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Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Alison two opening: Philly's Getting It, at every level

I got a press release about chef Alison Barshak's new restaurant in Fort Washington, Alison two. (No real website yet, but an excellent "here's how we're building it" blog here.) Hey, looks great, high-end, really interesting -- maybe too interesting -- Bar Menu (Tuna Sliders, House Made Takewan Salad, Ginger Aioli; Charmoula Rubbed Lamb Loin Chop, Cucumber Mint Relish, Chick Pea Puree; and Corn Bisque, Huitlacohe, Black Truffle Essence, Masa Cake, Oyster Mushroom), all in a 150 year old stone building with fireplace. Honestly? No surprise, it's what you'd expect.

But get this booze action (at the bar, which is open now):
Alison two has a full bar with its own menu and a full list of classic cocktails with a twist, such as the French 75 with homemade brandied cherries and the Dark & Stormy with ginger beer house-made by Beverage Director Tom Pittakas. Signature drinks include Autumn Cider with apple brandy (wonder if they're using Laird's excellent stuff?), lemon juice and apricot brandy as well as the Jamaica Daiquiri with light rum infused with hibiscus in-house. The restaurant has a full wine cellar... The beer list features a wide selection of regional beers from small-batch breweries.
Alison Barshak (or at least Tom Pittakas) recognizes that to have a truly top-flight restaurant in this area, you must have a truly top-flight drinks selection that includes a real beer list. Once again, folks: we're winning.

(Alison two is at 424 S. Bethlehem Pike, in Ft. Washington; they'll be open for dinner on October 16. Call 215/591-0200 for hours.)

9 comments:

Steve Logan said...

For a second I thought this might be in the old Broad Axe Tavern - but alas, it's the old Marita's Cantina.

Any news on the Broad Axe? I thought I had heard or read that Mike Naessens from Eulogy was involved in turning that into a suburban Belgian bar/restaurant.

Lew Bryson said...

Kinda nice to see something in Marita's, though.

As I understand -- and this is from others, not Mike -- Broad Axe turned out to be a real money pit that needed a lot more work than originally thought; kind of like KClinger's North. The project was quietly abandoned.

Rich said...

Philly gets everything...I don't live in Philly :(

No credit cards...that's odd?

Lew Bryson said...

No credit cards? Huh, guess I missed that. I suspect it's a cost issue. I've been seeing more places doing that, and I've been seeing a LOT more gas stations offering discounts for cash. (Like anyone's wanting to carry that much cash around!)

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a great place but I likely won't ever see it for two reasons.

1. I don't live anywhere near there so that makes sense.

But more importantly, at least to me;

2. I use my credit card for virtually every purchase. Not only that but I strongly try to only patronize places that take American Express.

Yeah, so it costs the merchant a fraction of a percentage more but a lot of people are like me and like the great service that I get from AmEx. To encourage good customers which tend to more often be people that have AmEx cards, it is a "no-brainer" to me, to accept that card.

Anyhow, that's my two cents.

DFields said...

I'm very excited about Alison Two. Alison At Blue Bell is a fantastic restaurant. The drink menu at A@BB is small, but they do allow BYOB's with a small corking fee. The food is simply amazing. Adding a robust drink menu to what is already an astoundingly good restaurant is GREAT news.

CrazySpice said...

When I called for reservations, I was told they are accepting credit cards.

Spotlight said...

I am writing from Alison two to let you know that we do, in fact, accept credit cards. We accept American Express, Visa, Mastercard and Discover.

Brooke said...

I'm impatient so I found this post...I can go here!