If we had a nickel for every Apple Store in Philadelphia rumor we heard, we’d be very rich. But this tale comes from Mac Network News and not PhillyBlog. Brasserie Perrier may become an Apple Store.

The company [Apple] has allegedly signed a lease to take over the location of the former Brasserie Perrier restaurant, situated at 1619 Walnut Street. The surrounding portion of Walnut is said to be a high-end shopping and eating district, ideally suited to Apple’s strict aesthetics.

Apple setting sights on first Philadelphia store [MacNN] via MealTicket

It’s the Foobooz guide to the Center City District’s Restaurant Week. This winter’s Restaurant Week kicks off Sunday, January 25th and runs through Friday the 30th.

We’ve got the restaurants listed and the menus broken down.

Click through to see which $35 prix-fixe menus have us salivating, who is offering the most choices and where will you get a little something extra.

Read the rest of this entry »

Joe Sixpack checks out a couple of Philadelphia’s newest gastropubs, West Philly’s Local 44 and East Passyunk’s Lucky 13. 

You’d be lucky to be local to either. 

New pubs just a few hops from Center City [Philadelphia Daily News]

It’s dropping into the teens tonight and that means hot cocktails! Check out Fork’s Hot Éclat, Barbancourt rum and Bailey’s Irish Cream, steamed with milk and served with a Hot Éclat drinking chocolate wand. Stir the wooden rod with the chocoalte coating into the hot drink and you’ve got yourself a decadent way to keep yourself warm.

Pick up your own Éclat chocolate wand for home use next door at Fork: etc.

Fork [Official Site]
Éclat Chocolate [Official Site]

We’ve been quite fixated by good pizza recently. There’s our ongoing affair with Earth Bread + Brewery’s Seed flatbread, our transforming experience at Franny’s in Brooklyn (maybe there is something in the water) and just this week we were told that maybe the best pizza in the country can be found in Phoenix. And now Craig LaBan taunts us with his description of the Chester County Pumpkin Pizza at Sovana Bistro in Kennett Square.

GoodTaste [Philadelphia Inquirer]

… On such a winter’s day.

We immediately thought of  the Mamas and the Papas” California Dreaming” when we heard that Capone’s was pouring 15 different California beers today. I Am Beer Wise thought Soundgarden. but no matter what your internal soundtrack, consider the sojourn to Norristown to drink beers from Stone, Russian River, Green Flash, Left Coast and more.

Thursday is Beer Night CA Style [I Am Beer Wise]

Is it ever a good sign when a restaurant cuts its hours? Savona in Gulph Mills cuts back to Tueday through Saturday and dinner only. [The Insider]

Speaking of shrinking hours, Old City’s Prive has scaled back to just Wednesday through Saturday.

You can never have too much barbecue, so we’re happy to see Holy Smoke is looking to open next month on Leverington Ave in Roxborough. [Table Talk, Philadelphia Inquirer]

In vegetarian dining news, Kingdom of Vegetarians has been sold and there are big changes at New Harmony. [Meal Ticket]

Joe Sixpack has the impressive for Jersey beer list of The Taproom & Grille in Haddon Township. [Beer Radar]

Elsewhere in Jersey, we learn that the Whitman Diner in Washington Township is reopening February 9th as The Whitman. A diner with an upscale martini lounge.

A La Maison has opened as “a rustic French BYOB” on Lancaster Avenue in Ardmore. [Table Talk, Philadelphia Inquirer]

The Tiedhouse in Fairmount has added Sunday brunch.

David Snyder praises the fried green beans at Prohibition Taproom and has plenty of nice things to say about the rest of the menu too.

The pub burger, cooked to a textbook medium, sat next to a heaping mound of perfectly cooked thin-cut fries, a refreshing change from the fossilized spuds that are so often the norm in the city. The real star of this plate, though, was the cowboy onion, a thick Vidalia slice that had been wrapped in bacon while roasting. The Sly Fox O’Reilly’s Stout added to Henry’s French onion soup struck chords in a deeper register, giving this sweet bowl a dry, soulful finish. I liked the balance the hoisin barbecue sauce delivered to the mammoth wings. By design, roasted beets with baby arugula, goat cheese and slivered almonds was also a winner.

Temper, Temper [City Paper]
Prohibition Taproom [Official Site]

It’s food and drink for nothing today in University City. It’s the grand opening of the Chipotle at 3925 Walnut Street and that means free burritos and long lines. And if that isn’t enough, Dunkin Donuts is giving out free 10oz coffees because the Eagles are in the NFC Championship. Double-dip in free by hitting the DD at 3437 Walnut or within 30th Street Station.

If you’re not in the University City area, relax all local Dunkin Donuts are offering the free coffee from 10am to 10pm.

Chipotle [Official Site]
Dunkin Donuts [Official Site]

I Am Beer Wise points out that there are a couple of brewery/bar combos to choose from this evening. Kite and Key is offering a firkin of Yards Cocoa Porter and Devil’s Den is showing off Weyerbacher’s new smoked beer, Fireside Ale. A smoked beer next to a roaring fireplace sounds pretty smart. But if you’re more Northern Liberties inclined, the Standard Tap does weekly firking tappings on Wednesdays. Tonight it’ll be Riverhorse.