General manager Daniel Minn says the owner, whom he declined to name, believes that there's a huge market for Korean food in central Montgomery County, especially a need for banquet space. "A lot of immigrants came here in the 1980s and prospered," he says. Their children are now marrying.
Gaya is contemporary - cream walls, dark woods, highly polished marble floor, tables set with crossed American and South Korean flags. Each table has a gas grill, specially ventilated to minimize smoke in the dining room. Hot pots start at $10.
Asuka has black-topped wooden tables decorated with crossed American and Japanese flags. The stone fireplaces from Johnny Cross' remain. There's a full sushi-bar menu; figure on $15 to $25 for cooked entrees.
What's new
Harusame (2371 Haverford Rd., Ardmore, 610-649-7192), a simple spot with a wide-ranging Japanese menu (plus sushi bar, drinking bar, and to-go beer case), has replaced Sapporo just off the corner of Wynnewood and Haverford Roads, across from the Route 100 train station. Owner Christine Li says she sold her restaurants in Raleigh, N.C., because there seemed to be a need for Japanese cuisine on the Main Line. Chef Tommy Fok lists Delaware's Mikimotos and Devon's Shangri-La on his resume. Hours are 11 a.m. to midnight Mondays through Saturdays, noon to 11 p.m. Sundays.
Shake-up
Gioia Mia, Fabrizio Pace and Peter Kokalari's sexy trattoria at 2025 Sansom St., has pulled up stakes after less than three years. New occupant will be
Noble, a partnership involving Todd Rodgers, Bruno Pouget, and chef Steven Cameron of Blue in Surf City, N.J. - who own the building. Rodgers describes Noble, which they hope to open in November, as a seasonal, modern American with a focus on fresh local ingredients. It will offer a boutique wine list of small producers, as well as local brews and bartenders who specialize in classic cocktails.
Cameron, chef at Blue, recently was named a semifinalist for the 2008 James Beard Award for Best Chef Mid-Atlantic.
