New Sports Bar Celebrates Opening With $100,000 Giveaway

Your odds at winning Lion Sports Bar’s $100,000 giveaway is roughly one in 120 billion. / Photograph by Photo by Pixabay

Howdy, buckaroos! And welcome back to the weekly Foobooz food news round-up. Just a few quick things to get to this week — including (but not limited to) two new openings for Rittenhouse, a rescheduled Muhibbah dinner from Kampar, and the Cocoa Puffs cocktail that no one knew they needed. But let’s get things started with the biggest news of the week …

Want to Win $100,000?

Okay, so we’ve seen some pretty wild ploys for attention from new bars and restaurants opening in this town over the past few years. But usually, when it comes to giveaways, we’re talking t-shirts, stickers, maybe a free beer, or a sandwich.

But the new Lion Sports Bar at 1021 Arch Street in Chinatown is giving away $100,000.

No, for real. A hundred large. One-tenth of a million dollars. And all you have to do to win it is make a perfect pick on your NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament bracket.

Those of you who know a little something about basketball and/or sports betting, hush a second.

For the rest of you, here are the details:

The new Lion Sports Bar is opening in Chinatown on March 13th — conveniently, just before the start of this year’s March Madness tournament. In partnership with Happy Hour Philly, they’re celebrating both the opening and the tournament with this $100k giveaway. And in order to win, all you gotta do is:

• Follow @happyhour.philly and @lionbarphilly on Instagram.
• Drop by Lion Sports Bar any time between March 13th and March 20th to pick up an official entry form.
• Fill it out.
• Take a selfie and post it.
• Pick every single winning team correctly.

Now it’s that last one that’s … complicated. Has anyone in the history of everything ever picked a verifiably perfect bracket? No, they have not. According to NCAA.com, the odds of picking every single winner are one in 9,223,372,036,854,775,808 if you just guess or flip a coin, and about one in 120 billion if you know anything about basketball. San Diego State University statistics nerds talked to lecturer (and college sports fanatic) Chris O’Byrne to break down the numbers, and he put the odds at one in 147,573,952,589,676,412,928 — essentially one in 147 quintillion against, assuming straight 50/50 odds for each team, with tournament seeding generally giving bracket pickers a little bit of an early advantage most years.

In any case, it’s a long shot. Not impossible, but just very, very unlikely. Could you do it? Sure. Could this be your year? Absolutely. Will it be? No.

But that’s not really the point here. The point is, Chinatown is about to have a brand-new sports bar on an already very active block. Lion is being opened by partners Mark Prinzinger (owner of Happy Hour Philly), Annie Chi (from Yamitsuki Ramen), and Jack Chen (owner of Bai Wei and A La Mousse). It’s got 35 high-def TVs, a state-of-the-art sound system, and a DJ booth; it will be broadcasting just about every Philly sports event under the sun; and it even plans to open at 7 a.m. on weekends for English Premier League matches.

As mentioned, opening day is March 13th. So stop by and take your shot at winning $100,000.

(Note: You will not win $100,000.)

Now what else is happening this week?

The Ground in Rittenhouse Rises From the Ashes

Sandwiches and croffles from The Ground / Photograph by Cody Aldrich Photography

Back in December of last year, a small fire shut down the kitchen at The Ground at 120 South 18th Street in Rittenhouse. And while the cafe was able to remain partially open (serving coffee and pastries), losing the kitchen was a big blow.

But the good news is, The Ground is reopening for full service tomorrow. And they got the kitchen back up and running in possibly the most Philly way imaginable.

See, owners Michelle Miller and Molly Kiriacoulacos have been working hard to repair all the damage done to the kitchen during the fire in December. And all of it had been taken care of except for one thing: a new, 600-pound oven that had to be moved into place before they could announce their grand opening. But Miller and Kiriacoulacos had a pal (and a regular) who was the perfect guy to lend a hand: Jordan Mailata from the Eagles.

Mailata showed up about a week ago and had no problem getting the oven in place. (And yeah, there’s a video.) He shoved that thing around like it was nothing, and just like that, The Ground was able to announce that kitchen service will be restarting tomorrow, March 5th.

So now, they’ve got a brand new spread of stuffed croissants on the menu (including one with London Fog chantilly cream and fresh raspberries), brown sugar brûlée croffles (croissants baked like a Belgian waffle), deviled egg salad, Korean-inspired egg soufflé breakfast sandwiches, beet wraps, avocado toast, and, of course, a brand new drink named for their buddy, Jordan Mailata — the Hakuna Mailata, a honeydew tea with peach and kiwi boba pearls.

As always, The Ground has a billion different coffee drinks, boba, hot cocoa, and lots of plants. The new kitchen — with its brand new menu — opens tomorrow. So check it out if you’re in the neighborhood.

And hey, speaking of new stuff in Rittenhouse …

Luke’s Lobster Is Reopening

Lobster rolls / Photograph courtesy of Luke’s Lobster

After a long, cold winter spent remodeling and getting ready for spring, the Rittenhouse location of Luke’s Lobster is reopening today at 30 South 17th Street.

Located downstairs near the corner of 17th and Moravian, this spot has always been a solid destination for those looking for a lobster roll done the way the Lobster God intended: a New England-style bun, buttered and crisped on the flat grill, a little mayo, a lot of lobster, and nothing more. Like finding an “authentic Philly cheesesteak” outside of Philly that doesn’t come gunked up with bell peppers, mushrooms, or worse, getting a lobster roll done the way you remember them from family road trips through Maine back in the day can be difficult. But Luke’s was always dependable that way. Simple, uncomplicated, and delicious.

But not cheap. Back when the joint first opened, I think they were letting the small lobster rolls go for something like $15. Now, they’re more like $28 — which feels absolutely insane to me, but that’s just the way of the world right now.

Still, for the grand reopening, they’re offering a free small clam chowder with the purchase of any six-ounce lobster roll, so if you’re down for recapturing some fleeting flavors of summers past (and have a little green to drop to make those wishes come true), you might want to think about lining up early. Luke’s Rittenhouse location is small, and I’ve seen the place get lines like you wouldn’t believe.

Cocoa Puffs Cocktails and Apple Jack Hoagies, For a Limited Time

I am just as nostalgic as anyone for the good ol’ days of sugary breakfast cereals and Saturday morning cartoons, but I’ve never thought that yen for simpler days and Thudarr the Barbarian needed to be turned into a bar.

And yet, here we are. The folks from Bucket Listers (responsible for everything from the Malibu Barbie Cafe experience to L.A. street art tours and a traveling emo brunch) have temporarily installed a breakfast-cereal-themed pop-up bar and restaurant in the basement of the Divine Lorraine (technically, at Foundation — a bar and event space more or less made for this kind of thing).

Called The Cereal Cocktail Bar, it is neon-lit, Instagram-ready, nostalgia-coded, and made for maximum distraction. There are RumChata and Fireball Cinnamon Toast Crunch shots, cocktails made with bourbon and Froot Loops, a kitchen run by Natalie Maronski (ex of Volver, Top Chef, and elsewhere) that bangs out pork roll croque madame and fried chicken thighs crusted in Corn Flakes.

It is a LOT. And it is meant to be a lot — a super-saturated wayback machine powered by sentimentality and high fructose corn syrup, possibly perfect for this moment in history, possibly just another shiny distraction to keep us occupied while history burns.

But hey, I ain’t gonna yuck your yum. I can see this being the kind of thing that certain folks would just go bonkers for. So if you’re down, it’s 20-ish bucks to reserve a 90-minute window for The Cereal Bar experience on any given night, which includes one cocktail at the bar. Their “Y2K Brunch” experience will run you $39 a head and includes a mimosa and an entrée. Everything else is pay-as-you-go, and you can get all the details, menus, and ticketing information you need right here.

Now who has room for some leftovers?

The Leftovers

El Merkury has a special hibiscus churro sundae for Flower Show. / Photograph courtesy of El Merkury

The Philadelphia Flower Show is in full bloom, and our deputy digital editor Laura Swartz has the ultimate guide to everything you need to know about this year’s exhibition, themed “Gardens of Tomorrow.” For more details on what to see and do, discounts, and, of course, floral-centric food specials, check out her guide here.

Last week, I told y’all about the fire that has temporarily shut down Kampar Kongsi and the Muhibbah dinner that owner Ange Branca was still keeping on the books as a sign that her brilliant new restaurant was going to come back fast and stronger than ever.

The news just came down that the dinner has now found an official new home. On Tuesday, March 25th, Branca will be headed for Rex At The Royal and teaming up with half a dozen of Philly’s best chefs for a dinner to benefit Esperanza Immigration Legal Services. Branca, along with Jen Zavala, Nic Macri, Kevin Yanaga, Dan Tsao, and Reuben Asaram, will be doing a multi-course, family-style meal with each chef contributing not only a dish to the event but also taking a moment to tell their stories. Our very own Kae Lani Palmisano will be hosting, and tickets for the event will run you $160, with proceeds going to fund low- and no-cost legal services for immigrants and their families.

Get yours here.

Meanwhile, Carl & Friends (the pop-up/collab series from chef Ian Moroney and his wife, Sharon Thompson-Schill) is focusing on local winemakers this month with three different events on the schedule for you fans of the grape.

First, on March 11th, they’re collaborating with Pray Tell Wines (which we have talked about before) in Fishtown for a collab dinner that’ll begin with a social hour, some wines, and small plates, then a seated, family-style dinner with paired wines and dessert. Pray Tell’s neighbor, Perrystead Dairy, has even made a cheese for the occasion, washed in Pray Tell’s Gamay.

Ian Moroney plating shrimp corndogs with pickled mango and frisee during the Sake Club and Carl collaboration dinner. / Photograph by Kae Lani Palmisano

Next, the Carl team will head to BOTLD for a small-plates-and-cocktails pairing event featuring Apologue Liqueurs on March 19th. The Carl events usually happen at Ian and Sharon’s apartment, so that’ll be a nice departure. Plus, less cleanup for them. BOTLD will be mixing cocktails using Apologue’s saffron, celery root, and persimmon liquors, and Ian will be shaping a menu based on those flavors.

Finally, on March 23rd, they’ll be back home for an event with Mural City Winery. Details on that one are still coming together, but if you’re looking for info (or reservations) for any of the events, just check ’em out here.

One last thing for this week: In celebration of Women’s History Month, the Sisterly Love Collective is hosting a “Women’s Way Wednesdays” series at Stratus Rooftop Lounge. That means every Wednesday, from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., there’ll be wines, cocktails, small bites from a different woman chef, and an interactive meet-and-greet. It’s kind of a woman-focused, power-happy-hour kind of deal, and Sisterly Love has been doing these for a while, so they’ve got a good lineup, including Karla Torres of La Ingrata on March 5th, Vee To from Ogawa Sushi on March 12th, Amaryllis Rivera Nassar of Amy’s Pastelillos on the 19th, and a big finale event on March 26th featuring a dozen local chefs, all coming together for one big party.

You can get more information here. And if you’re looking for tickets, you can get those right here.