As Craig LaBan reported yesterday, chef Todd Lean (left) is closing Mandoline, his BYOB in Old City, after dinner this Saturday 9/29 and he'll become chef at Deuce in Northern Liberties, starting Tuesday 10/2. Tough going, the life of a chef-owner. Now, Lean will be able to cook and not worry so much about the front of the house, much as he did for many years as sous chef at Carambola. Speaking of the front of the house: Lots of rumors recently about the successor restaurant to Mandoline. Many think it's Jose Garces, who (the chatter goes) would either expand his eatery Amada or open a burrito shop there. Wrong and wrong. I spoke to Garces this morning, who said he was out of the running. He wasn't sure about a new operator.
So I'll put this one out there, based on what I've heard: a Korean BYOB.
Photo of Lean by Charles Fox / The Philadelphia Inquirer