Table Talk: Another link added to Cherry Hill's chains

Chain competition is heating up in Cherry Hill.

McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant opened last month on the Haddonfield Road side of Towne Place at Garden State Park. It's a moderate-to-upscale seafood chain based in Portland, Ore.

It also was a massive investment. Aside from the build-out, M&S needed a liquor license, which in Cherry Hill Township is among the most expensive in the world:

$1.5 million.

To maximize its return - and to stake a claim on potential steakhouse competitors (hear that, Morton's?) - M&S has opened William Douglas Steakhouse. The name reflects not a famed Supreme Court justice but M&S founders Bill McCormick and Doug Schmick. It occupies about a third of the M&S building at 941 Haddonfield Rd. (856-665-6100) and shares its kitchen and executive chef, Karen Mitchell.

Atmosphere is subdued and plush, and horsy artwork gives a nod (a shake of the mane?) to Garden State. Menu is a couple of bucks below most high-tier steakhouses': a 16-ounce strip is $37, a 24-ounce porterhouse is $39, a 6-ounce petite filet is $30. The menu also has a few seafood dishes - none of which is duplicated from M&S. Lots of single-malts. It's open for dinner only from 4 p.m. nightly.

What's coming

Goodburger, a Philly version of the New York burger joint, is looking at "early May" at 1725 Chestnut St.

Mamaia, a gastropub coming to 102 S. 21st St. in several months, will have a Transylvanian twist. Owner Laurentiu Muras, a bartender about town, named it after a resort town in his native Romania. (Say it "mam-AY-ah.")

Two on the way for mid-May in Phoenixville: Paul Ryan of West Chester's Ryan's Pub and University City's Smokey Joe's is behind P.J. Ryan's, an Irish pub (231 Bridge St., next to the Colonial Theatre). Marly's, an American BYO bistro (entrees: $17 to $28), is under construction at 106-08 Bridge St. Chef Michael Favacchia, formerly of West Conshy's Gypsy Saloon, is partnered with Gypsy Saloon/Stella Blue veteran Anne Zimmerman and Samantha Hall, an alumna of Teresa's Cafe in Wayne.