Fishtown Seafood Opens New Location With Wonka-esque “Golden Oyster” Promo

One of five “Golden Oysters” waiting to be found at Fishtown Seafood’s new Fitler Square location. / Photograph courtesy of Fishtown Seafood

Howdy, buckaroos! And welcome back to the Foobooz food news round-up. Just a few quick things to get you caught up on this week, beginning with a story about five magical oysters hidden in Fitler Square. No, for real. Check it out.

Willy Wonka, But With Shellfish

We have been waiting a while for Fishtown Seafood — Bryan Szeliga’s award-winning, ethically-sourced, new-school fish shop in the heart of Fishtown — to open its first satellite location. The new Fitler Square spot which just opened at 22nd and Pine does everything the flagship store does. It has a wide selection of East Coast oysters, coho salmon from Alaska, Maine dayboat scallops, flash-frozen tuna that’s not chemically treated, smoked eel, whole octopus, tinned fish, caviar and a hundred other things of particular interest to discriminating seafood aficionados (a-FISH-ionados, get it?).

But in order to get people psyched about the new spot, Szeliga decided he had to do something special. Something different. So he found himself some gold paint and went straight Willy Wonka with a “Five Golden Oysters” promo that y’all should really be aware of.

So here’s the deal: Every Friday, the shop does a “One Buck, Youse Shuck” deal on buckets of oysters all day long (or while supplies last). You show up, order a bucket of oysters (six minimum), and go to town. Only now, hidden among those thousands of oysters that the new Fitler Square shop will presumably go through, are five golden oysters. Find one of those, bring it to the counter, and you get 20 percent off for life.

The promo started this past Friday, but the plan is for it to run until all five golden oysters are claimed. Which, not for nothing, is a pretty great way to celebrate a grand opening. And a seriously good deal for whoever finds those magical shellfish. So far, two golden oysters have been found, so there are still three out there up for grabs.

Oh, and one other thing? While the original Fishtown location sold lots of sashimi-grade fish for all of you living out your Jiro Dreams of Sushi fantasies from the comfort of home, it didn’t sell any actual sushi. The new Fitler Square location, on the other hand, is actually packaging and selling grab-and-go sushi for the masses. Which is awesome because this city just does not have enough places where you can get quality sushi to go.

I mean, I love sitting at the sushi bar as much as the next guy (probably twice as much as the next guy, honestly), but having a dependable spot to score some handrolls to bring home and eat on my couch is a luxury afforded to very few. So I’m thrilled that now I have a spot where I can go, grab a tray, and eat on a bench in Rittenhouse Square whenever the mood strikes me.

Anyway, what’s next?

Two Philly Bars Make Esquire‘s List of Best New Bars in America

Post Haste’s Clover Club cocktail / Photograph courtesy of Post Haste

In the June issue of Esquire magazine, editors name the 42 best new bars in America — two of which are in Philadelphia.

Poison Heart and Post Haste are our two big winners this year. The former is called out for its punk rock sensibilities and freezer martinis; the latter for its commitment to keeping it local and serving only products made on this side of the Mississippi. They dug Poison Heart because it’s got that upscale/lowbrow dichotomy that so many places try (and fail) to pull off: “You can have fancy things like oysters and a freezer martini and a well-rounded wine list (it’s the same team behind Esquire Best Bar Superfolie) and a knowledgeable staff, but you can also have waffle fries and a patty melt and popcorn and a vibe that has you wishing you’d worn your black leather jacket.”

And okay, my leather jacket is brown (and awesome), but I feel fine wearing it there, too. Other than that, I think they nailed it.

At Post Haste, it was the rules that charmed them. And the cosmo on the drinks menu. To wit: “Keeping things local has been a characteristic of the food space for a long time. In the drinks space, not so much. Fred Beebe and Gabriel Guerrero of Post Haste are trying to counteract that by only employing ingredients from east of the Mississippi. That means anything that comes in a bottle, even the ginger used in syrups, is from local distillers. If the bar itself, which is reminiscent of an old Irish pub, seems incongruous with what’s happening on the menu, that’s because it’s been upcycled as well.”

Anyway, I’ve got no argument with either of those picks. Both are great spots, and deserving of all the ink that can be spilled. But if you’re willing to venture a little bit further afield (but not quite so far as NYC, which notched seven spots), the mag also name-checked Simmer Down at the Quoin Hotel in Wilmington (operated by Philly’s Method Co., of Wm. Mulherin’s fame) and La Otra way up there in Aberdeen Township, NJ.

You can check out the whole list right here. Or just skip that, and spend the time getting your elbows down on the oak at Poison Heart or Post Haste. I promise that neither one will feel like a waste of your time or attention.

French Vibes in Headhouse Square

Nicholas Bazik has cooked his way through a lot of big-name restaurants over the past dozen-odd years in Philly. He’s been in the kitchen at Fork, Lacroix, La Peg, Good King Tavern, Kensington Quarters, La Chinesca and the 13th Street Kitchens gang of restaurants. He’s done French, kinda-French, very-French and not-at-all-French during his time. And for the past year or so, he’s been working hard to get his own thing off the ground in the former Xochitl space at 408 South 2nd Street.

The restaurant will be called Provenance. And it will, perhaps unsurprisingly, be a heavily Frenched-up kind of joint, with an ever-evolving tasting menu, some Korean influences, and a focus on seafood.

Like pretty much every single opening we talk about these days, this one has been stalled off time and again. And while Bazik still has no hard date marked on the calendar, he’s hoping for mid-summer. Maybe July-ish, if all goes well. Check out the Provenance Instagram and you can see where he started. He gutted the place. It was just four walls and a roof. Now, though, things are coming together.

When it does finally open, the place will be small — 18 seats with an additional handful in a private dining room. “Controllable” is how Bazik refers to it. The good folks from Philly Voice got him to talk about the place last week, so if you’re looking for some more details, check out their interview. It sounds like a very interesting spot, and I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on the place as we get closer to the (presumed) opening date.

Bolo’s New Collab Dinner Series

Chef Yun Fuentes of Bolo / Photograph by Gab Bonghi

Meanwhile, if you’re looking for something slightly more low-key, Bolo — chef Yun Fuentes’ Latin American restaurant and rum bar — is celebrating its one-year anniversary tonight with the first of its “Mesa Bolo” collaboration dinners.

On Tuesday, June 4th, Fuentes is bringing in chef Douglas Rodriguez, ex of Alma de Cuba, to cook a multi-course blow-out dinner. Fuentes was Rodriguez’s executive chef at Alma, and the two are putting together a classic menu full of old favorites. We’re talking smoked marlin tacos, oysters Rodriguez, black bean hummus with pan de casabe, ceviches, soft-shell arroz con jeyes and more. The dinner will cost you $95 (plus tax and tip). There are two seatings: 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. And you can make your reservations here.

And hey, if you can’t make it tonight, chef Fuentes is planning on doing a whole series of these chef-driven, Mesa Bolo collaboration dinners on the first Tuesday of every month. So check back here for more details.

Now who has room for some leftovers?

The Leftovers

Scenes from the Dish It Up event in 2022. / Photograph courtesy of Dish It Up

Nick Elmi and Fia Berisha killed it with Lark — their rooftop fancy-casual Mediterranean spot atop the Marriott at Pencoyd Landing in Bala Cynwyd (where they also run a cafe called The Landing Kitchen). I seriously loved the place when I reviewed it, loved it just as much when I went back, and still think about it often as one of those places that so completely outperformed my expectations that I can’t help but still cheer it from the sidelines two years later.

Well, guess what? Elmi, Berisha and Donna Galvin of the Penn Group are coming back with yet another concept in the same Ironworks development. This one is called the Pump House, and it’s an enormous event space with private dining, covered patio seating, a 60-seat basement speakeasy and room for hundreds of guests. It’s basically been set up as a way to take some of the pressure off of Lark and The Landing (which have been doing private events of their own all along) and to provide a space for really big events that the two existing restaurants couldn’t otherwise handle.

So if you’re planning on getting married and want to do it overlooking the scenic Schuylkill River in the shadow of an old ironworks, now you can. The Pump House is up and running right now, and all the information you could possibly need can be found right here.

Burger King recently introduced two new menu items inspired by Philadelphia. According to the Daily Mail, the fast food joint added a Chicken Philly Royal Crispy Wrap made with white-meat chicken fillets, Swiss cheese, fire-grilled peppers, onions, and BK’s Royal Sauce. Joining the new wrap for a limited time is the Philly Melt. It’s like a Whopper but with a bit of Philly flair: You still get the two all-beef patties, but it also comes with a bit of shaved steak, peppers, onions, melted cheese, and royal sauce. And this isn’t just a local promo — you can find these two Philly-esque sandwiches at participating locations across the United States.

Considering what happened back in 2018 when our own Victor Fiorillo went to try the Philly Cheesesteak Burger and ended up projectile vomiting mere hours later, we are a little wary to try these out. But if you end up giving it a go, let us know. Some folks on Reddit seem to enjoy the new wrap and Philly Melt.

And finally this week, if you don’t already have plans for Thursday night, how about dropping by Vie (at 600 North Broad Street) for “Dish It Up” — the annual culinary philanthropic event (and chef competition) for Women Against Abuse.

Basically, they’re bringing together all the best women chefs in the city in one place, for one night, to compete and see who can come up with the best sweet and savory dishes in the house. There’ll be a panel of celebrity judges, but you’ll also get to sample everything they cook, plus hit the open bar, which will feature espresso martinis as the cocktail du jour.

Because espresso martinis are apparently having a bit of a moment right now. Who knew?

The party starts at 6 p.m. You can get your tickets (and a full list of participating chefs) here.