Little Water in Rittenhouse Prepares for Opening Day

Randy and Amanda Rucker, owners of River Twice and Little Water. / Photograph by Mike Prince

Howdy, buckaroos! And welcome back to the weekly Foobooz food news round-up. We’ve just got a few quick things to get to this week, including (but not limited to) news from Autana, a bar for BOTLD, a new approach from Hiroki, and a food truck night market that ended before it began. But let’s kick things off this week with this …

Little Water Is (Finally) Ready To Open

This feels crazy to me, but it was almost 10 months ago that I first told y’all about Little Water — the second restaurant for River Twice‘s husband-and-wife team, Randy and Amanda Rucker — taking over the Rittenhouse Square space formerly known as Twenty Manning.

Back in January, we didn’t know anything about Little Water other than that it would be a “contemporary coastal” restaurant serving lunch and dinner and that it was planning to open in the spring. And most of that information turned out to be wrong. Over the months, goals evolved and plans shifted, but now we know a few things for sure. Most notably, Little Water now has an actual opening planned for this month at 261 South 20th Street. There’s a preview dinner in mid-October. And, provided no one burns the place down, the public opening should follow shortly after, likely by the end of the month.

Beyond that, I can tell you that the whole “contemporary coastal” theme is still in place. Little Water will be a restaurant that celebrates “the Ruckers’ experiences living along the Gulf Coast, New England and Mid-Atlantic regions,” inspired by the bounty available in those places where the land and water meet.

The Ruckers are doing an à la carte menu based on sustainability, coastal products, and a lifetime spent living and eating in those places, and they’re doing it right in the heart of Rittenhouse, in a space that’s just about as venerable as they come. Little Water will be dinner-only (at least to start) and will run service Tuesdays through Saturdays, from 5 to 10 p.m.

Oh, and if you want a quick little peek at what’s coming, check out the reel posted on Little Water’s Instagram page.

BOTLD, But Make It a Cocktail Bar

BOTLD’s Midtown Village bar / Photograph courtesy of BOTLD

Andrew Auwerda’s BOTLD is a lot of things. It’s a supplier, distributor, and retailer of spirits. It’s an elite-level liquor-law hacker that found a workaround to Pennsylvania’s charmingly complex liquor laws by getting itself classed as a distillery and bottling out-of-state liquors in its KOP plant, allowing them to be sold (under their original branding) because they’ve technically been bottled in PA. It’s the kind of place where you can get pink gin, cream bourbon, French absinthe, whiskey from Woody Creek, and Eagles-branded tequila. But one thing it wasn’t was a bar.

Until now.

BOTLD’s Midtown Village location at 117 South 13th Street (which was originally the site of Auwerda’s second retail location) has just reopened after a months-long renovation as a cocktail bar. The drinks program is in the hands of Roland Coggin (a 20-year veteran behind the long oak), and he’s designing it to showcase the kinds of unique spirits that BOTLD partners with — stuff that’s generally unavailable anywhere else in the state. Which means he’s got lots to play with — everything from a Middle West pumpernickel rye to Illadelph vodka; from Arkansas sweet potato and corn vodka to Cuban botanical rums.

The new space is 1,700 square feet with nine seats at the bar and room for 35 more on banquettes in the lounge. There’s also a bottle shop on-site, highlighting BOTLD’s retail list — plus mixers and more. It’s a small space, but mighty, and fully keeping with the kind of loophole-finding, technicality-exploiting, innovative rule-bending that we respect here at Foobooz, and which makes the Pennsylvania booze scene such fun to cover.

The new spot is open now. Hours are Monday through Thursday, 1 p.m. to 11 p.m., weekends from 11 a.m. to midnight, and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. So if you’re feeling frisky (or just looking to try something new), drop in and check ’em out. Because those bottles of smoked rye and green chile vodka aren’t just going to drink themselves.

Now what’s next …

Autana Gets Back in the Game

Pabellón, a traditional Venezuelan dish with rice, beans and shredded beef / Photograph by Ted Nghiem

It was just a few weeks ago that I told y’all about Autana shutting down in Ardmore — one of the best restaurants in the burbs (and a place that I swooned over repeatedly), closing down suddenly over a landlord dispute and depriving us all of some great Venezuelan food and the best tres leches cake I’ve ever had. It was bad news, for sure. And while the Hernández family (who ran the place) promised that they’d be coming back with a new project soon, lots of restaurants say that, and not many of them actually come back to life.

And yet here we are, a little more than a month later, and I just got word yesterday from Maria Hernández that Autana will be returning to its roots as a ghost kitchen and reopening for service starting this Thursday, October 10th. Only this time, they’re not going to be working in the burbs. They’re going to be setting up at the North Center Food Nest on Girard Avenue and providing takeout, delivery to all the good people of Philadelphia (within a five-mile radius) via DoorDash, Uber Eats, GrubHub, and catering. They’ll also be taking orders directly through their website.

“Our goal has always been to share our passion for Venezuelan cuisine,” Maria says, “and this ghost kitchen gives us the flexibility to reach more people while providing a convenient and enjoyable experience.”

New hours will be Tuesday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. The menu will be drawing from the same classic dishes and family recipes that originally made Autana a star in Ardmore — mandocas and yucca fries, cachapas, patacon, and lots of arepas. And at least the way things are looking right now, they’ll still have the tres leches available. So if you never got a chance to try it in the suburbs, do yourself a favor and hit the Food Nest for a taste. You will NOT be disappointed.

So I Guess Fishtown Won’t Be Getting a Late-Night Food Truck Market After All

Two weeks ago, we talked about the city’s plan to open a late-night, weekend food truck market on Allen Street in Fishtown. Six trucks, all serving from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m., made to serve burnt ends and tater tots to “all the concertgoers, bar crawlers, night-shifters, and hospitality industry employees looking for something to eat long after the sun has gone down.” It was smart, cool, reasonably innovative; and was being pitched as an experiment that, if it worked, might’ve expanded to other parts of the city as well. I was excited for the concept. Giddy, even. And anyone who knows me even a little bit knows that “giddy” is not a word one would generally use to describe my demeanor. Normally, I’m suspicious about pretty much anything good that happens in this city, and this was one of those things that sounded almost too good to be true.

And as it turns out, it was. With no explanation at all, the city pulled the plug on the Fishtown food truck night market, making the announcement via Instagram, saying, “The City of Philadelphia and @Fishtown_District regretfully announce the postponement of the grand opening and schedule for the Overnight Food Truck Market pilot initiative. We will keep the public up to date on future events and opportunities. We appreciate the tremendous amount of public enthusiasm for this first of its kind project.”

The people of Philadelphia reacted to the news exactly the way you’d expect us to, filling the comments with nothing but messages of love and support for the local agencies responsible. And while word is this is only a temporary postponement of the project, I’m not holding my breath. This was one of those things that felt like it had to work fast or not at all. And with the seasons changing and colder weather approaching, I wouldn’t expect anything to come of this plan anytime soon.

So who wants some leftovers?

The Leftovers

Hiroki / Photograph by Nico Schinco

Once upon a time (read: two weeks ago), Hiroki, the Japanese restaurant tucked away behind Wm. Mulherin’s Sons in Fishtown, was a quiet, reserved space offering a traditional omakase-only experience guided by chef Hiroki Fujiyama. It had been that way since the place opened back in 2019. Nothing about it ever really changed.

Until last week, when, suddenly, it was announced that Hiroki would be going through some fairly radical changes. And that these changes would be happening immediately.

For starters, it is no longer solely an omakase restaurant. Yes, Hiroki’s full, seasonal omakase menu is still available. But the kitchen is now adding a second, less expensive, less intensive sushi omakase and a full à la carte menu featuring maki, nigiri, cold noodles like hiyashi chukka with sweet soy and vinegar, hot katsudon pork cutlets, snapper carpaccio, and kakuni — warm rice porridge with sweet pork.

This is a huge departure for Hiroki, but it’s not coming out of nowhere. Working with Method Co. (who owns Mulherin’s and Hiroki) on one of their projects in Detroit, he opened a sister concept to the original Hiroki, called Hiroki-San, which featured a more relaxed approach and “showcased a broader style of his Japanese cooking.” Apparently, this worked pretty well in Detroit, so now he’s bringing some of those influences here to Philly in the hopes of making Hiroki more approachable (and affordable), making it less of a destination restaurant and more of an everyday experience.

Hours are staying the same, but Hiroki is now accepting walk-in customers for all versions of the menu — including the omakase.

Levain’s chocolate chip walnut cookie. / Photograph by Mark Weinberg

Meanwhile, over in Rittenhouse, New York’s own Levain Bakery is set to open its first Philly location at 15th and Walnut this Friday, October 11th, at 8 a.m.

I told you all about Levain back in August when it was first announced that they’d picked up some Philly real estate, but now the big day is finally here. And I know there’s a certain subset of readers who are very excited that the opening is now on the calendar. Really big cookies? That’s just heaven for some people. And in terms of the Really Big Cookie market, Levain has it cornered. Swear to God, these things must weigh a pound each. And they’re ridiculously good — which, coming from someone like me who is not normally a really big cookie kind of guy, is really saying something.

Levain is offering swag to the first 100 guests through the doors and donating opening day proceeds to Broad Street Love. On the opening menu are the bakery’s six classic flavors: Chocolate Chip Walnut (also available as gluten-free/vegan), Dark Chocolate Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal Raisin, Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip, Two Chip Chocolate Chip, and Caramel Coconut Chocolate Chip. They’ve also got a seasonal flavor in the opening line-up: Fall Chocolate Chunk, spiced with ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and molasses. There’ll also be coffee, an assortment of breads, loaf cakes, pastries, brioche, and sticky buns available on the weekends at the Rittenhouse store.

Speaking of New Yorkers heading for Philly, I got word last week that Gertie — the Brooklyn-born “Jew-ish” diner and cocktail bar — is looking at a 2025 opening in Northern Liberties. In order to prep for the big move, the crew from Gertie wanted to get to know their new neighbors a little, so they’re having a series of collab dinners with Philly chefs. Ellen Yin and her team from High Street, Omar Tate and Cybille St. Aude-Tate from Honeysuckle, and Marc Vetri will all be headed to Brooklyn to cook with the Gertie team. And then, the crew from Gertie will be coming to Philly on October 29th to set up at High Street for a “Bagels & Babka for Ballots” pop-up — a day for canvassing, fundraising, and letter-writing ahead of the election, with High Street handling the babka and Gertie bringing the bagels.

After that, they’ll be teaming up with Paffuto and other Philly restaurants for more pop-ups in advance of the eventual 2025 opening. More news on these as they come in, but I do like the idea of a place getting to know the neighbors before they hit town.

Finally this week, in the wake of recent racial and antisemitic vandalism at her Westtown School farm in West Chester, Christa Barfield — who you may know better as FarmerJawn — launched her “Only Love Grows Here” series of dinners, bringing together the community and her team to stand against hate.

The first dinner happened in late August, but she has a new one coming up on Saturday, October 19th, in collaboration with the Maplewood Collective at the Maplewood Mall in Germantown.

“The event is aimed to celebrate community, unity, and the power of love that grows from our farm to our guests’ tables,” Barfield says. “Rooted in the Only Love Grows theme, this event goes beyond a simple meal amongst neighbors. It represents the idea that love, connection, and nourishment are cultivated through the land and shared experiences. I am a proud native of Germantown, and I believe in a commitment to sustainable regenerative farming. My passion for giving back to my community drives our mission to provide fresh, organic produce to local communities and promote food sovereignty. This dinner is an extension of that mission — to connect people through the values of love, unity, and shared responsibility for the earth.”

The BYO dinner is rain or shine, from 4 to 8 p.m., and tickets are $135 for a multi-course, family-style farm-to-table dinner in collaboration with chef Terrell Allen, live entertainment, and a goodie bag filled with local products.

So yeah, it’s a good dinner with good folks for a good cause. Tickets are available here. Get yours before they’re gone.

Editor’s note: The headline has been updated to reflect that Little Water’s opening date is still pending.