Amada

AMADA OFFERS the perfect example of the heights to which good, simple ingredients can go when prepared by a skilled chef. What is basically a potato omelet, in the hands of Jose Garces, becomes something heavenly - warm, earthy, nourishing and yet delicate and fluffy. Amada, which means "loved one" or "beloved" in Spanish, is Garces' new tapas restaurant in Old City. But in a sense, it's been in the works for years. Though his background is Ecuadorian, Garces did a project on Spanish tapas in culinary school in Chicago.

Chef Jose Garces left the glittering cocoon of Stephen Starr's organization, where he helmed Alma de Cuba and then El Vez, to open Amada, his intoxicating Spanish tapas establishment in Old City. He did so, however, with considerable trepidation. "I was petrified," Garces says, sitting near the immense marble bar crowned by three hanging Serrano hams, $210 apiece. Garces, 33, certainly doesn't look petrified. He doesn't look like a man on the brink of creating a gustatory empire, either, which he appears to be. "I basically signed my life away.

Amada 217-219 Chestnut St. 215-625-2450 amadarestaurant.com Bar Ferdinand 1030 N. 2nd St. 215-923-1313 barferdinand.com Jamonera 105 S. 13th St. 215-922-6061 jamonerarestaurant.com   Tinto 114 S. 20th St. 215-665-9150 tintorestaurant.com

The enormousness that is the new Revel Atlantic City can be boiled down to numbers: 14 restaurants, 1,900 guest rooms, in a mega-casino towering 47 stories over the city's South Inlet section. But Revel's restaurant complement can be boiled down to two Philadelphia men who operate as Vibrant Development Group: Chuck Bragitikos and Jason Spillerman. More than five years ago, they met with Kevin DeSanctis, Revel's chief executive. DeSanctis told them that it not only had to be big, it had to be distinctive.

Bridgets 8 West in Ambler (8 W. Butler Pike, 267-465-2000), one of the more grown-up spots in central Montgomery County, has just finished an expansion into a former boutique on the corner. The brick-floored room, lined in stone, gets great sun through midday. Owner Kevin Clib, who opened the steakhouse four years ago next to his more casual KC's Alley, has tweaked Bridgets' concept, adding small plates (lobster quesadilla, beef sliders, lobster corn dog, diver scallops, etc.) as well as a butcher-block menu, in which steaks/chops, starch and vegetables come out on wooden blocks for sharing.

Taking its title from the '80s-era slogan of the New York Police Department's street crimes unit, We Own the Night stars Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Wahlberg as brothers on opposite sides of the law. Joe Grusinsky (Wahlberg) is a dedicated, decorated second-generation cop. Bobby (Phoenix) is the proverbial black sheep, a coke-snorting disco-club manager with a different last name - Green - a party-girl girlfriend (Eva Mendes), and business associates who may or may not be tied to the Russian mob. One thing the brothers do share: a hero father, Burt Grusinsky, a deputy police chief played exactly how you figure he'd be played if he were being played by Robert Duvall - which he is. At times solid and suspenseful, at times dopily implausible and woefully familiar, We Own the Night owes a bunch to the bare-knuckled New York crime dramas of Sidney Lumet - though it doesn't come close to Lumet's latest, opening next month (and also about two brothers and a father)

Make that two Philly-area guys from the recent Next Food Network Star to get their own series. Winner Aaron McCargo Jr. of Camden premiered Big Daddy's House yesterday. South Philly's Adam Gertler, one of two runners-up, is in L.A. shooting Will Work for Food. Gertler's half-hour Food Network show combines his comedy with a sense of adventure and premieres at 9:30 p.m. Sept. 30. It's not a cooking show, per se. Gertler will show how people in the food business do their jobs.

Taking its title from the '80s-era slogan of the New York Police Department's street crimes unit, We Own the Night stars Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Wahlberg as brothers on opposite sides of the law. Joe Grusinsky (Wahlberg) is a dedicated, decorated second-generation cop. Bobby (Phoenix) is the proverbial black sheep, a coke-snorting disco-club manager with a different last name - Green - a party-girl girlfriend (Eva Mendes), and business associates who may or may not be tied to the Russian mob. One thing the brothers do share: a hero father, Burt Grusinsky, a deputy police chief played exactly how you figure he'd be played if he were being played by Robert Duvall - which he is. At times solid and suspenseful, at times dopily implausible and woefully familiar, We Own the Night owes a bunch to the bare-knuckled New York crime dramas of Sidney Lumet - though it doesn't come close to Lumet's latest, opening next month (and also about two brothers and a father)

SOMETIMES, EVEN when you lose, you win. That couldn't be more true for Adam Gertler, a Philly chef and aspiring stage actor who struggled to succeed until he took a chance - and made it to the big leagues. Five years ago, Gertler was executive chef at the Smoked Joint, a hip barbecue restaurant his brother owned at 15th and Locust streets. When the place closed in 2006, he waited tables at Amada in Old City, acted in various local productions and waited for his big break. It arrived a year later.

Lots of bars nowadays are putting on airs, adopting the lofty handle "gastropub" as an excuse to jack up prices and expectations. Not so the Field House , which opened last week on the block of Filbert Street across from Reading Terminal Market (1150 Filbert St., 215-629-1520). Partner Gary Cardi acknowledges that he and co-owner Brian Harrington, who also have the monster hit Public House off Logan Square as well as Mission Grill a block away, have hired a chef (Ralph Kane, formerly of Salt Water Beach Cafe in Asbury Park, N.J., and World Cafe Live in University City)

The enormousness that is the new Revel Atlantic City can be boiled down to numbers: 14 restaurants, 1,900 guest rooms, in a mega-casino towering 47 stories over the city's South Inlet section. But Revel's restaurant complement can be boiled down to two Philadelphia men who operate as Vibrant Development Group: Chuck Bragitikos and Jason Spillerman. More than five years ago, they met with Kevin DeSanctis, Revel's chief executive. DeSanctis told them that it not only had to be big, it had to be distinctive.

Amada 217-219 Chestnut St. 215-625-2450 amadarestaurant.com Bar Ferdinand 1030 N. 2nd St. 215-923-1313 barferdinand.com Jamonera 105 S. 13th St. 215-922-6061 jamonerarestaurant.com   Tinto 114 S. 20th St. 215-665-9150 tintorestaurant.com

S EAN "DIDDY" COMBS is expected Saturday night at the Ritz-Carlton to host the black-tie Joy to the World gala to benefit local families in need, organizers say. Music producer Jermaine Dupri , actors Vivica A. Fox , Boris Kodjoe and Lance Gross , and some cast members from Bravo's "Real Housewives of Atlanta" will also attend, according to Nia Ngina Meeks , who is working on the Joy to the World festival weekend of events. State Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams and Mayor Nutter will speak at the gala along with Joy to the World festival founder Tyrone L. Gilliams . The gala is part of a weekend of toy drives, bowling, concerts and kids' entertainment all designed to help local children and families in need.

SOMETIMES, EVEN when you lose, you win. That couldn't be more true for Adam Gertler, a Philly chef and aspiring stage actor who struggled to succeed until he took a chance - and made it to the big leagues. Five years ago, Gertler was executive chef at the Smoked Joint, a hip barbecue restaurant his brother owned at 15th and Locust streets. When the place closed in 2006, he waited tables at Amada in Old City, acted in various local productions and waited for his big break. It arrived a year later.

Bridgets 8 West in Ambler (8 W. Butler Pike, 267-465-2000), one of the more grown-up spots in central Montgomery County, has just finished an expansion into a former boutique on the corner. The brick-floored room, lined in stone, gets great sun through midday. Owner Kevin Clib, who opened the steakhouse four years ago next to his more casual KC's Alley, has tweaked Bridgets' concept, adding small plates (lobster quesadilla, beef sliders, lobster corn dog, diver scallops, etc.) as well as a butcher-block menu, in which steaks/chops, starch and vegetables come out on wooden blocks for sharing.

Make that two Philly-area guys from the recent Next Food Network Star to get their own series. Winner Aaron McCargo Jr. of Camden premiered Big Daddy's House yesterday. South Philly's Adam Gertler, one of two runners-up, is in L.A. shooting Will Work for Food. Gertler's half-hour Food Network show combines his comedy with a sense of adventure and premieres at 9:30 p.m. Sept. 30. It's not a cooking show, per se. Gertler will show how people in the food business do their jobs.

Lots of bars nowadays are putting on airs, adopting the lofty handle "gastropub" as an excuse to jack up prices and expectations. Not so the Field House , which opened last week on the block of Filbert Street across from Reading Terminal Market (1150 Filbert St., 215-629-1520). Partner Gary Cardi acknowledges that he and co-owner Brian Harrington, who also have the monster hit Public House off Logan Square as well as Mission Grill a block away, have hired a chef (Ralph Kane, formerly of Salt Water Beach Cafe in Asbury Park, N.J., and World Cafe Live in University City)

Taking its title from the '80s-era slogan of the New York Police Department's street crimes unit, We Own the Night stars Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Wahlberg as brothers on opposite sides of the law. Joe Grusinsky (Wahlberg) is a dedicated, decorated second-generation cop. Bobby (Phoenix) is the proverbial black sheep, a coke-snorting disco-club manager with a different last name - Green - a party-girl girlfriend (Eva Mendes), and business associates who may or may not be tied to the Russian mob. One thing the brothers do share: a hero father, Burt Grusinsky, a deputy police chief played exactly how you figure he'd be played if he were being played by Robert Duvall - which he is. At times solid and suspenseful, at times dopily implausible and woefully familiar, We Own the Night owes a bunch to the bare-knuckled New York crime dramas of Sidney Lumet - though it doesn't come close to Lumet's latest, opening next month (and also about two brothers and a father)

Taking its title from the '80s-era slogan of the New York Police Department's street crimes unit, We Own the Night stars Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Wahlberg as brothers on opposite sides of the law. Joe Grusinsky (Wahlberg) is a dedicated, decorated second-generation cop. Bobby (Phoenix) is the proverbial black sheep, a coke-snorting disco-club manager with a different last name - Green - a party-girl girlfriend (Eva Mendes), and business associates who may or may not be tied to the Russian mob. One thing the brothers do share: a hero father, Burt Grusinsky, a deputy police chief played exactly how you figure he'd be played if he were being played by Robert Duvall - which he is. At times solid and suspenseful, at times dopily implausible and woefully familiar, We Own the Night owes a bunch to the bare-knuckled New York crime dramas of Sidney Lumet - though it doesn't come close to Lumet's latest, opening next month (and also about two brothers and a father)

Chef Jose Garces left the glittering cocoon of Stephen Starr's organization, where he helmed Alma de Cuba and then El Vez, to open Amada, his intoxicating Spanish tapas establishment in Old City. He did so, however, with considerable trepidation. "I was petrified," Garces says, sitting near the immense marble bar crowned by three hanging Serrano hams, $210 apiece. Garces, 33, certainly doesn't look petrified. He doesn't look like a man on the brink of creating a gustatory empire, either, which he appears to be. "I basically signed my life away.