The Gaslight Is Taking A Do-Over

Things did not go well for Jason Cichonski when he debuted his Old City bro-haven and drink-a-teria, The Gaslight. He got kicked around pretty good by our own Trey Popp, who handed down one lonely star (“The Ela chef’s sophomore effort feels like an Old City boite for singles who’ve almost outgrown them, but who aren’t quite ready to choose between Manayunk and Cougar Town.”) and given a single mercy bell by Craig LaBan in a review most notable for the fact that the chef himself knew an ass-kicking was forthcoming.

Still, he kept things going–serving crowds who didn’t seem dissuaded at all by the bad press. Right up until February 28 when a burst pipe upstairs forced a “temporary” shutdown (which has now lasted nearly a month) and Cichonski decided to use the time to re-do, well, pretty much everything.

He brought in a new chef, for starters. Jordan Sauter has some recognizable names on his resume–most notably as chef at Philadelphia Bar and Restaurant which used to live in the space that The Gaslight now calls home. Meaning that, at the very least, Sauter should be able to find his way to work in the morning.

But along with a new chef, Cichonski has also redone the entire menu. Aiming now for a simpler, pared-down and more easily accessible gastropub menu, the chef describes his food thusly: “This was an opportunity for me to create a menu inspired by the food I love to eat when I go out. It’s good, simple bar food, done fucking great.”

And while perhaps not exactly appropriate as a chain restaurant motto, Good food done fucking great is a solid target to aim for when coming back off a critical knee-capping and more than a month in the dark.

If all goes according to plan, The Gaslight (v.2.0) will reopen on March 30 (UPDATE: or they may open on Friday, March 27) . They’re also planning a complimentary happy hour on Wednesday, April 8, from 5-7pm with cocktails courtesy of Bluecoat gin and the new Bluecoat Barrel-Aged gin. So, you know, free drinks. Which are never a bad thing.

For those of you who are curious, we’ve also got a copy of the new Spring menu that The Gaslight will be re-opening with.

The Gaslight [f8b8z]