Snacks at Lulu Cafe (photo from Lulu Cafe’s Facebook page)
It took a little longer than planned, but Lulu Cafe, an Asian cafe and restaurant serving coffee, tea, snacks, and sweets, has finally opened at 4508 Walnut Street (next door to Hunter Gatherer Tattoo). The final inspection was on Tuesday, according to the cafe’s Facebook post, and it’s now ready to serve its customers.
The opening was anticipated and the wait was worth it. We checked on the new establishment on Friday, its opening day, and saw a sizable crowd inside.
The cafe’s specialty is milk tea. As one happy customer put it, “No more long trips to Chinatown for milk tea now!” The snack food menu includes popular Chinese and Taiwanese street food items (all garlicky and spicy), such as popcorn chicken, squid balls, sweet potato fries, and green beans. And you can top everything off with some shaved ice with three toppings of your choice.
Lulu Cafe is open daily 11:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. For more information, visit: www.lulucafeusa.com.
The restaurant will open at 11:30 a.m. on Dec. 15 and to celebrate the opening, the first 101 guests will be treated to a free lunch.
At Herban (a mashup of “herb” and “urban”), diners can build their platter starting with a base such as Himalayan red rice, seasoned kale, or chilled whole wheat peanut noodles, then adding a protein: you can choose from grilled chicken, backyard steak, pesto salmon, or “the vegan jawn”, a mix of lentils, quinoa, and sweet potatoes baked into protein-packed balls. Next, you can pick a sauce to accompany your combo, from herbed tomato, walnut coriander, and Herban hot sauce. And to finish off your plate you can choose two sides, like roasted Brussels sprouts and quinoa ‘n cheese.
Salads are also on Herban’s menu: the Montego with organic baby spinach, avocado, plantain chips, fresh pineapple, and jalapeno-lime vinaigrette and the Spruce with organic kale, feta cheese, pear, pecans, dried cranberries, and balsamic-ginger vinaigrette.
Throughout December, Herban Quality Eats will be open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. In 2016 they will extend their hours. For more information, visit www.herbanqualityeats.com.
A reader, Alex, sent us this photo this morning of some graffiti at the recently openedClarkville bar and restaurant on the corner of 43rd and Baltimore. He writes:
“I went to breakfast at Green Line this morning and noticed Clarkville has been vandalized. Xed out windows, and the messages “merry Christmas ” and “f*** you.” What a shame. I hope the owners can clean it up without too much trouble.”
We asked owner Leigh Maida whether Clarkville will be closed today. Her response: “No way! Open for business! Come eat and drink so we can pay for the repairs.”
UPDATE: Soon after this post was published the University City District graffiti removing crew showed up and helped clean up the building:
Clarkville growlers stand at the ready for Grand Opening Party. (Instagram photo)
Clarkville’s opening date has finally been announced, and it’s tomorrow! The Grand Opening Party for the new bar and restaurant located just across the street from Clark Park at 43rd and Baltimore, will take place on Friday, Dec. 4 at 5 p.m., according to an announcement from the owners, Leigh Maida, Brendan Hartranft and Brendan Kelly.
The opening night will include “complimentary nibbles from the kitchen, a line up of flagship beers from favorite breweries, a killer draft wine list and a whole lot of big love for the neighborhood that has been so patient and supportive while this crazy space was wrangled into submission,” according to the announcement.
In addition, Clarkville will be kicking off growler sales with a keg of Russian River Pliny the Elder available for take out only in a fancy 64oz Clarkville Growler for $35.
Regular service and the full menu, which includes comfort food out of a giant double-decker pizza oven, starts on Saturday, Dec. 5 at 11 a.m.
Starting this Saturday, Clarkville will be open 7 days a week from 11 a.m. – 1 a.m. (The kitchen is open until midnight daily). Weekend brunch is coming soon, too. It will be served on Saturdays and Sundays 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
In the early spring, a neighborhood café, Café Renata caught fire and was forced to relocate from the corner of 43rd and Locust. The space remained vacant for some months, but Vincent DePaul (Vinny Vegan aka Gangster Vegan, or Vinny Blanco to his childhood friends) of Gangster Vegan Organics has plans on changing that.
“I didn’t choose the location, it chose me. God sent me over there,” he said.
He named the business Gangster Vegan Organics because those were all terms that defined him. “Growing up, I was obsessed with that lifestyle. I wanted to redefine gangster, helping people reverse diseases like diabetes. That’s gangster. For me, gangster used to be going out to the club every night, spending money. But that’s not gangster.”
Currently DePaul has one Gangster Vegan Organics location in Norristown, which offers gluten-free, vegan and organic grab ‘n go food options. After considering plans to expand and scouting some potential locations for another store in Phoenixville and West Chester, he decided to go back to a familiar block in West Philadelphia. “I burst into tears when I first came around the building, you know exactly when it’s meant to be… I lived in West Philly when I was 19; I worked at Koch’s Deli for a year.”
He recounted his life events that led up to opening his first location in Norristown, right before he moved back from Los Angeles after becoming 12 years removed from his hometown. When the economy hit, his nine year old t-shirt business went bankrupt and he became homeless. He recalled a moment when he was hungry and had “hit rock bottom” and was given a cup of fresh pressed organic juice, which inspired him to go vegan and lead a healthier lifestyle.
According to DePaul, the new Gangster Vegan Organics will be opening in March. DePaul is interested in hiring a full staff (10-25 employees) for the location, preferably local to the neighborhood and with an interest or knowledge about the organic vegan lifestyle. The West Philly location will be a full-service restaurant with cooked and raw organic gluten-free offerings, seating up to 100 people.
– Rana Fayez
Check out this video of Vinny making watermelon juice:
Chili Szechuan closed its Baltimore Avenue location after a little more than 2.5 years of operation. (Archived photo/West Philly Local)
We received some requests from readers asking what’s happening with Chili Szechuan’s Baltimore Avenue location as it seems to have closed. As you may know, the popular Chinese eatery opened a new location on the 4200 block of Chestnut Street in the summer, and the owner, Kangzhi Ma, said she might close the Baltimore Ave. location, which opened in early 2013, at the end of the year. So we can confirm that Chili Szechuan at 4626 Baltimore Avenue has already closed, so that the owners can focus solely on the Chestnut Street location. As as one of Chili Szechuan workers we spoke to back in May said, “it is a bigger place and close to campuses.”
So it will be interesting to see what business will occupy the now empty storefront at 4626 Baltimore Avenue, a very lucrative piece of commercial property.
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