Restaurant

IT'S no accident that Lady fell hard for the Tramp over a shared plate of linguine in the classic Disney movie. The very act of nibbling pour deux can be enough to get a body in the mood for romance. Although Valentine's Day is one reason to canoodle with your favorite dining partner, chefs around town are hip to the aphrodisiac power of shared deliciousness any time of year. "It's sexy to share," said Patrice Rames, chef/owner at Bistro St. Tropez in Center City. He offers a dessert duo meant for two, an airy Gran Marnier souffle and a chocolat chaud , or molten chocolate cake (see recipe)

It's hog time at Harvest Seasonal Grill & Wine Bar (200 S. 40th St., 215-662-1100, harvestseasonalgrill.com). Chef Anthony DiPascale has created a pig-lovers menu around pasture-fed, antibiotic-free organic heritage hogs from Wind Chaser Farm in Paradise, Pa. Try Pork Belly Flat Bread with agave-glazed pork belly, grilled pineapple, queso fresco and micro cilantro, or Wood Grilled Pork Loin Chops with a Choucroute Alsacienne, roasted fingerling potatoes,...

"True Love. " "Let's Kiss. " "Hug Me. " It's February, and that's NECCO Sweethearts candy time. And time for an upscale do-over. Pastry Chef Thomas Heck of Davio's (111 S. 17th St., 215-563-4810, davios.com) has come up with a homemade Sweethearts recipe in lemon, orange, peppermint and cocoa. All he needs is witty talk with which to decorate the sweets. Tweet your ideas @daviosphilly with the hastag #candyheartsphilly. If yours is selected for Valentine's Day at Davio's, you'll win a $50 gift card to the restaurant.

I WANT TO COMMENT on your article, "Responsible Gun Owners: Speak Out" (Stu Bykofsky column, Jan. 11), which I read on Philly.com. I live in rural Mississippi, where almost everybody I know owns at least one firearm, and the attitude toward owning firearms is probably 180 degrees different from what I presume is the prevailing attitude in Philadelphia. I own an "assault weapon," I have worked as a youth firearms instructor through the 4-H program, and I believe that private firearm ownership is an important check on the United States becoming a military dictatorship.

By Lowman S. Henry To many, Philadelphia's restaurant industry - with its diverse choices, burgeoning complement of BYOBs, and growing number of high-profile restaurateurs - is an asset to the city. Others, however, have set out to demonize it. Last month, an organization called the Restaurant Opportunities Center released a report that deemed just nine local restaurants up to its standards as "ethical" eateries, and City Council adopted a celebratory resolution in the center's name.

ON A slate-gray Sunday afternoon, soundtracked by the low-volume televisual hum of cutthroat playoff football, Lucio Palazzo knows he's struck the kitchen version of pay dirt. Pacing between the dining room and stove of his deep-in-South-Philly home, he declares as much to the eaters in earshot between enthusiastic mouthfuls. "This is definitely a situation. " After a few good-not-great results, the chef is rejoicing over a tremendous taco, but it's nothing like the tortillas he painstakingly plates up at his workplace.

Marianne Gere and Kim Strengari, from West Conshohocken's Stella Blu and Gypsy Saloon , have crossed the Schuylkill to open Southern Cross Kitchen , a restaurant-bar on the former site of 8 East at 8 E. First Ave. in Conshohocken (484-344-5668). The cross does not refer to the Fayette Street bridge or to the constellation; rather, the cuisine is a cross between down-home Southern classics and modern comfort food (jambalaya, fried buttermilk chicken, smothered pork chop, etc.)

Warminster police were on the lookout for a man who opened fire in a small take-out restaurant in the County Line Road Shopping Center on Friday morning. The shooter has been identified as Jose Delgado, 33, of New York City, former owner of the restaurant now known as Mama Juana's, according to Warminster Police Chief Michael Murphy. Delgado and the restaurant's current owner were engaged in some type of business dispute about 10 a.m. when Delgado allegedly fired four rounds from a silver semiautomatic handgun, Murphy said.

A man who police say sprayed gunfire Friday inside a Warminster takeout restaurant he once owned has surrendered to authorities. Jose Delgado, 33, of New York City, was arraigned Saturday on a long list of assault and weapons charges. He was jailed in lieu of $500,000 cash bail. The former owner of the restaurant now known as Mama Juana's, Delgado was in a business dispute with the current owner when he fired the shots, Warminster Police Chief Michael Murphy said. About 10 a.m. Friday in the restaurant, Delgado allegedly fired four rounds from a semiautomatic handgun, Murphy said.

A man who police say sprayed gunfire Friday inside a Warminster take-out restaurant he once owned has surrendered to authorities. Jose Delgado, 33, of New York City, was arraigned Saturday on a long list of assault and weapons charges. He was jailed in lieu of $500,000 cash bail. The former owner of the restaurant now known as Mama Juana's, Delgado was in a business dispute with the current owner when he fired the shots, Warminster Police Chief Michael Murphy said. About 10 a.m. Friday in the restaurant, Delgado allegedly fired four rounds from a silver semiautomatic handgun, Murphy said.