» More wine in Manayunk: If it’s not open already, it won’t be long until Cooper’s Brick Oven Wine Bar (4365-67 Main St., Manayunk; 215-483-0444 cooperswinebar.com) makes its debut next door to older sibling Jake’s. The lip-smacking menu features hearty sandwiches and pizzas, indulgent cheeses, charcuterie, and “plates” such as smoked salmon with smoked trout, watercress, cucumber, apple and lemon aioli. Look for 30 wines by the glass, and two dozen American craft and Euro brews (six draught). Chef/owner Bruce Cooper will be cooking, and Jake’s well-known bar has been swapped out for window seating.
» What recession? Charitable types have been digging deep this summer. At the third annual Great Chefs Event in Philly June 18, attendees doled out $17,000 for an in-home dinner for 12 prepared by Marc Vetri (Vetri and Osteria). A few days later, at a Home of the Sparrow fundraiser at Betty Moran’s Brushwood Stable in Malvern, a dinner for 10 prepared by culinary non-professionals Lisa Schiel and Alex Del Viscio (both board members) went for $25,000—plus an anonymous matching grant of $15,000.
