Foobooz Editor Arthur Etchells may as well get a powdered wig with all the judging he’s doing. Tuesday night he’ll be at the Silk City Garden Bar (inside if the weather is nasty) where he’ll be judging a ROOT Cocktail Competition presented by Art in the Age.
The competition which looks like a who’s who of Philadelphia bartending runs from 7 to 9pm and is free if you RSVP to info@artintheage.com. Root cocktails will be available for reduced prices ($5) and there will be complimentary hors d’oeuvres.
Rick Nichols visits Mark Bee’s “beer garden” at Silk City geographically nearby the Piazza at Schmidt’s but half a world away in vibe.
In short, the space is the goofball fantasy of one man’s imagination – old tubas on the wall stuffed with flowers, wrought ironwork (by metal worker Jason Roberts) shaped into rickety bones for the stair rail and spiky webs over portholes in the curvy walls, beer kegs as seats: the slaphappy anti-design, in other words, of an anarchic anti-developer. The unapologetically unhinged Piazza on Spring Garden.
Did I mention the sense of contentment and otherworldliness that descends beneath the strings of lights, the birdbath-size fountains dribbling, the potted plants riffling in the breeze? There are few spots in the city more laid back to drink beer or sip a Negroni, or, have I mentioned the stylings of the chef, Jay Henson, back in town (where he once headed the kitchen at the Happy Rooster) after a five-year hiatus at the Shore (the Inlet at Somers Point, Bobby Flay’s place at the Borgata, etc.)?
We were excited when we first heard Mark Bee was going to be building a beer garden next to Silk City. But as the months passed we had to ask ourselves, how much work is really needed to convert a parking lot into a beer garden? The video below shows this wasn’t just slapping some picnic tables down behind a fence and frankly, we don’t think its gotten the attention it deserves.
Living on the Vedge tells us about a promising margherita pizza and a salad at Vino that will hopefully be “figged out” next time. [Living on the Vedge]
The Beer Lass was there for the Swift Half’s soft opening and tries out a whole slew of dishes. [Beer Lass]
Phoodie has the lowdown on the Swift one’s Green Tomato Bloody Mary. [Phoodie.info]
Elsewhere In New
It was practically a stampede on opening day at Sweet Ending. “Solid, but not knee-buckling” is the verdict from Living on the Vedge [Living on the Vedge]
We only provided crappy nightime iPhone pictures of Silk City’s beer garden. Luckily Silk City has published their own. [Silk City]
Living on the Vedge also makes it to Verde and Varga Bar to see how the Turney siblings are doing. [Living on the Vedge]
Why Twitter Doesn’t Suck
Honest Tom’s is serving up fish tacos at Clark Park tonight at 5. [Twitter]
Why Marketing Works
Wawa may have abandoned much of Center City but we love their Hoagiefest ads so much we’ll probably seek them out anyway. [Wawa]
Kibitz Room has opened its Center City location at 1521 Locust Street. [The Insider]
Silk City is aiming at a Memorial Day opening for its beer garden. [The Illadelph]
Also on Spring Garden Street, tomorrow is the opening of the casual Asian BYO, Shin Asian Diner. [Table Talk, Philadelphia Inquirer]
When NXNW reopens Benjamin and Robert Bynum will be at the healm. The brothers are known for Warmdaddy’s and the late lamented Zanzibar Blue. [Philadelphia Daily News]
Meal Ticket has the menu for Thai Singha House To Go which opened this past weekend. [Meal Ticket]
Stephen Starr is opening his first South Florida restaurant, Steak 954 in Ft. Lauderdale. On the menu is Barclay Prime’s $100 cheesesteak. [MenuPages]
Looking forward to Blackfish Stone Harbor. Take dear old mom down the shore for Mother’s Day weekend when the shore point to Conshohocken’s finest opens.[Blackfish Stone Harbor]
John Mims is gone from Wayne and his name is following. Mims Food & Drink is out and The Freehouse returns in about a week. [Main Line Dine]
Q Barbeque & Tequila Bar will be replacing The Philadelphia Fish & Co. After 26 years, the Old City institution will be be trading in the fish for ribs and brisket. [Inqlings, Philadelphia Inquirer]
The only bad thing we hear about The Sidecar Bar at 22nd and Christian is that it gets too crowded. Relief is coming soon as owner Adam Ritter is expanding into the apartments upstairs. [Meal Ticket]
Things had been quiet on the Silk City chef front so it isn’t a surprise there’s a change. Jay Henson is now at the helm but the concept remains the same. More excitingly, Silk City is aiming for a May 1st opening for their outdoor beer garden. Also heading to Spring Garden will be two new diners, Spring Garden Restaurant and Ken Shin. [The Insider]
Al Paris’ Mantra closed over the weekend and is being reconceptualized as Bar Amalfi, an Italian spot with an emphasis on seafood and a 30-bottle wine list including 12 by the glass. [Meal Ticket]
Meal Ticket has photographic evidence of the second floor at the Institute. Yep, tall-backed booths with Nintendo Wii game systems. [Meal Ticket]
The Mad River guys are planning on opening Ladder 15 at 1528 Sansom this February. The menu will be designed by Little Fish’s Mike Stollenwerk. [The Insider]
Drew Lazor manages to pull a couple more details from Susan Schlisman regarding her non-Smokin’ Betty’s concept. It’ll be south of Lombard, west of Queen Village, an area we commonly refer to as Bella Vista. [Feeding Frenzy, City Paper]
Frugal and not quite discerning beer drinkers take note: Lionshead has a new look. [Brand Week]
Pub & Kitchen’s Jonathan McDonald and his Shepherd’s Pie is featured in the January 2009 issue of Men’s Journal. [Men's Journal (PDF)]
A.D. Amorosi won’t give up on the dream of Silk City’s Beer Garden so neither will we. He reports owner, Mark Bee was spotted outside the diner jack hammering the beginnings of said beer garden. [Ice Pack, City Paper]
And yep, that was Georges Perrier dining at Girard Avenue’s Modo Mio last night.
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