Stephen Starr’s Triple Play: Borromini, Sunny’s, Chez Frites Updates Are Here

New signage over Stephen Starr’s Borromini in Rittenhouse Square / Photograph by Laura Swartz

Howdy, buckaroos! And welcome back to the weekly Foobooz food news round-up. Just a few quick things to get through this week — including (but not limited to) a big week for Stephen Starr, news from The Newsroom, seafood in Collingswood, a couple new collabs to pay attention to and Philly’s newest best bar (according to people who aren’t us). So let’s kick things off this week with …

Starr’s Very Big Week

Let me start by saying there’s nothing here that we haven’t talked about before. In an organization as big and far-reaching as Stephen Starr’s, the machinery of progress takes a long time to spin up — which is why we’ve been talking to you about Borromini, Starr’s “Italian Parc” in Rittenhouse Square, for a couple years now, and the two new concepts he’s putting into the Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City since the news broke that Michael Schulson (who originally had plans for these spaces) pulled out. There’s been some mystery surrounding all three projects. News tends to come in a slow drip over the course of months. Sometimes years.

Still, they’re worth keeping track of because, like the end of a marriage or state collapse, things tend to happen slowly, then all at once. And this week (in addition to news on the boycotts of his D.C. restaurants over labor disputes), we got some pretty big updates on all three local projects, all at the same time.

First, let’s talk about the Atlantic City projects. Up until this point, we knew that Starr had taken the spaces given up by Schulson, as Victor Fiorillo reported back in April. But, we didn’t know exactly what he was going to do with them. Now, we do.

He’s got two different properties ready to debut here — both of them completely new concepts. First, there’s Sunny’s, located on the lobby level of the Ocean Casino Resort. It’s a breakfast-and-lunch spot boasting ocean views, bar and table seating, and a menu of upscale American comfort food. We’re talking lobster rolls, Nutella French toast, classic meatloaf, pigs in a blanket — that kind of thing. It’s casual, takes walk-ins, and seems ideally positioned for a casino/hotel/tourist project. There’s nothing here that’ll freak out the AC crowds. It’s got something for everyone.

Next door to Sunny’s, he’s got Chez Frites, offering “stripped-down contemporary French flair” for the swells. There’s a big bar, 150 seats and a “unique prix fixe menu” that offers guests a choice of steak, salmon or lobster, with salad and unlimited frites. The unlimited frites seem to be the big selling point here. They’re banking heavily on the quality of their signature fries, the comfort of steak frites, and the draw of the word “unlimited.” This also marks the second frites-based concept that I’ve gotten to write about in two weeks, so who knows. Maybe this is the start of a trend.

In any case, both Sunny’s and Chez Frites will be open and taking reservations starting August 1st.

Next, there’s Borromini. Just as a reminder, this is one of Starr’s big swings — a 230-seat temple to Italian food, being built over the bones of the old Barnes & Noble bookstore right on Rittenhouse Square. It is big. It is bold. It has been a long time coming. And now, it looks like it is almost here. Why?

Well, first, they’re hiring for some pretty substantial positions. The kind you fill right before you’re getting ready for final touches. We’re talking GM, beverage manager, and sous and pastry chefs. These are positions you fill once the space is ready, the menu is (more or less) set, and you’re looking to start filling the place with bodies. Next phase will be service staff, but they don’t come in until the very end of the process. This is the step right before that.

Second, as you can see from the photos, the signage is now hung — including the ubiquitous orange sign from the PLCB. That’s a big deal.

Finally, this was posted on Instagram a few weeks ago, but I just saw it last week: a snap and a quick note from Keith McNally, who is involved with the design of the space. It details the final design meeting for Borromini, includes (if you zoom in a little) a nice mood board in the back of the room, and states quite plainly that the opening is set for September. Can this change? Absolutely. But all three of these things together give a pretty good sense of where Borromini is at right now, and how close it is to actually opening. The exterior work, the PLCB paperwork and those hires? That’s right on track for being just a couple months out on a REALLY big project.

Does Philadelphia need another Italian restaurant right now? It absolutely does not. We’ve got plenty. But am I excited to see what Starr can do with this kind of space, this kind of real estate and this kind of footprint? I absolutely am. I do love a spectacle. And if nothing else, Borromini promises to be a spectacle.

Watch this space.

A Collingswood Classic Makes a Long-Awaited Change

The charred octopus dish at Michael / Photograph by Mike Prince

Just over the bridge, Nunzio on Haddon Avenue in Collingswood is finally going through a change that’s been years in the making.

Way back in 2000, chef Michael DeLone started working at Nunzio Patruno’s Monte Carlo Living Room at 2nd and South. DeLone was just 18 years old, just getting his start in the business. Patruno would later open his eponymous restaurant, Nunzio, in Collingswood and run it there for more than a decade — right up until 2020 when Nunzio was closed by the pandemic.

A year later, DeLone came back. He’d spent years working at Le Castagne, but now he was looking for a space of his own. So he and his wife, Lisa Santacroce, made a deal with Patruno: They’d buy the place, but they’d leave Nunzio’s name on it while they worked out the details of getting their own concept up and running. And while it might’ve taken them a few years to get everything in line, it now looks like Michael and Lisa are ready to roll out their brand new concept in the old Nunzio space — Michael, a wood-fired, seafood-driven, coastal Italian BYOB. The changeover happened on May 30th, but the restaurant officially changed from Nunzio by Chef Michael DeLone to just plain ol’ Michael last Friday.

The 130-seat space is largely the same, though DeLone has made some changes over the past couple years (replacing the floors, opening up the front of the restaurant). What’s really changed is the focus of the menu. Crudo, chilled shrimp, grilled octopus, spaghetti with crab gravy, wood-roasted branzino, Dover sole, cioppino, tableside whole-fish service — that’s the main selling point. He’s also got handmade pastas and desserts, some vegetable selections, grilled lamb ribs and some thick steaks — but the seafood is where it’s at.

“While we will be an Italian restaurant, I wanted our menu to be very different than Italian restaurants you find in Philadelphia and South Jersey,” DeLone said in the name-change announcement last week. “I’m really excited to celebrate the foods inspired by Italy’s coastline, but also to feature large cuts of steak and chops while getting away from traditional Italian American menu options. After decades of experience in this industry, I am so excited to be opening my own spot with the vision Lisa and I have had for years.”

And I imagine that’s true. They’ve certainly been waiting long enough.

Michael is open now: Wednesdays through Sundays for dinner, with a brunch service on Sunday. You can make your reservations here.

Oh, Wait. One More New Opening for You …

A glimpse of what will be on the menu at The Newsroom / Photograph courtesy of The Newsroom

I literally just got the details on this one this morning, but do you guys remember when we talked about The Newsroom? This is the new, NYC-based bar/restaurant/speakeasy from Rose Hospitality that’s been teasing a Philly location for the past several months. The one with the entrance hidden behind an unmarked vintage 7UP machine on Germantown Avenue?

Anyway, I just got word that The Newsroom has an actual opening date. And it is SOON. They’re … I don’t know … unlocking the soda machine or whatever at 6 p.m. on Thursday, June 12th. And while I have never loved the fabricated nonsense and fake speakeasy bullshit of places like this, know what I do love? The fact that this joint is packing some serious heat in the kitchen.

The executive chef at Newsroom is Nobuhiro Hamazaki. This guy was the exec sushi chef at Koi, overseeing locations in Los Angeles, New York, Abu Dhabi, and St. Kitts. He worked at Shaab in L.A., Suntory Restaurant in Milan, Kisoji in Tokyo. Dude has been everywhere. He knows his stuff. And he’s bringing his Japanese fusion expertise now to Philly where he’ll be overseeing a kitchen doing small plates, sushi, yakitori and more. There’ll be wagyu gyoza and popcorn shrimp with Tobanjan mayo, tuna crispy rice and miso-marinated churrasco.

Yes, there’s a heavy bar component here. It is, technically, a speakeasy, after all. And the design sounds amazing. Dig this, from the official description:

“Inside, guests find themselves in a surreal environment where thousands of real books line handcrafted bookshelves. A dramatic hand-painted geisha stretches across one wall, while a glowing red Japanese sunset unfolds on another, both seamlessly integrated into the surrounding library-inspired architecture. The space balances intrigue with intimacy, blending art, design, and cultural homage.”

But it’s the potential of the kitchen that I’m most interested in. The draft menu (I haven’t actually seen a final version yet) seems simple and straightforward, but chef Nobu and his team have the opportunity to bring something truly great to NoLibs with this spot once the doors (or the soda machine, I guess) actually open.

Anyway, Thursday is the big day. Service will run Thursday through Sunday. Reservations are open right now.

Now who has room for some leftovers?

The Leftovers

The bar at Meetinghouse / Photography by Kae Lani Palmisano

Last week, we talked about Bon Appétit tagging Almanac as one of the best new bars in America. This week, Esquire came through with a different kind of list. They put together a list of favorite bars — not necessarily new (though some of them are) and not necessarily groundbreaking (though some of them are), but rather those places meant for “gathering along a counter or around a table with people you’d die for. We’re talking about a place where you can loosen up and be yourself and incinerate all that world-gone-mad stress before it incinerates you. We’re talking about a bar whose very existence says something about the community you happen to inhabit.”

I like that. Credit where it’s due, that’s a very good metric for judging bars. And the writers called out everything from Schmuck in New York to the Skyline Lounge at the Legoland Hotel in Carlsbad, California, to Meetinghouse right here in Philly. And I couldn’t agree more.

Borromini might be the biggest news happening in Rittenhouse right now, but it’s not the only news. Cafe Musette announced that they were opening for a “soft week,” beginning yesterday, at their new location at 20th and Locust. They’ll be doing limited hours (7 a.m. to 1 p.m.) and a limited breakfast and lunch menu. Then, starting on the 16th, they’ll be expanding hours to 8 p.m. and rolling out their small plate and apperitivo menus. Plus, they’re a BYO and they have a N/A bar program. Stop by if you’re in the neighborhood. All the details are right here.

Rex at the Royal has a new collab series that they’ve just announced. Chef Angie Brown is setting aside one Monday every month for a one-night-only event, sharing the kitchen with a local chef to highlight diverse cultures, recipes or techniques. On Monday the 16th, Brown will be welcoming Nana Araba Wilmot of Georgina’s Private Chef and Catering Co for a night of Ghanaian and Creole flavors, including a plum salad with curry vinaigrette, plantain gnocchi with collard greens and tomato jam, and a tiger nut crème brûlée.

Then, after a break in July, the series will pick back up with Brian Meerbott in August, Chaz Brown in September, and more. You can follow Rex here for updates.

Speaking of collabs, Lacroix chef Eric Leveillee will be stepping into the kitchen at River Twice to hang out with Randy Rucker on June 18th. This is one of Rucker’s “Hidden In Plain Sight” dinners, and one that he’s been trying to make happen for a long time. There’s not a lot of detail on what the two chefs will be doing, but I don’t even care about that. It’s going to be seven courses of “total collaboration”, and with these two working together, you just know it’s going to be amazing.

Table seats are $125 a head. Counter seats are $150. Reservations are available right now, but they’re going fast. So move on this one if you’re interested.