Is Fishtown Ready for a $24 Burger?

Mamajuana burger / Photo courtesy of Mamajuana Cafe

Howdy, buckaroos! And welcome back to the Foobooz food news round-up. Just a few quick things to get to this week, including a milestone anniversary for Wawa, a BIG new opening in Fishtown, the return of La Panarda, and more. So let’s get right to it and kick off the week by checking out …

Fishtown’s New Latino-Japanese Restaurant

We’re about to find out. Because on April 18th, the first Mamajuana Cafe in Philly will be opening at the foot of Frankford Avenue (1000-1032 Frankford Avenue, to be exact). It’s a spot that has seen some curious concepts come through over the years, like the post-apocalyptic-themed restaurant and VR lounge, Mad Rex, and The Fin, the surf-and-turf place that was putting crab in their cheesecake. So it’ll be interesting to see how Mamajuana fills in the space, and in the meantime, there are some things you should know.

First, it’s big. Like really big. We’re talking 440 seats and 10,000 square feet of real estate just a block off the waterfront. It’s got 350 seats on the floor, which is massive, then another 30 at the bar and 60 more on the patio, which will open just as soon as the weather allows.

Mamajuana, as a whole, is a mini-chain of eleven restaurants. Based in New York, it is a Dominican restaurant focusing on the culinary traditions of the Caribbean and Central and South America, with a little Asian fusion thrown in just for kicks. Basically, it’s Old World flavors and New School techniques. Swirly sauces. Long white plates. Blowtorches. That kind of thing. Plus sushi, which is a little strange, but stay with me here.

The new Fishtown location will be the twelfth Mamajuana Cafe and serve as the company’s beachhead in the Philadelphia region. Here, chefs Alexis Rosario and Jose Zarazuela have a board that is unique to this restaurant — lots of ceviches, carpaccios and tartares, stuffed green plantain that they’re calling mofonguito (rather than, say, the full-on mofongo menu at the Bronx location), oxtail fettuccine and roasted pork shoulder.

The sushi is a significant section, offering a cheesesteak roll (naturally), a Frankford roll, a spicy tuna Fishtown roll and a few others. But to the kitchen’s credit, these rolls are gorgeous. And that whole section of the menu offers the freedom push some boundaries when it comes to mixing flavors. Because, seriously? If you’re already making Latino-Japanese fusion a thing, why not follow that road as far as it will go? Plantain, pork cracklins, green chiles, cured fish and potatoes — all of these can be sushi ingredients if you truly believe. And honestly, I’d love to see some straight-up Dominican or Puerto Rican or Peruvian sushi creations. I think that would be awesome.

Frankford roll and vegan roll / Photograph courtesy of Mamajuana Cafe

And then there’s that $24 burger.

I’m concerned, obviously. $24 for a single, eight-ounce burger is a significant jump up from the local norm. Village Whiskey’s standard burger is 16 bucks — $18.50 once you add cheese. And that’s a pretty good benchmark for the non-fast-food, non-stunt, non-diner burger in Philly. The new Royal Tavern lets theirs go for $15, and it has long been one of this city’s favorite burgers. You can actually get a double there for less than what a plain burger will cost you at Mamajuana. And I get that you gotta pay for all those chairs somehow. 440 of ’em? That’s gotta cost ya. And 10,000 square feet doesn’t come cheap anywhere, so maybe an expensive burger makes the accounting look a little better back at the home office. But then again, the last really great burger I had was the Royale With Cheese at De La Terre in Downingtown and that one currently goes for $26. So who knows? Maybe it’ll totally be worth it. Maybe it’s the kind of burger that you’ll go all the way down to the river just to sink your teeth into — you and 439 of your closest friends.

We’ll all get to see for ourselves come April 18th when Mamajuana has a grand opening ribbon cutting at 6 p.m., followed by a party. Regular hours will be Monday through Thursday, 4 p.m. to 11 p.m., Friday 2 p.m. to 2 a.m., and Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 2 a.m. Anything else you need to know, just check out the Instagram feed right here.

Now what’s next …

Parc Has a Bread Window Now

Really, it’s more like a very small house. Or the ticket booth at the fanciest movie theater in town. But the idea is the same: Parc now has a hole in the wall where bread comes out.

Here’s how it works: You walk in, hook around the hostess stand, and look for the beautifully finished little wooden frame around the window in the wall with the chalkboard next to it. This is the customer-facing end of the new Bread du Jour program at Parc — which is really just a clever, low-contact way to get more bread into people, and to give hurried neighbors a way to score some of Parc’s excellent bread without having to actually sit down at a table and order anything.

There’s a different loaf for every day of the week:

Monday: Caramelized Onion Sourdough

Tuesday: Herbes de Provence Focaccia

Wednesday: Olive Polenta Sourdough

Thursday: Marble Rye

Friday: Currant Oatmeal Swirl

I love this idea for two reasons. First, because Parc’s bread is amazing and whoever it was that came up with a way to make getting some easier deserves a Nobel Prize or something. Second, because I believe every restaurant ought to have a takeout window. Just pick the one thing you’re best at, the one thing that everyone comes looking for, and sell it through a hole in the wall. Gilda could do pasteis de nata. Tabachoy could do ukoy or pork belly sisig. My Loup could have a window that exists only to hand me a gin and tonic every time I walk by. It would be perfect.

Anyway, Parc’s “Bread du Jour” window is open now. Worried about how it all works? Have no fear. Just check out this video on Instagram if you want to see it in action.

Almost Home Gets Further From Home

Photograph courtesy of Almost Home General

New Jersey already knows Almost Home General. It’s a coffee shop and brunch spot with a serious menu, unique coffees and mocktails, a pandemic origin story that involves both an 1,800-mile bike ride and the Miami Dolphins, six locations up and running in the Garden State already and, come Thursday, a seventh at 205 Race Street in Old City.

Like Mamajuana above, this will be Almost Home’s first foothold in Pennsylvania, and I gotta say that I like the look of the menu. Tempura-fried scrapple with an olive oil-poached egg? Yes, please. Flash-fried chicken thighs with hot honey butter, homemade lamb sausage sandwiches with dried cherries and sesame brittle, and truffle fondue with crispy potato sticks on a hoagie roll? Sign me the fuck up. These are big swings, particularly on an Old City brunch menu, and you just gotta respect that kind of swagger.

The new spot will seat 60 inside, more on a patio that’ll open later in the season, and have some kind of “almost home vibe” according to the press release. Fans of Almost Home also say that it’s a fairly kid-friendly cafe. Plus, the baristas here have just as much on the line as the cooks do. They’re already hyping up a smoked s’mores latte, an Old Fashioned cold brew, three kinds of lemonade (cold brew, butterfly, and charcoal — two of which I had to look up) and, one would assume, coffee.

Partners Robert Doran (who did the bike ride mentioned above), Andrew Datre and Braxton Berrios (wide receiver for the Miami Dolphins) are already looking for another spot in the area, and are hoping to get three Almost Home General locations open in New Jersey and Pennsylvania in the next year and to expand into dinner service and late-night menus. For now, though, let’s just concern ourselves with the Old City spot and what’s happening there this week. Almost Home General will be open daily, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., starting on Thursday, April 11th.

If anything changes, we’ll be sure to let you know.

Now who’s got room for some leftovers?

The Leftovers

A selection of Chef Andrew Wood’s pastas for Le Virtù. / Photograph courtesy of Le Virtù

So there’s been a lot of news this week about New York and New Jersey operations looking to claim a little PA real estate, so how ‘bout we kick things off here with a little good news from one of PA’s own.

Wawa (can’t get more Philly than that) is celebrating its 60th anniversary on Tuesday, April 16th, and on this very special Wawa Day, there’s gonna be free hot coffee for everyone, all day long, at every store. Because that’s just how Wawa rolls.

There’ll also be vintage decor, merch, 60th Anniversary tumblers for sale, 60-cent birthday cake donuts, and other promotions. In Philly, the Wawa at 6th and Chestnut is the center of the Wawa universe. That’s where they’ll be pouring out a ceremonial cup of coffee at 7 a.m., giving speeches, donating $1 million in gift cards to local charities. Then, at 9 a.m., the action moves to the National Constitution Center where they’re unveiling a Wawa history exhibit and offering free entrance to the Constitution Center all day.

Speaking of charity events, I’ve got two good ones for you this week. First, at the Trestle Inn, they’re doing a “Feel the Love” happy hour every Thursday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., with proceeds going to benefit local charities. They’re focusing on the arts, animals, and the environment for their spring campaign, and the schedule looks like this: On April 18th, the Center for Emerging Visual Artists, Theatre Exile on April 25th, Brewerytown Garden on May 16th, the Savoy Company on the 23rd and Philly Bike Action on May 30th. There’ll be happy-hour pricing, a special bourbon, aperol and lemon cocktail called “How Deep Is Your Love” for $9, and all the best sounds of ’60s and ’70s Philly classics.

Second, we’ve got the Sisterly Love Collective (in partnership with the Chef Conference) taking over the Twisted Tail on April 12th from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. with a “Women In Spirits” fundraiser for the OurWhisky Foundation which helps to empower women in the whiskey business. There’ll be networking, drinking, snacks, plus a panel discussion featuring women in the spirits industry. Tickets are $35 and you can get yours here.

And finally this week, let’s talk about La Panarda — the absolutely batshit exercise in extreme “Abruzzese lunacy” — is coming back to Le Virtù after a five-year absence.

This party is a lot. It’s 40-plus courses, plus paired wines, spread out over nine hours on one summer day in June at Le Virtù. Chef Andrew Wood has put together a whole menu that focuses on both “the diverse terroir of the entire Abruzzo region” and sustainable, local farming. Plus, there’ll be an ice luge for shots of homemade Italian digestivi.

So yeah, a little bit highbrow, a little bit lowbrow, perfect for Philly.

Now the event itself isn’t happening until June 2nd (first plates drop at noon), but because this is such a highly anticipated event, tickets — which will run you $500, plus tax and tip — are already on sale. Reservations are highly limited, obviously, but if you’re down for one of the biggest, strangest, most overwhelming food events of the year, secure your spot right here.

But I’d hurry. Because I don’t think these tickets are going to be around for very long.