Olive on 3rd captures essence of all that is olives

Olive on 3rd, a BYOB, has replaced Ava on the corner of Third and Gaskill Streets, between South and Lombard Streets (518 S. Third St., 267-519-9498).

Christine Fischer, paired in the kitchen with Gildardo Zavala Cortes, has been in catering and restaurants since 1995. She briefly owned ChriStevens and Astral Plane Millenium.

She describes the cooking style as a little bit of everything - hence the name. When planning the restaurant, she said, "I thought of 'Olive' instantly because olives are incorporated into every nationality and culture. And that is about who we are."

Olives are found in many dishes, including the signature olive bread. Entree prices range from $8 for spaghetti and meatballs to $21 for a 9-ounce New York strip steak, served with a baked potato. Menu is at http://go.philly.com/olive. It's open from 1 to 7 p.m. Sundays, 4 to 9 p.m. Mondays through Wednesdays, and 4 to 11 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays.

An upscale Tiffin coming

Tiffin owner Munish Narula is planning an upscale Indian restaurant opening this winter at 777 S. Broad St. All seats will have a view of the open kitchen and the restaurant will wrap around the corner of Broad and Catharine Streets. There is no name yet, according to Narula, who started his Tiffin empire on Girard Avenue in 2006 and now has locations in Elkins Park, Mount Airy, and Wynnewood. (A Bryn Mawr location is delayed but is on the way.) Narula says the new restaurant will use sophisticated Indian methods including tandoor, a sigri, and tawa. This new concept, unlike Tiffin, will not focus on takeout, and it is unclear as of now whether it will be offered.

Briefly noted

Jet Wine Bar, an international snack-and-wine operation, is shooting for a mid- to late-July opening at 1525 South St., says owner Jill Weber, an archaeologist working in Syria at the moment.

Philly alum Adam Gertler, who won his TV stripes on The Next Food Network Star, launches a new show, Kid in a Candy Store, at 8 p.m. July 12 on Food Network. At 8:30 p.m. July 26, he'll visit Flying Monkey Patisserie at Reading Terminal Market to sample the kitchen sink brownie and Santa Fe brownie.

Why the Comcast Center was crawling with chef-jacketed, toqued figures earlier this month: The Academie Culinaire de France hosted its 54th annual weekend in Philadelphia in conjunction with the Maitres-Cuisiniers de France. Georges Perrier cooked the reunion dinner at the center's Table 31.

Budget-friendly brunch

Cooperage, the new American tavern in the Curtis Center in Washington Square, has added weekend brunch (10 a.m. to 3 p.m.) with all dishes at $12 and under.

Contact columnist Michael Klein at mklein@phillynews.com Follow his blog at http://go.philly.com/insider and on Twitter @phillyinsider.