Dizengoff Reaches Its Final Form, and It’s Better Than Ever

Dizengoff’s new digs / Photograph by Mike Persico

Howdy, buckaroos! And welcome back to the Foobooz food news round-up. This week we’ve got fun. We’ve got games. We’ve got Mardi Gras and mini golf and lawsuits, too. But let’s get the week started with some good news for everyone. Because guess who’s coming back to the neighborhood 6 Million Dollar Man-style?

Bigger, Brighter and Boozier Than It Was Before

Yeah, that’s right. After a considerable absence from the scene, Michael Solomonov and Steve Cook’s hummus-and-pita joint, Dizengoff, re-opened for service yesterday.

Diz has been gone for a while. It (along with Abe Fisher next door) closed last summer for a massive re-model which included, but was not limited to, the complete absorption of Abe after almost 10 years in business. And that kind of thing can take some time.

But now it’s done. And Dizengoff — this strange, shallow, grafitti-colored space where awesome hummus, even awesome-er toppings, and triply awesome pita were the focus — has now emerged as a full-fledged, sit-down restaurant with 95 seats, a full bar and a menu. While it’s still centered around hummus and pita, the menu has now expanded to include Belgian endive salad with tehina and pistachio, boreeka pastries with raw tuna, harissa and runny egg, falafel-fried dorade with amba, chicken schnitzel with Yemmenite pickles and vegan date-tehina ice cream sandwiches for dessert.

It’s a BIG change. But collapsing the two restaurants into one also just makes sense. Cook ‘n Solo are focusing their portfolio on restaurants, and while I really liked the Diaspora-inspired cuisine (and black-and-white diner tiles) at Abe Fisher, Dizzengoff always felt more vital and alive. Whether or not that kind of vitality will translate from a Sansom Street hummus shack to a somewhat more staid and serious spot for dinner and custom cocktails at the bar is, I guess, the big question. But it’s one that’s going to be answered pretty quickly because the new and improved Dizengoff is open right now, for dinner services only, nightly from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. (with drinks until midnight). Lunch hours are coming (along with a new pita sandwich menu in place of dinnertime entrees), but no word on precisely when.

Moving on…

Game Night

Puttshack at the Shops at Liberty Place / Photograph by Mike Persico

I have never really understood the draw of board game cafes, bars with checker boards or Settlers of Cataan hidden behind the counter, or restaurants that focus more on entertainment than the food. I mean, I get it. Dave & Buster’s does really well. And Barcade has always scratched a very particular itch for me. But for the most part, I am the sort of fella who can drink at home while playing King of Tokyo or Zombies!!! with friends, or Hardspace: Shipbreaker all by myself, and save my dining and drinking for those rooms where a great burger or a swell cocktail are the focus of attention.

Still, these kinds of arcade bars and game cafes (along with hi-fi listening clubs) are having a bit of a moment. And there are LOTS of people out there who are thrilled to have something to occupy them while they’re waiting on their mozzarella sticks and frozen margaritas. So for them, I’ve got two pieces of news from that particular universe.

First, there’s Puttshack, which is essentially an indoor miniature golf course with a bar and a kitchen attached.

Actually, it’s more like four 9-hole, tech-driven indoor miniature golf courses covering 26,000 square feet on the ground floor of the Shops at Liberty Place (with a bar and a kitchen attached), set to open on Saturday, February 24th. Giving a name to the kind of niche market that I was trying to describe above, they call it “competitive socializing” which, I suppose, is as good a name as any.

So there’s a whole spiel about how Puttshack’s balls have computer chips in them and how the whole experience is tracked and linked to player profiles, but whatever. Basically, it’s a big and shiny mini-golf place that’s offering “Spicy Pineapple Mezcal Margaritas” at the bar and, from the kitchen, Korean bao buns, wood-fired octopus, chorizo empanadas, and something they’re calling a “Philadelphia Tailpipe” — fried spring rolls filled with roast pork, provolone and garlic-grilled broccoli rabe. That sounds awful. On the other hand, they’re donating a buck from every order sold to Philabundance, which is a pretty classy move.

Puttshack has a bunch of other locations already, but this is its first in Philly. They’re trying to straddle the line between family-fun-times during the day, and grown-up fun after dark. There’s private party spaces, 195 seats on the floor, TVs behind the bar. It’s a big deal. So if you’re really into roast pork spring rolls and mini golf, today is a great day for you.

Meanwhile, if game nights and drag brunches are more your speed, then how ‘bout Thirsty Dice in Fairmount? They’ve just announced a whole bunch of winter events to keep the gray days from getting too depressing. Over the weekend, they hosted the aforementioned Drag Bingo Brunch with the Philly Drag Mafia. For Superbowl Sunday, they’re kicking off what they hope to be an annual event: Superb Owl Sunday (it’s a long-running internet joke), which will feature brunch, themed games and cocktails for those who have no particular interest in watching the Chiefs embarrass the 49ers (or to see if Taylor makes it to Vegas in time for the game).

After that, there’s Valentine’s Day which has games for couples, games for groups, games for people who decided to have their first date both ON Valentine’s Day AND at a board game café (all the love in the world to you gamers). There’s cherry bourbon wings and Valentine’s nachos on the menu, a boozy milkshake called “Love Potion No. 9” which is strawberry ice cream, champagne, Bailey’s and chocolate-covered strawberries, and Kir Royales for everybody else.

And then there are the regular game nights, Quizzo, a beginner’s Dungeons & Dragons night which hasn’t yet been scheduled. It’s a lot of stuff. So if you’re down, check out the full schedule right here, or just get yourselves out to Fairmount and drop by Thirsty Dice to see what’s up.

Okay, so what’s next?

All The Sweets You Can Handle

From left: Ashley Huston of Dreamworld Bakes and Lisa Schoenbeck of Good Good / Photographs by Mike Prince

It looks like this week, everything is coming in twos because I’ve got a double-shot of sweet news for those of you chasing after a bit of a sugar rush.

First, after years of pop-ups and Instagram menus, word just came down that Ashley Huston is upgrading her home-kitchen side-hustle, Dreamworld Bakes, to a brick-and-mortar location for her new bakery and cake studio in Kensington. She’s no rookie at this. She’s been working in the restaurant industry in Philly for a long time. But now she’s decided it’s time to have something of her own.

2400 Coral Street. That’s where she’ll be. And she’s looking at a spring opening right now—though that, like all things, may change.

The reason I’m mentioning this now, is that Huston is holding her very own bake sale at the new space on Saturday, February 3rd, from noon to 3 p.m. She’ll be selling individual cake slices so if you’re down to help a local baker out, you know where to be.

Next, it looks like local chocolatier Lisa Schoenbeck is taking her artisanal chocolate business, Good Good Chocolates, and giving it a permanent home. It was just announced that she’ll be moving into the space at 746 South 4th Street in Queen Village and working toward a late winter opening.

There’s a couple reasons why I like this story.

To start, Schoenbeck’s chocolates are gorgeous. I mean seriously, check these out and tell me I’m wrong. And having a brick-and-mortar shop right in the middle of the city will make her work more accessible to everyone. Well, everyone in Philly, anyway.

But I’m also pulling for Schoenbeck because she recently beat back ovarian cancer and when asked why she decided to go brick-and-mortar after 6 years of operating online, she said, “Life is short.” And you know what? It is. Which is why I use that same calculus for making pretty much every decision in my life. Life is short. It can end at any moment. And when it does, no one wants to regret the things they didn’t try.

Anyway, no hard opening date yet. But I’ll be keeping an eye out. So watch this space.

Now how ‘bout some leftovers?

The Leftovers

King of Bourbon Street milkshake at Craftsman Row Saloon / Photograph by Cody Aldrich

Y’all heard about the whole Tony Luke’s thing, right? About how a messy family fight over the ownership of the Tony Luke’s cheesesteak business turned into a tax fraud case that looks like it’ll land father-and-son duo Anthony Lucidonio Sr. (who’s 84) and Nicholas Lucidano (Anthony’s son) in prison for two years?

It’s all about family, betrayal and South Philly. It involves a multi-generational cheesesteak dynasty (most of whom are named Tony), two sets of books, envelopes stuffed with cash and $8 million hidden from the IRS over 30 years. It is, in short, the most Philly story EVER.

Basically what happened was that pretty much since the day the original Tony Luke’s opened in 1992, Anthony and Nicholas have been running two sets of books, messing with payroll and dodging taxes. A bitter feud over the direction of the business caused a split between Anthony Sr. and Nicholas, and Nicholas’s brother, Anthony Jr. There were lawsuits, name changes and, eventually, the IRS got involved. And the whole thing came to a head late last week with the two-year sentences handed to Anthony Sr. and Nicholas.

It is a long story, but a good one. If you’ve got some time today and want to go down that rabbit hole, read this from the Inky and you can follow the whole thing, step-by-step through the years.

In other rough news for one of Philly’s big names, Garces Trading Co. at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts is shutting down after a year in operation.

Meanwhile, the crew at Craftsman Row Saloon is celebrating Mardi Gras in a big way again this year with a whole “Mardi Gras Pop-Up Bar Experience” that kicked off over the weekend and will be running until February 24th. There’ll be dirty rice, shrimp po’ boys, jambalaya, purple, green and gold king cake fries and, most notably, the big and boozy King of Bourbon Street milkshake made with Bassetts vanilla ice cream, cinnamon, caramel, beads, king cake crumble and garnish, plus an option to add liquor.

If you’re looking for something a bit tamer, Osteria is hosting two nights with the family behind La Bottega Del Marcellaio in Bologna. Jeff Michaud and his team have gotten to know father Guido (the butcher and salumi maker), mother Anna Maria (chef) and their son Amedeo (a truffle hunter) over the years, and have brought them to Philly for an educational dining experience on February 13th where guests will learn how to make Anna Maria’s tortelloni and Guido’s sausage before sharing a four-course meal with them, followed by a five-course family-style dinner “celebrating traditional dishes from the family’s restaurant” on the 21st. You can get reservations for the dinner here and score a spot for the educational experience here. Both of them seem fantastic and, as such, I’m sure both of them are going to sell out fast. So aren’t you lucky you read this far so I could tell you about it and give you a head start on everyone else?

You’re welcome. And I’ll see you all right back here again next week.