What will the restaurant at 10 Rittenhouse be? Michael Klein reports Serafina or Todd English could be interested in the space. If  we had to pick just on the web sites, we’d have to go with Todd English. That Serafina site creeps us out. [The Insider]

Hawthornes is looking to open November 18th. There will be over 1,000 beers for mix-a-sixes and 16 beers available by growler. There will also be lunch and brunch. [Meal Ticket]

It’s official, Win Signature Restaurants, who run Azie on Main upstairs is renting out the rest of the Maia space for an American comfort food/bar concept. [The Insider]

Varga Bar has added a new speed lunch menu. You get a soup and a sandwich for $9 in 30 minutes flat. Among the optionss are a roasted pork loin sandwich, Kobe Chili-cheese dog and a grilled cheese. [Varga Fall Lunch]

“Next Food Network Star” contestant Katie Cavuto was rumored to be coming to South Street but she’s opening her Healthy Bites To-Go on the 2500 block of Christian. [The Insider]

MangoMoon has tweaked its menu towards more of a Bangkok street food approach. The Thai sausage is still available. [Meal Ticket]

Catelli Ristorante in Voorhees is celebrating its anniversary with a $15 entree menu all month. [See Specials]

Professional photographer Christopher Gabello (once followed me around all night) and George Anni are collaborating on a pin-up girl calendar inpired by artist Alberto Vargas for Anni’s Varga Bar. Jessica has already made the calendar as Miss January but their still casting for the rest of the months.

Interested women should e-mail two photos and three sentences about why they want to be a Varga Girl to makemeavargagirl@gmail.com by October 31st.

Become a Varga Calendar Girl! [The Restaurant Club]

Be crabby at Varga Bar.  $25 gets you steamed hard shell Blue crabs, potato salad, corn on the cob and house-made oyster crackers and beer and drink specials.

If we asked you what the most happening corner was east of Rittenhouse Square and west of Old City what would you answer? A year ago we know you wouldn’t have said 10th and Spruce. But on a recent evening with the bustle of Kanella on one side and the buzz of Varga Bar on the other, we were convinced. Adam Erace noticed the same thing in his review of Varga Bar. He also noticed the sliders on R. Evan Turney’s almost All-American menu.

The memory of those sliders is still vivid. Turney added Boursin, bacon, caramelized shallots and tomato and packaged them neatly in fluffy LeBus brioche. All good, but the beef … damn. Each patty came with cores the color of bubblegum, perfectly medium-rare, surrounded by a trim brown seal. The attending bangle bracelet onion rings also happen to rock.

Varga Bar [Philadelphia Weekly]
Varga Bar [Official Site]

Tonight, Flying Fish is debuting the latest in their Exit Series of beers. Exit 11 (the intersection of the Turnpike and the Garden State Expressway) is a hoppy American Wheat and you will be able to find it tonight from 7 to 9pm at the Swift Half and Varga Bar. It will also debut at both Foodery locations if you want to take it home with you.

The Flying Fish Exit Series has created a lot of buzz for the Cherry Hill brewery including raising the ire of MADD and prompting an Associated Press video piece. Today Grub Street interviews Flying Fish owner, Gene Muller.

Joe Sixpack’s article today is chock full of beery goodness. He profiles the recently opened Brauhaus Schmitz, gives props to Varga Bar, updates us on the New Jersey Turnpike and Flying Fish saga and tips us off to BeerMenus.com. And then he really gets us wanting with a link to a Yards Brawler cycling jersey and rundown of a sixpack of chocolate truffles made with local beers at Verde.

Among the new stops: Brauhaus Schmitz on South St. [Philadelphia Daily News]

David Snyder visits Varga Bar and finds the beer and starters to be the best stuff on the menu.

Indeed, the dishes that seem at home beside beer – apps, bar eats – are where Varga Bar is at its best. I loved the crunch of the lightly broiled panko crust on the truffled mac and cheese, a deceptively light layering of gruyere, mascarpone, fontina and Parmesan. Turney’s wings, slow-cooked in duck fat, are the most tender rendition I’ve had, gifted with a slowly unfolding finish from the pomegranate molasses bourbon chili sauce.

A deep, smoky flavor in the onion ring batter meant the fried snacks were the perfect partner for applewood-smoked-bacon Kobe beef sliders. A fragrant chorizo-spiked fennel herb broth made for an inviting bowl of cockles and mussels. I almost wished the jumbo lump cheese fries featured less crab so I wouldn’t feel so guilty dunking them in Turney’s house-made ketchup.

 Strike a Pose [City Paper]
Varga Bar [Official Site]

The Bite wonders if your holiday barbecue can rival some of these dishes around town.

• Kobe Beef hot dogs at Varga Bar
• Dry-aged burger at Barclay Prime
• Grilled octopus at Johnny Brenda’s
• Corn on the cob at Cantina Dos Segundos
• Apple pie from Jones

Holiday barbecue to rival your own [Metro Philadelphia]

Little Fish’s Mike Stollenwerk shares some details about his upcoming fish with Drew Lazor. Expect it to be different than the Bella Vista BYOB as there will be a liquor license and the menu will be split into raw, cold, hot and sweet categories. [Meal Ticket]

DiBruno Bros. is aiming to open a wine bar in the Italian Market by mid-August. [Meal Ticket]

Part of the facade of the former Brasserie Perrier crashed down onto Walnut Street Wednesday morning. Sorry, this wasn’t an attention grabbing way of debuting a Center City Apple Store. [Philadelphia Daily News]

Savona in Gulph Mills has been completely refurbished and there’s a sharp new outdoor terrazzo to check out. [Restaurant Club]

Bon Appetit has a spread on Philadelphia in its July issue. Author Andrew Knowlton hits Bella Vista Beer, Distrito, Franklin Fountain, Johnny Brenda’s, Reading Terminal Market and Zahav. Meal Ticket has the scans. [Meal Ticket]

Varga Bar starts daily lunch as of Sunday. [Table Talk, Philadelphia Inquirer]

Copper Bistro in Northern Liberties has called it quits. [The Insider]

Early Feedback from the Piazza

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]