Thin, chewy, and judiciously loaded, the Neapolitan pizzas at this suburban shop are worth the drive, writes Jenn Ladd.
Also in this edition:
- First bites: We check out two brand-new spots — Cecilia in Bridgeport and Panco in South Philly.
- Craig LaBan goes northwest: He’s found “Chestnut Hill’s most intriguing restaurant in years,” but that comes with a caveat.
- Saving a store: Neighbors come to support Sue’s Produce Market.
- Read on for first word of a new Center City all-day cafe/wine bar, and the expansion of Esposito’s Porchetta.
If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.
Here’s one of the tastiest pizzas in the suburbs
“The suburbs are a really tough place to get attention,” pizzaiolo Roberto Carollo was telling Jenn Ladd at his shop, Spuntino, in Doylestown’s Main Street Marketplace. Jenn says his puffy, leopard-spotted Neapolitan pies are worth your time, wherever you may be.
Which got me to thinking about our recent pizza recommendations:
🍕 In Crust We Trust celebrates celebrates Black culture in Fishtown.
🍕 Waltz’s 800-degree wood-fired oven turns out tastiness in deep South Philly, per Craig LaBan.
🍕 Barclay Pies in Cherry Hill sets a new standard for gluten-free pizza in the Philly, Craig also writes.
🍕 Bluebird Distilling’s expanded Phoenixville flagship rocks naturally fermented dough for their pies.
🍕 Dave Portnoy of the influential One Bite Pizza Reviews visited at least five area pizza shops and seemed to like them all.
🍕 And there are more are on the way, including the Buttery in Northern Liberties, Alessandro’s Enoteca in Bryn Mawr, the Garden by Pieri Winery in Conshohocken, Martini & Roz in Wayne, and Pizzeria Cusumano in Collingswood. They’re among five dozen new restaurants due to open this fall.
First bites of two new restaurants
Chef Ryo Igarashi, who’s cooked everywhere around here over the last 25 years, is behind Panco, a Japanese comfort-food takeout spot in West Passyunk. Cutlets are his calling card.
Cecilia, a sprawling, stylish restaurant from the team behind the Blue Bell Inn, is just days old in Bridgeport. It’s designed for locals as well as the greater Norristown/King of Prussia corridor.
Love thy neighborhood market
When Sue’s Produce Market in Rittenhouse shared word that it was struggling, the community jumped in to support. While I visited to report this story last week, a neighbor walked in and handed a $100 bill to owner “Tina” Shin. The GoFundMe is closing in on its $40,000 goal.
Modern mooncakes
Mooncakes, but make them 2026: Kiki Aranita stopped at A La Mousse, where Anna Chen is giving the Mid-Autumn Festival staple a playful spin with Dubai chocolate, Hong Kong milk tea, purple sweet potato, and other decidedly nontraditional flavors.
Scoops
Scarlet on Pine will be a Euro-style cafe and wine bar coming to Washington Square West next spring. Beth DeBruyn recently bought the building at 1108 Pine St., which last housed an art gallery across from Louis I. Kahn Park. With about 50 seats, she plans to serve coffee, viennoiserie, and lunch during the day, then transition to wine-bar service at night. There’s also a brick rear patio. DeBruyn’s husband, Chris, who works in construction and has about 20 years of hospitality experience, is also involved. DeBruyn, 60, who has a public-finance background, was a stay-at-home mother who started her food career as an empty-nester. She trained at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York, did stints at Irwin’s, Dirt Candy, Rosemary, and High Street, and previously ran a cottage-baking business called Cakezilla. “When I left Rosemary, it happened to coincide with a time in my life when I could do something like this,” she said. “My dad passed away and left me some money, my kids were grown, and I had both the time and the resources to try to do something on my own.”
Esposito’s Porchetta in South Philadelphia is going hog wild: an expansion to their shop at 10th and Mountain Streets, yielding a walk-in sandwich shop next door in early 2027. Jules Esposito Jr., 38, said he’ll move porcine production into the adjoining former apartment building and convert the current shop to retail, where he’ll sell porchetta — the slow-roasted, Abruzzese-style boneless pork found at block parties — as well as roast beef sandwiches, meats by the pound, and a small selection of homemade and imported specialties. The business traces its roots to Esposito’s grandfather, Elia, himself a second-generation meat man who arrived from Italy in the early 1950s. In 1985, Esposito’s father, Jules Sr., bought the former bakery that became the shop. (The Espositos are cousins of A. Esposito Meats in the Italian Market.) “Everybody has always asked us to make sandwiches,” Esposito said, “and here we are.”
Restaurant report
Craig LaBan has long felt that Chestnut Hill’s dining scene was underperforming. Then he visited the bustling Blue Warbler, where the globe-hopping, meat-free menu may be just what the neighborhood needs.
Focaccia Affair, co-owned by a scion of the Santucci square-pizza family, is turning out sandwiches at Barstool Sansom, the Center City sports bar, as well as Fishtown’s Cannonball, where you can eat while gawking at classic cars.
P.J. Whelihan’s has opened in Pike Creek Shopping Center in Wilmington; it’s the Westmont, N.J.-based group’s first restaurant in Delaware and its 27th overall.
Briefly noted
Shay’s Steaks’ 2½-year run at 16th and Race Streets will end today with a food-and-beverage giveaway from 5-7 p.m. Scott DiClaudio, the judge whose wife is listed as the owner, said the shop expects to relocate nearby. Its departure settles an eviction case with its landlord at Franklin Tower Residences.
Fishtown Seafood x Hi-Lo Taco: Fishtown Seafood and Hi-Lo Taco will mark National Lobster Day with a lobster roll pop-up from 4-7 p.m. Friday at Hi-Lo Taco, 1109 Walnut St. Fishtown Seafood lobster rolls can be preordered in advance, with a limited number also available to walk-ins during the pop-up. The menu also includes Hi-Lo’s Tostilocos ceviche and mango margarita gelati.
Sixers legend Julius Erving will sign prepurchased bottles of American Harvest organic vodka at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Fine Wine & Good Spirits store in Ardmore Plaza. Bottles will go on sale when the store opens at 9 a.m., purchase is limited to two bottles per customer, and the PLCB says Dr. J will not sign any additional items.
Queen & Rook Fantasy Faire Block Party: Queen & Rook Game Cafe’s free Fantasy Faire takes over South Street between Front and Second Streets from noon to 8 p.m. Saturday. More than 40 fantasy and craft vendors will join sword-fighting and fire performances, quests, tarot readings, and other activities. Food and drink will include soft-pretzel swords and potion shots.
Lovat Square, the Chestnut Hill wine shop, will mark Sunday’s Chestnut Hill Fall for the Arts Festival from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. with a lamb roast from Erdenheim Farms. Sandwiches will be served on Downtime Bakery rolls; a vegetarian option will pair roasted squash with house ricotta, pomegranate, pine nuts, and radicchio on Downtime focaccia. Other locals will be involved, including Human Robot pouring its Hallertau pilsner and Tmavy Czech-style dark lager, while Local Operator will handle fancy wines by the glass.
❓Pop quiz
Amaryllis Rivera Nassar of Amy’s Pastelillos has won a partnership, valued at $250,000, with a Philadelphia sports team. Which?
A) Phillies
B) Eagles
C) Sixers
D) Flyers
Find out if you know the answer.
Ask Mike anything
I know that the Rittenhouse Hotel is getting a steakhouse next year. Where does that leave RJ Smith and his supper club? — Howard S.
Just as your question reached my inbox, I got word that Smith’s Ocho Supper Club residency is sticking around indefinitely at the Rittenhouse Hotel. The 22-year-old Drexel grad is offering his six-course, $160 Afro-Caribbean tasting menus at 5 and 8 p.m. on select Sundays in the Lacroix dining room. Sample dishes: Trinidad doubles, oxtail festivals, madai with hibiscus aguachile, mole negro, scallops, and lamb saddle. Ocho is also expanding beyond the tasting menu to include à la carte dishes downstairs at Bar 210, including escovitch mussels, crab tostadas, braised oxtails, jerk-spiced New York strip, and curry lamb, with several dishes also available through hotel room service. Atlas Restaurant Group, which owns Center City’s Loch Bar, is moving ahead with its planned 2027 opening of Ruxton steakhouse in the Rittenhouse’s former Scarpetta restaurant space.
📮 Have a question about food in Philly? Email your questions to me at mklein@inquirer.com for a chance to be featured in my newsletter.
By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.
