It’s December again already and we here at Aroundphilly.com are gearing up for our annual, month-long binge of holiday food and drink that leaves us in a splendid Christmas-coma until next spring. This year will, of course, be no different as Philadelphia is offering a number of new restaurants, special events and new menu items that may actually allow those few hours you’re forced to spend with your family go by a little quicker this year. Though these specials can’t all as interesting as your Uncle Herman’s Christmas sweater or you Aunt Clarence’s fruit cake (cringe), they’ll at least look and taste (we think) better.
This December chef Hiroyuki “Zama” Tanaka, Philly’s most famous sushi chef, is opening his new restaurant, Zama. Located just a few feet from Rittenhouse Square, Zama will feature gourmet sushi along side modern Japanese dishes. Locally known for placing importance on aesthetic appeal and incomparable freshness of ingredients, Zama’s menu will include: Lob-Temp, tempura lobster with uni sauce and teriyaki-truffle; Hama-peno Mango, yellowtail with jalapeno and chili-mango; Bullish!!!, seared Kobe beef on top of sesame-soy wrapped sushi rice with spicy ponzu; and Sizzled White Fish, striped bass with citrus-soy and finished with hot sesame oil.
Every Thursday this month you can get an authentic Feast of the Seven Fishes at both Stella Blu & The Star Bar as well as The Gypsy Saloon in West Conshohocken. Enjoy the authentic Italian feast featuring over four courses that include tuna, clams, baccalà, smelts, oysters, mussels and shrimp and complimentary carafes of Italian wine. The price is for a minimum of 4 guests is $50 each.
Drinker’s West, the city’s newest bar addition, has just opened and is offering some great menu items and drinks this December. With menu items like their signature pizza, Sloppy Joes, double bacon cheeseburgers (with optional hot dog on top), and Texas Tommie, Drinker’s West is sure to satisfy a legion of drunk stomachs this winter. For those of you just looking to drink, Drinker’s West offers 21 bottled beers including Brooklyn Brown, Lilja Hop Nest Monster, and Long Trail Hibernator, while 12 taps provide more sophisticated drinkers with beers like Anchor Christmas, Flying Fish Grand Cru, and Victory Donnybrook.
The owner of Avril in Bala Cynwyd, Christian Gatti, is debuting two new special menu options just in time for the winter holidays. On Tuesday nights, Chef Gatti will offer a three-course menu for just $25 with menu items including: wild mushroom and pumpkin ravioli with free form wild mushroom ravioli with pumpkin flan, toasted sesame and ricotta, as well as polenta Napoleon made with firm polenta layered with ratatouille and served with corn chowder and roasted vegetables. Don’t forget that Wednesday is also pasta night at Avril, with menu items such as Fettuccini Bolognese for $20, Frutti di Mare for $24 and seared tuna with spaghetti for only $24.
The Cambodian restaurant Kavei has taken the lace of the old Pho 488, and is offering great new menu items as well as most of what Pho 488 had to offer. Enjoy starters like marinated chicken with coconut milk, sweet and sour Khmer-style soup, tomatoes, tilapia and shrimp; their spiced frog leg dish called Kang-keb Cha Kroeung; and local specialties like a Khmer-seasoned, coconut milk-doused tilapia (served in a banana leaf cup) known as Amok, that runs about $9.
For those of you looking to enjoy the best seafood in the area this New Years, Blackfish is hosting their New Year’s dinner. Renowned chef Chip Roman at is offering three courses for just $55 or four courses for only $75, plus a complimentary glass of champagne. Don’t forget to check out Blackfish before the big night as Chip Roman’s chef’s tasting, where chef Roman creates a four-course meal, for only $45 per person, centering on one ingredient like beef on December 8, lobster on December 15, foie gras on December 22, and Elysian Fields Farm lamb on December 29 as it continues every Tuesday night. Call 610-397-0888 for reservations.
Chef Ryo Igarashi and his wife, Nicole, will be opening Maru Global Takoyaki in January. The new restaurant, located at 255 South 10th Street, provides an intimate environment with only 6 tables and 17 seats, while encouraging the kind of one on one interaction with the takoyaki master manning. Maur Global Takoyaki will be a quick-serve restaurant with prices ranging from $2.99 to $9.99. The restaurant will focus on the takoyaki, which will be made to order in front of patrons as it is customary for children and to look on as the master prepares the food.
Verdad Restaurant and Tequila Bar is hosting a New Year's Eve dinner and after-party that will have you hung over well into March of 2010. Chef Nick Farina will be serving his a la carte menu from 5 - 11pm on December 31 and there will also be an after-party with complimentary butlered hors d'oeuvres being served from 11pm - 1am as well as drink specials including $5 margaritas, sparkling wine and sangria. Did we forget mention Verdad also offers half-priced cocktails Monday through Friday?
Hawthorne’s, 
located steps from the Italian Market in South Philly, is a beer snobs euphoria, providing a thousand varieties of beer, most of which you’ve probably never heard of. I suggest you by a nice bottle of your choice and, relax in one of their sofas by the fireplace while you slurp some locally sourced soups, salads and sandwiches. To-go items including prepared foods and exotic beer growlers are available as well!
Tiffin, the greatly esteemed Indian restaurant is expanding and has just opened a new branch at 8080 Old York Road in Elkins Park that is also BYOB. The only difference between the new Tiffin and the old is that we hear you can't rent Bollywood DVDs from the restaurant to watch at home…yet!
This December a new bar opens in Chaddsford. Bistro on the Brandywine is going to offer a great new spot for locals to get a drink and some gourmet cuisine. Decorated with a rich, slate-topped bar and rurally inspired beaded board walls and weathered wooden tabletops, the new bar is definitely in stride with the rest Bistro. Placed where the old take-out spot used to be, the new bar also has a plasma TV and will offer generously priced wine lists as well as local, micro-brewed beers and in-season cocktails.
