Cheesesteak? Roast Pork? Hoagie? This Calzone Has Them All (Plus a Tomato Pie!)

Pizzata Pizzeria & Birreria’s new “Taste of Philly” calzone combines the power of four city-defining sandwiches. / Photograph by Mike Prince

Howdy, buckaroos! And welcome back to the weekly Foobooz food news round-up. We’re coming up FAST on a big holiday week, so most of the industry is buried under special events, office parties, and New Year’s Eve prep, so we’ve just got a couple quick things to talk about this week, including (but not limited to) more sad news out of Chinatown, another update from Roxanne, walk-up drunk food on South Street, and five iconic Philly foods made stronger together. So let’s kick off this abbreviated pre-holiday week with …

So It’s Like a Philly Voltron, But … Edible?

On the planet Arus, five legendary robot lions protect Princess Allura and her people from the giant monsters unleashed by Emperor Zarkon and the evil witch Haggar. In times of dire emergencies (meaning roughly once every half-hour episode), these five lions can combine into one super-lion-robot. That robot’s name is Voltron, and it is awesome.

Here in Philadelphia, Davide Lubrano, Ciro Lubrano, and Vinny Gallagher of Pizzata Pizzeria & Birreria on East Passyunk Avenue supply the good people of South Philly with pizza, beer, and calzone. But in times of dire emergency (meaning pretty much any time these days), they have created one super-calzone, combining the powers of four iconic Philly sandwiches (plus a tomato pie). That super-calzone’s name is the “Taste of Philly,” and it, too, is awesome. Plus, you can eat it — which, arguably, makes it better than Voltron.

The “Taste of Philly” is a new thing, just launched by the Pizzata team and hitting the menu today. It is essentially four connected calzones, each one representing one of Philly’s famous sandwiches. It is one-quarter cheesesteak (with long hots), one-quarter roast pork with broccoli rabe and cherry peppers, one-quarter sausage and peppers (plus onions and mozzarella), and one-quarter Italian hoagie with soppressata, spicy salami, ham, provolone, mozzarella, and romaine. Tying the whole thing together is a mini tomato pie, and the entire “Taste of Philly” package is going for just $25. It’s supposed to be able to feed three to four people, but this being Philly, I’d say plan on two hungry friends making a pretty big dent.

“So many people — both tourists and locals alike — are always looking for the best cheesesteak or the best Italian hoagie or the best roast pork,” Davide says. And he and his partners figured, why choose? “We wanted to come up with a way for people to enjoy all of them at once in a really fun and delicious way, so we experimented with this for weeks to get it right, especially because we wanted to figure out a way to put a tomato pie in the center.”

And as you can see from the pictures, all that experimentation was totally worth it. Because while it might not be as towering or heroic as five mini lion-robots coming together to fight evil in the form of one gigantic lion-robot, I would argue that it has the potential to become just as legendary.

Get it now in South Philly, kids. You (probably) won’t regret it.

Now what’s next …

Sang Kee Peking Duck House / Photograph by Rob Rabena for Visit Philadelphia / Photograph by Rob Rabena for Visit Philadelphia

Sang Kee Peking Duck House Is “Closed Indefinitely”

As if Chinatown wasn’t taking enough of a hit this week, what with the kinda-unofficial city council vote to let the Sixers move ahead with building their big, dumb arena right next door to one of the city’s most historic neighborhoods, news broke over the weekend that one of the best restaurants in the area — Sang Kee Peking Duck House — had to shut down because the whole place was filled with steam from a broken pipe under the sidewalk.

Sang Kee took to Instagram to let the people know what’s been going on:

“We have begged and begged for help. Nobody has answers. Nobody has solutions. Is there anybody in Philadelphia who can help the city identify the source of all this steam? We are desperate.

L&I has officially closed our business until the hot steam is gone. There is nothing we can do until it is fixed by whichever utility companies are responsible. They have deemed it too dangerous for people to be here.

This is a nightmare.”

And nightmare is exactly the right word. Apparently, there’s been a water leak (that no one has been able to diagnose) in Sang Kee’s basement. That water damaged some high-pressure steam pipes. The steam then damaged some electrical panels inside the restaurant. Owner Henry Chow evacuated the restaurant on Friday, and L&I told him that Sang Kee can’t reopen until the steam is gone and the panels have been fixed — and no one seems to know how long that will take. Right now, the closure is being called “indefinite,” but you don’t have to know a lot about the restaurant industry to understand how quickly indefinite can turn to permanent.

And if things do go that way? That would be an absolute fucking tragedy, because Sang Kee is a landmark.

It has been one of my favorite restaurants in Chinatown for years — a place I’ve gone to for meetings, for interviews, to sober up after meetings and interviews that happened elsewhere in Chinatown, and one of the best places I know for roast duck with Shanghai noodles, dumpling soup, salt-and-pepper shrimp, and honey-sweet BBQ pork bought by the inch. It’s been open for over 40 years, and the place is beloved by Chinatown neighbors and regulars. If I was going to get a tattoo of a famous Philly mascot, obviously my first choice would be Gritty. But my second choice would be Sang Kee’s smiling duck in a floppy chef’s hat.

Anyway, word on 9th Street is that contractors have been working in and around Sang Kee for the past couple of days, so maybe this story will have a happy ending. But I’m not holding my breath.

You’ll know more when I know more. Promise. And if you want to add your voice to the growing list of outrage and memories being collected, bop on over to Sang Kee’s Insta and speak your mind. In fine Philadelphian form, folks are not keeping quiet about this. And maybe if we all make enough collective noise, someone will figure out how to get this problem fixed.

Scampi & Champi on New Year’s Eve

Liz Grothe from Scampi / Photograph by Mike Prince

Liz Grothe just had the official opening of her new restaurant, Scampi, back on December 4th. Two weeks in, she and her crew are still working out the kinks and trying to settle into the groove of running an actual restaurant. But that’s not stopping them from throwing an after-hours New Year’s Eve party this year.

Housed in the former Neighborhood Ramen space at 3rd and South, Grothe has been focused on the cuisine of the “Italian Diaspora.” But on December 31st, after Scampi’s reservation-only NYE tasting dinner finishes and the last table has been chased out of the dining room, they’re resetting and doing an 11 p.m. until whenever NYE party called “Scampi & Champi,” full of small plates, passed apps, shrimp cocktail, tiramisu, and plenty of bubbly thanks to a partnership with Korbel. There’ll be a complimentary champagne toast at midnight, along with 12 grapes for everyone in attendance — part of an old Spanish custom promising good luck and prosperity in the coming year. You eat one with every chime of the clock, one for each of the upcoming months. And then you’ll be rich, handsome, and lucky for all of 2025. Which is nice, because we’re all gonna need all the help we can get.

As mentioned, the New Year’s Eve dinner service is reservation only (and there are still apparently a few seats left). But the after-party? That’s first-come, first-served. You can just walk in and ring in the New Year with Grothe, her crew, and a bunch of strangers drunk on champers and shoving grapes in their mouths. Sounds like a helluva time.

Now who has room for some leftovers?

The Leftovers

48 Record Bar celebrates one year with new concoctions inspired by the winter season, including their gin-and-vodka “Vespoire.” / Photograph by Gab Bonghi

Last week, I told you about the hot chocolate crawl happening on East Passyunk. This week, I’ve got something a little different for you: the “Hot Cocoa Chalet” pop-up at Aqimero.

And while yes, “Hot Cocoa Chalet” does sound like the name of a moderately successful Christmas album from a ’70s funk band, what it actually is is an exclusive, $85-a-head exclusive party in Aquimero’s private dining room at the Ritz-Carlton. They’re doing this for three consecutive nights, December 19th to the 21st, from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., and are only releasing 40 tickets per night. So yeah, it’ll be a cozy, intimate little gathering of the swells with two hours of open bar, holiday-themed cocktails, light bites and snacks, holiday photo ops, and a DJ. So if you’re in the mood to get dressed up and mingle at the Ritz, you can make your reservations here.

On the other hand, if patty melts, Citywides, and foot-long hot dogs are more your speed, I’ve got some really good news for you. Over the weekend, Bob & Barbara’s debuted a new restaurant in the space next door to the bar (which once was home to Mom Mom’s Kitchen). It’s a takeout-only spot called (very accurately) The Window, and they’re serving nothing but good, old-fashioned comfort food specifically designed for the kind of nights (or days) that end (or begin) at the classic dive. We’re talking breakfast sandwiches at 11 p.m., grilled cheese sandwiches with bacon, and ham and cheese melts jumped up with pickled jalapenos and an egg. Victor checked it out already and has all the details if you need them, but suffice it to say The Window is open Thursday to Sunday, from 6 p.m. till midnight. And yes, you’re more than welcome to place an order with your phone, step outside to pick it up, then bring it right back to your spot at the bar. That’s kinda what The Window was made for.

In Old City, 48 Record Bar is celebrating a year in business by dropping a brand-new cocktail menu with a dozen new concoctions inspired by the winter season. They’ve got a gin-and-vodka “Vespoire” on the board, made with pear liqueur and cinnamon syrup, which seems like a nice play on the classic Vesper, but the “Malum Malus” (Laird’s Apple Jack brandy, apple juice, salted-caramel-apple syrup, and Hennessy, with an absinthe rinse) seems like reason enough to drop by all on its own.

And finally this week, down in the Italian Market, it looks like 1007 9th Street, the former home of Alma Del Mar (which closed in October), is going to become the second location of … Space Smash?

Yeah, Space Smash — which is apparently some kind of space-themed burger-and-taco joint that has one location up and running at the Plymouth Meeting Mall and is now expanding into the city. I had NEVER heard of this place before yesterday, but I took a look at the menu, and it seems kinda bonkers. But, like, in a good way? They’ve got everything from chili dogs to bulgogi beef bowls, charbroiled oysters, burger tacos topped with crushed Flaming Hot Takis, and some kind of weird hybrid sandwich they’re calling “No Dogs,” which are basically things that aren’t hot dogs (tempura shrimp poppers, Korean BBQ, chopped brisket with cheese and pico) stuffed into hot dog rolls, and chopped cheese. Honestly, it looks like the kind of restaurant that would be opened by three 14-year-olds who found a duffel bag full of twenties behind a Taco Bell, but I’m curious, so now I’m kinda looking forward to checking it out. There’s no hard date for the opening yet, but according to Instagram, it’s “coming soon,” so … keep an eye out, I guess?