Susanna Foo is closing her doors for good on Saturday, June 13th, a couple months before her originally reported closing date.

If you make it into the Walnut Street landmark youl will not just eat a meal at the four-bell Chinese restaurant but will also receive a 20% off voucher for dinner at Susanna Foo Gourmet Kitchen in Radnor.

Susanna Foo bows out after 22 years on Walnut Street where she racked up these impressive accolades.

1988 Esquire Magazine – Best New Restaurant
1989 Food and Wine Magazine – Best New Chef
1996 James Beard Foundation – International Cookbook Award
1997 Nation’s Restaurant News – Fine Dining Hall of Fame
1997 James Beard Award – Best Chef-Mid Atlantic Region
1999 Robert Mondavi Award – Culinary Award of Excellence
2006 Food Arts Magazine – Silver Spoon Award
1998, 2001, 2006 Philadelphia Inquirer’s Craig Laban – Awarded Four Bells

Susanna Foo [Official Site]

The Saturday Inquirer contained a big surprise. Susanna Foo is expected to close on Walnut Street in August June.

65-year old owner Susanna Foo is selling the building and closing the business. She says the closure isn’t related to the economy but rather a want to work a bit less and concentrate on teaching cooking classes and doting on her two granddaughters.

Susanna Foo Gourmet Kitchen, which is run by her son Gabriel will continue to operate and Foo will be involved.

Susanna Foo has been a mainstay on Walnut Street’s restaurant row since it opened in 1987.

UPDATE: Closing date has been moved up to June 13th.

Susanna Foo restaurant expected to close in August [Philadelphia Inquirer]

Ladder 15 opens to the public this evening. [Feeding Frenzy, City Paper]

The Institute will be debuting its kitchen in late April. Expect elements of  Puerto Rican cuisine to be mixed in with American bistro fare. [Meal Ticket]

The P.O.P.E. is overhauling their food program. Pete Miller’s brunch rolls out this weekend. [Meal Ticket]

Susanna Foo, defender of Philadelphia against the PPA, has been named to Michael Nutter’s tax policy panel. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

Tiffin launces its Tiffin Products today at an exclusive event for Tiffin Card members at Foster’s Homeware. Among the products for sale are Mango Chile finishing sauce and Dhania roasted coriander powder.

Newbold’s Ultimo Coffee has a logo and it’s fly. [Ultimo Coffee]

It must be good to be Craig LaBan. On Tuesday during his weekly chat LaBan lamented:

Craig:  David – I’m being very selfish here, but what I really, really want is a great spot for Chinese delivery/take-out in West Center City. In theory, it’s one of city life’s simple pleasures, but I’m so often disappointed with the current options. Is this asking too much?

And over the weekend it’s reported that Susanna Foo will now be doing takeout and delivery from her four-bell Walnut Street restaurant.

New deals in Center City dining [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Susanna Foo Gourmet to Go Menu (PDF) [The Insider]

Phoodie lists its top 5 picks for Restaurant Week. Alma de Cuba, Amada, Tinto, Lolita and Zahav all get the nod.

City Paper also includes a couple Restaurant Week picks too, seconding Zahav and adding Xochitl.

We here at Foobooz have a couple of reservations for Restaurant Week that we’ll share. We’re headed to Zahav and Susanna Foo. Susanna Foo really appeals to us because it’s the only one of LaBan’s 4-bell restaurant that is operating as it was a year ago (Le Bec-Fin has gone a la carte and the chefs at the Fountain and Lacroix have moved on).

Phoodie’s Top 5 Early Picks For Restaurant Week Sweet Spots [Phoodie.info]
The Week In Eats [City Paper]
Restaurant Week Guide [f8b8z]
Restaurant Week [Official Site]

Straight from the publicists, shilled for your pleasure:

Buddakan is offering a $14 bento box lunch and will be opening at 4p.m. on Sundays, so your 90-year-old grandmother can also enjoy the Starr experience. Snore.

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According to Brian Freedman of aroundphilly.com Susanna Foo has her gotten her mojo back.

As for that food, though, it was every bit as extraordinary this visit as it was mundane during my previous one. The humble pork pot-sticker, for example, achieved all the textural complexity that’s so crucial to its success. Brown and crisp in the center, soft, verging on succulent at the edges, these half-moons were so moist on the inside that one of them actually squirted when I took my first bite of it.

The hundred-point crab cake was not only visually stunning but intricately conceived and assembled. A coriander- and ginger-seasoned shrimp mousse, surrounding a crab meat center, was rolled in tiny bread-cubes and deep fried to a crisp, surprisingly light demi-ball that looked more like some sort of sea anemone than a crab cake. It was exactly the kind of creative riff on a familiar dish that Susanna Foo built her reputation on. And rightly so.

Review: Susanna Foo [aroundphilly.com]
Susanna Foo [Official Site]

 

On Thursday, June 7th Susanna Foo Gourmet Kitchen in Radnor will be hosting a dinner with the wines of Ste Michelle Wine Estates.

The dinner will feature five courses with paired wines for $85 per person. The meal kicks off at 6:30, call for reservations.

Menu after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

Main Line Today visits the suburban Susanna Foo Gourmet Kitchen and finds that despite solid food and decor, the juice isn’t there yet.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what the missing ingredient is here, but the wow factor at the new Foo’s is on simmer. Foo has got enough experience and star power to “bring it,” but what we’re getting so far is more of the same—just in prettier wrapping.

Susanna, Too [Main Line Today]
Susanna Foo Gourmet Kitchen [Official Site]

Kirsten Henri hits up Susanna Foo Gourmet Kitchen and finds the inconsistencies of the Radnor eatery as frustrating as the traffic on the Schuylkill Expressway.

Susanna Foo Gourmet Kitchen, with its lively open kitchen, red lanterns and family-style dining, is meant to be a more rustic experience than her elegant Center City location. But—as uncomfortable and disheartening as it is to say about a restaurant belonging to such a seasoned chef—given two wildly different visits, consistency seems to be an issue.

Foo For Thought [Philadelphia Weekly]
Susanna Foo Gourmet Kitchen [Official Site]