Philadelphia Daily News
May 18, 2006
Stirrin' on the Mount
Famous for its diversity and liberal politics, Mount Airy is now a foodie's dream
By Beth D'Addono
For the Daily News
It took Amin Bitar only an hour and a cup of coffee at InFusion Coffee and Tea Gallery at 7133 Germantown Ave. to decide to open his second restaurant in Mount Airy."
After 20 years in this business, I know what my customers look like," said Bitar, who took over his family's Middle Eastern market in South Philly in 1992, and has been expanding ever since. "I looked at the faces that were coming in and out of that coffee shop, and they were my customers. These are people who travel, who know what a falafel is, and who want to eat healthy food.
"He opened Bitar's at 7152 Germantown Ave. last November, and business has been booming since. "There's a unity here, a sense of community, that is really special," he said. "I'm trying to convince other friends of mine who are looking to expand to come to Mount Airy. The rent is affordable and business is good.
"It's an idea whose time seems to have come. In the past two years, Mount Airy has experienced a restaurant boom, a combination of new ownership of existing restaurants and chef/restaurateurs like Bitar opening new places on and near Germantown Avenue. Sandwiched between the more affluent Chestnut Hill and Germantown (home to the Rib Crib, a long-time institution), Mount Airy's population is known for diversity.
A truly integrated neighborhood of about 40,000 people, Mount Airy encompasses differences in ethnic, religious, racial, and sexual orientation.
Decidedly liberal, itsreputation for grass-roots community action is apparent in many ways, including the local Weaver's Way Food Co-op, an institution since 1973. Roughly 3,000 households spend $30 a year and commit to six hours of work to get group buying power to the tune of $5 million a year in sales. Eating well is a top priority in Mount Airy, which now has a small but thriving restaurant community to further the cause.
We toured Mount Airy to check out some of the diverse eateries reshaping the landscape there.
- Have you ever tasted Cape Malay corn puffs, fried pillows of corn meal spiked with tangy coriander? Or savored East African mung bean curry with spinach, simmered in a coconut broth? Unless you've traveled around Africa, chances are you haven't. But head over to Limpopo (6825 Germantown Ave., 215-848-5152), opened a year ago by chef/owner Zanele Karl, and you can discover these and other savory dishes, culled from Karl's travels during the 10 years she worked in public health for the United Nations.
Karl, from Pretoria, South Africa, married a Philadelphia native, and returned to the area when her daughter transferred to Bryn Mawr College. Burnt out from her U.N. job, she transferred her love of African cuisine to a cheery little storefront decorated with batik wall hangings and African crafts. Zebras at a watering hole are painted on one wall, ostriches on another.
From the cinnamon- and cumin-infused tagines of Morocco to the fiery Afro-Arabic cuisine of Libya, the seafood-driven dishes from Senegal and other points west, to the vegetarian dishes of Malawi and wildly cosmopolitan and ethnic food of South Africa, continental African cuisine is as varied and colorful as the many cultures it represents. More good news: prices are in the $6-$13 range and you can BYOB (although she does charge a $3 corkage fee). Brunch on Sundays.
- Although not a newcomer to the dining scene, the food at McMenamin's Tavern (7170 Germantown Ave., 215-247-9920) has led the culinary revolution since chef Larry Melissen signed on seven years ago. The friendly tavern seems typical enough, but one look - and one taste - of Melissen's menu and thoughts of typical pub grub are banished forever. The burly chef is downright sensitive when it comes to his chicken tenders and fried fish, which are adorned with the crunchiest, most delicious homemade beer batter you've ever tasted. Not in the mood for fried? No problem, the salads are incredible, a build-your-own toss of tender lettuces ($4.95) with a half-dozen extras, like bacon, grilled portabella, grilled chicken breast and veggie burger, available for $1-$4 each. Homemade dressings, too. And Melissen roasts off his roast beef and turkey daily. What's not to like?
- Bitar's (7152 Germantown Ave., 215-242-4910), the newcomer on the street, offers freshly prepared Lebanese specialties like stuffed grape leaves, spanakopita, chicken kabobs and his now-famous falafel, which is grilled instead of deep-fried. Open every day but Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Bitar's is a serious bargain - $2.75 for the falafel sandwich with veggie fixings, $4.50 for a lamb and beef gyro, $7.95 for a chicken kabob combo served with hummus and tabouli and $4.95 for the Mount Airy sandwich, a pita filled with grilled chicken, fried tomatoes, peppers, fresh fries and harissa (red pepper) mayo. Don't leave without trying baklava, a honey and nut treat made from Bitar's original family recipe.
- Chef Raul Schmalzbach has quite the pedigree - he apprenticed at Deux Cheminees, opened Striped Bass with Alison Barshak and worked with Jim Coleman at the Rittenhouse Hotel for eight years. But when it came time to open his own place, the 38-year old chef and his partners, which include his fiancee (and sous chef, Jennifer Bostic) and his brother and sister-in-law opted for a storefront at 7105 Emlen St. (215-247-5800) in West Mount Airy. There's nothing stuffy about Hamlet Bistro, with its sky blue tin ceiling, colorful artwork and bluesy soundtrack. But while the feel is neighborhood vibe, this is clearly more than a typical bistro. The menu, which has dishes priced between $8 and $23, includes creative and well-executed entrees like shrimp and scallop dumplings with a soy-and-fig sauce, pecan crusted tilapia with vegetable risotto, and turkey meatloaf served with greens and a crock of mac and cheese. Desserts like fresh fruit crisp and chocolate brownie sundae strike the perfect sweet ending.
- Come over to Angie Brown's (300 W. Mt. Pleasant Ave., 215-242-4710) on a Friday night for dinner and you just may wind up dancing all night to old school R&B and Motown. The restaurant, decked out in red, gilt and lace, used to be Goat Hollow Tavern until chef/owner Brown bought it just over a year ago. A former corporate chef with Aramark who spent a semester as a personal chef at a Penn frat house ("I left when they started calling me Mom," she says), Brown brings a taste of New Orleans to Mount Airy with a menu of Cajun and Creole, including catfish fingers, crab gumbo and oysters from nearby Groben's seafood. If you're lucky, Carlos will be behind the bar. He makes a mean Manhattan and an even better martini.
- Chef Donna Fitzgerald Robb didn't intend to buy a restaurant and adopt a baby daughter in the same year; it just worked out that way. Robb and her partner Lizza Robb became proud owners of the Cresheim Cottage Cafe (7402 Germantown Ave., 215-248-4365) in Mount Airy and proud parents of their daughter Spenser three summers ago. Robb, an artist who worked in food to fund her painting career, gradually started to cook more and paint less. A veteran of restaurants including Judy's, Blue Angel, The Ritz Carlton and Penne, Robb moved around the Philly food scene, learning as she went. When Cresheim Cottage became available, she went for it, even though at 120 seats with a liquor license, it wasn't the tiny BYOB she'd been looking for.
The circa-1748 building, which witnessed the first shots of the Battle of Germantown in 1777, was opened by the previous owner as a restaurant in 1996. Robb prepares a seasonal menu of eclectic American comfort food, including dishes like duck confit salad, farfalle pasta with sweet English peas and jumbo lump crap and shrimp cakes, using local and organic products whenever possible. Once the denizen of the older Chestnut Hill set, Cresheim Cottage is now also drawing a younger and more diverse crowd. "There's no place like Mount Airy," said Robb.