Suburban Station Is Getting a New Restaurant

Suburban Station / Photograph by Laura Swartz

Howdy, buckaroos! And welcome back to the Foobooz food news round-up. Well, it’s Valentine’s week. And I know that all of us (both inside and outside the industry) have bigger and more important things to worry about, so let’s just get right into it.

Chocolate Bars and Chicken Parm Coming to Suburban Station

And both from the same place, too.

Word came down late last week that Atlantic City’s own Rhythm & Spirits is coming to town with an all-new second location, and the space they’ve chosen is … inside Suburban Station.

It’s not actually that weird. Restaurateur Mark Callazzo and partner Lee Sanchez (who handles the booze) are taking over a street-level space on JFK Boulevard between 16th and 17th and outfitting it with the same “quirky atmosphere” that works for them in A.C. — which basically means lots of bright colors, lysergic acid tiki vibes and a kind of tropical-ish theme (plus the occasional unicorn). Put politely, it will be a departure for that particular stretch of JFK — and it’s about time.

“Many of our customers are from Philadelphia, so we are really excited to open our second location in Center City,” Sanchez said in a press release sent to Foobooz. The new spot will be roughly twice the size of the Atlantic City original (so, about 4,500 square feet) and will include the 32 Chocolate Speakeasy in the back — a Philly version of Bar 32 Chocolate which, in addition to being the spot that gave away two Golden Tickets to Taylor Swift’s sold-out Philly shows for Christmas 2022, is a well-known bean-to-bar chocolatier with a location right next door to the original Rhythm & Spirits. The result will be a heavily chocolate-focused dessert menu, plus a choco-centric brunch service and some chocolate-inspired cocktails.

Meanwhile, the rest of the menu will be the same kind of modern Italian that R&S is known for — Southern-fried chicken parm, limoncello-glazed bacon, oysters named for Ivan Drago — but with more space, I’m guessing we’ll see them leaning even more heavily into the apps and entrées. But one place you won’t be leaning (see what I did there?) is on the bar. Because word is, R&S won’t have one — at least not in the traditional sense. All cocktails will be ordered and served at the table.

According to Callazzo, “There isn’t anything like it in Philadelphia. It’s traditional Italian-America food with a twist and our chocolate desserts and cocktails are handmade straight from the bean to the bar. Oh, and our brunch, with an emphasis on chocolate dishes, is out of this world. We can’t wait for Philadelphia to see why we’ve become ‘A.C. Famous’.”

So that’s something for all of us to look forward to, I guess. And since Callazzo and Sanchez are looking at an early 2024 opening, we might not even have to wait that long.

Okay, so what’s next?

America’s About to Live Más with Philly’s Reuby

Chef Reuben Asaram is a founding member of Taco Bell’s TBX program. / Photograph courtesy of Taco Bell Corp.

Our own chef Reuben Asaram (a.k.a. Reuby) was in Las Vegas this weekend, but not for the Super Bowl. He was representing Philly at Taco Bell’s Live Más LIVE Event where they announced TBX, a new chef-centric collaboration program designed to “take tacos to new places,” according to the press release. Asaram is one of three chefs chosen by Taco Bell for his “individual creativity, unique culinary point of voice, and longtime love of all things Taco Bell.”

Philly already loves Reuby, hence why we named him as one of our Promising Pop-Ups in our recent 50 Best Restaurants list. But it’s exciting to see a little bit of Philly flavor take the national stage, and with a brand as huge as Taco Bell.

It makes so much sense that Asaram would be chosen for this. Just look at his food — the vibrantly colored sauces he covers his Reubychangas with fits perfectly within Taco Bell’s neon-aesthetic, and the way he blends Mexican and Indian flavors is sure to add even more excitement to their menu. It’s as if this program was developed specifically with him in mind.

TBX has a lot of perks for its founding members including free meals, limited-edition merch, support from Taco Bell, and a chance to connect with other emerging chefs around the country. But the coolest part of this program is that Asaram will have a chance to co-create menu items. From the sound of it, the first collaboration dish he, his TBX cohorts, and the Taco Bell Test Kitchen will working on is a remixed version of the Crunchwrap Supreme. If all goes well, it’ll make an appearance on menus in select markets later this year.

You’re Invited!

Philadelphia magazine’s Wine & Dine presented by Lexus

There are two swanky culinary events happening in Philadelphia over the next few weeks. The first is Philadelphia magazine’s Wine & Dine presented by Lexus happening at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts on February 22nd. Join us from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. (5 p.m. to 9 p.m. if you’re one of our VIPs) to taste from over 400 premium wines paired with bites prepared by over 30 restaurants hand-selected by the Philadelphia magazine editors — some of which are featured on this year’s 50 Best Restaurants list! Our line-up includes Cantina La Martina, June BYOB, Tabachoy, Stina Pizzeria and more! It’ll be an evening of sipping fabulous wines curated by sommeliers and winemakers, rubbing shoulders with restaurant industry titans, and sampling bites from some of the top restaurants in our region.

Check out the full list of participating restaurants and get your tickets here. And if you need anymore convincing, we’re offering a Valentine’s Day sale on tickets. Use the code VALENTINE for buy one, get one half off discounts on general admission and VIP tickets. Hurry, because this deal is only good through tomorrow, February 14th!

The second event is the James Beard Foundation’s “Taste America” event happening at the Philadelphia Museum of Art on March 12th. The JBF hits up 20 different American cities and, in each one, throws a blow-out party for the local swells. The proceeds go back to the chefs involved, and toward their own projects which “support of equity, sustainability, women’s leadership, and a future where all can thrive for the culinary industry and beyond,” according to the JBF. Tickets are available right now.

And in the meantime, how about some leftovers?

The Leftovers

Attendees of Bierfest / Photograph by Krista Patton

I love hand pies. They’re like the perfect convenience food, comforting as hell, second only to sausage rolls in the grand pantheon of Things to Eat While Walking. Also, like dumplings, a lot of things can qualify as a hand pie without actually being called a hand pie. Jamaican beef patty? Hand pie. Pasty? Hand pie. Empanada? Hand pie. They’re awesome.

Anyway, it looks like Dan Martino has notched another location for his hand pie mini-empire, Little Susie’s Coffee & Pie, with a new opening at 1754 South Chadwick Street in Point Breeze. The menu is essentially the same: sweets and savories, from Philly cheesesteak hand pies to classic apple and cherry versions, with a few specials in the works. Service is looking familiar, too. It’s a walk-up business, takeout only — at least for the time being.

This weekend, the grand opening of Asad’s new University City location ended abruptly due to safety concerns. An estimated 500 to 600 people showed up to 16 South 40th Street for free fried chicken and a chance to win one of ten $200 gift cards. According to CBS, the restaurant had to call the police because a fight broke out. University of Pennsylvania police responded to the call and ultimately shut down the event. “We are so sorry for the inconvenience. Due to the large crowd, the city of Philadelphia and the police department had to stop us today for the safety of our community and staff,” Asad’s wrote in an Instagram post.

In other news, there’s now yet another Brass Tap location up and running in the former Old Eagle Tavern space at 177 Markle Street in Manayunk. Brass Tap is a Florida-based chain of beer bars with 50-some locations across the country. The Manayunk outpost is their newest. And that’s a bold move in a town that takes its craft brewing so seriously. But you can check them out for yourself, if you’re so inclined. The new spot opened on Monday.

Or, if multi-unit national chain beer bars aren’t your thing, you could always just check out Philly Bierfest. The 11th annual event is happening at the German Society of Pennsylvania on February 24th and these guys are going to have a lot of beer, too.

Like, a LOT.

We’re talking 50 German-style beers — some imports, the rest from 25 different local breweries — plus ciders, N/A’s and a whole speakeasy. There’s also going to be a cheese cave. Know what Brass Tap doesn’t have? A cheese cave. Or a polka-funk band. Or a sword-swallower acting as emcee. No, for real.

Anyway, if you’re down, get more information here and tickets here.

And if your German isn’t great, there’s also this: The first-ever Philly Beer Fest is happening this weekend at the 23rd Street Armory. The event is on Saturday, February 17th, and is broken up into two sessions. (No, you can’t go to both.) As with Bierfest, Beer Fest will have snacks, music, a curated list of dozens of local brewers pouring their best beers and showing off for the neighbors. No sword-swallowers, though. But hey, since the events are happening on consecutive Saturdays, you could always just go to both. Tickets and event information for Beer Fest can be found here.

Finally this week, it looks like the Kismet team is getting ready to open their fourth location — Kismet Bagels Luncheonette—at 801 Montgomery Avenue in Lower Merion. The Luncheonette is something a little bit new for owners and former pandemic side-hustlers Alexandra and Jacob Cohen. The other three locations? Those are all about the bagels and bialys. But this place will be rocking with a whole lunch menu as well — a first for Kismet. I mean, they’ll have bagels and bialys, too. Don’t panic or anything. But grabbing a space in the ‘burbs meant a little more space to stretch out, and a full-on breakfast-and-lunch spot is what they came up with.

It opens on February 14th. You know what to do.

And that’s it, folks. We’re done. So happy Valentine’s Day to one and all, and I’ll see everyone back here next week.