perfect seared-salt crust, is the best I’ve had in ages.

Vine Ripened [City Paper]
Meritage [Official Site]

Craig LaBan reviews the transformed Meritage and finds that the Asian influenced cuisine of Anne Coll has made the neighborhood restaurant a destination.

[W]hat separates Coll from so many other fusion pretenders is the command of Asian ingredients that allows her to draw an uncommon depth and elegance of flavors. I’ve had Thai curried mussels a hundred times, but rarely have the Kaffir lime, basil, and lemongrass popped through the richness of coconut broth like hers.

A confident use of Three Crabs fish sauce is one secret that lends these dishes a snappy backbone, whether it’s the pristine dice of tuna tartare, shined with sesame and chile oil next to a tingly froth of wasabi-soy foam, or the cilantro-ginger marinade that gives the hanger steak a subtle tang.

Three Bells – Excellent

Meritage [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Meritage [Official Site]

Adam Erace visits the new Meritage and says the Asian inspired menu and booze-friendly bites are ready to step out of Pub & Kitchen’s shadow.

Meritage’s wine program has become more approachable and affordable, with 14 by the glass (all $8), fun flights and 50 bottles under $50.

So bring on the alcohol sponges, fair bartender! Fat, tempura-fried jalapenos, like addictive poppers filled with hoisin-kissed house-ground pork and cellophane noodles in a ginger-soy glaze. Tight, pan-fried Hudson Valley foie gras dumplings tossed in butter browned with Burgundy truffles, cilantro and scallion. Silky Lancaster chicken liver pâté crowned with black plums macerated in brandy and five spice. All $6 or less, all tasty.

Meritage [Philadelphia Weekly]
Meritage [Official Site]

Meritage reopens today at 5 after an intense 10-day overhaul that doubled the bar area and transformed the dining area.

Space

• New color scheme combining two yellows
  • Tuscan Sunrise
  • Tuscan Sunset
• Hardwood floors in dining room
• Butcher block tabletops
• Artwork features women, a tribute to the restaurants female owners and chef
• 50 seat dining room
• Bar area doubled by removing wine storage from bar

Read the rest of this entry »

Meritage closed last night for a  couple week renovation that aims to breathe new life into the restaurant that has sat in the shadow of Pub & Kitchen at the corner of 20th and Lombard.

Susanna Foo alum Anne Elizabeth Coll will be in the kitchen with a new more budget friendly menu and the space will be more open with an expanded bar area.

The menu will blend French techniques and Asian flavors, featuring snacks, small plates and large plates. The menu tops out at $21 for the roasted Maine cod.

The dining room will get hardwood floors, butcher block tables and new lighting.

Check out what will be on the menu when the restaurant reopens on Thursday, August 13th.

Read the rest of this entry »

Meal Ticket catches up with chef Robert Halpern as he prepares to take over Marigold Kitchen. [Meal Ticket]

Restaurant Club sits down with another chef with a new job, Anne Coll who is taking over the kitchen at Meritage. In addition to the interview there is also the menu. [Restaurant Club]

Philadelphia Weekly gets in on the Q&A funwith chef Sheri Waide of Southwark. [Philadelphia Weekly]

Yogorino has its grand opening tomorrow at 20th and Locust. There’s just one smooth tart flavor and lots of toppings. Check the reversible cups. The size changes depending on what end is up. More on Meal Ticket. [Meal Ticket]

Za Vino will be the name of the pizza and wine bar concept headed to 13th and Sansom. [The Insider]

Drew Lazor has some details on Bar, the bar from Jason and Delphine Evenchik who own Vintage and Time. Bar games like foosball and MegaTouch, no food, mixed drinks in pints. [Meal Ticket]

Meritage, a Foobooz Jobs poster has hired former Susanna Foo chef de cuisine Anne Coll to run the kitchen at the Center City South restaurant. [The Insider]

Elevation Burger has opened its first Philadelphia-area location in Wynnewood. [Main Line Restaurant Guide]

Good Food Market is opening a sophisticated convenience store in Chestnut Hill. The spot will also serve $20 for-two dinners. There’ll also be delivery and curbside pickup. This people, is how you react when your Wawa closes! [Meal Ticket]

The seemingly cursed corner of Chestnut and Strawberry has claimed Korean BYOB, Meju. Now lets get those Jose Garces taco stand rumors going again! [Meal Ticket]

Pearl has closed after 16 months. [The Insider]