DISH: Hit the deck at Bart & Urby's

by Nikki M. Mascali
Weekender Editor

HIT THE DECK AT BART & URBY’S

Bart & Urby’s (115 S. Main St., Wilkes-Barre) will soon unveil its new deck.

“It like the final missing link in the bar that we needed to have an all-year-round bar that was attractive to people,” said Brian Urbanas, who co-owns the downtown establishment with Eric Bartoletti.

Urbanas hopes to have the deck, which is 19-by-35-feet, opened in a week or two. The approval for the outdoor liquor license from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board is still pending. The wall features a colorful mural painted by Bart & Urby’s staffers Sarah Wolman and Kim Kleinman.

Plans for the space next door, which was once rumored to be a music venue offshoot of Bart & Urby’s, is on hold.

“I want to make sure the deck goes over well, I don’t want to do too much at once,” Urbanas explained. “We’re definitely doing next door, but it’s on the backburner. It’s just a matter of when we feel it’s the right time.”

Urbanas shared that when that side does open, it will be more of a “college bar,” with pool tables and dartboards. The Friday and Saturday night jazz and blues series will return with the college students this fall, as will the fish and game menu items of the weekend.

For more info, call 570.970.9570 or visit www.bartandurbys.com.

GET YOUR FORKS READY

Tickets for the 2010 Fork & The Cork event are now on sale. Billed as “America’s premier food and wine tasting event,” Fork & The Cork will be held Friday-Saturday, Sept. 24-25 at the Woodlands Inn & Resort (Route 315, Plains Twp.)

Among the event’s exhibitors are igourmet.com, The Woodlands, Hoegaarden, Stella Artois, Ketel One Vodka and various wineries. The event schedule includes a Wine Maker’s Dinner, seminars and tastings.

Tickets range from $25 per seminar to $1,000 for a table of 10. For more info or to buy tickets, visit www.forkandthecork.com.

BAKEHOUSE DOWN THE BLOCK

The Bakehouse (United Penn Plaza, Kingston) will open a second location less than a mile away in the Gateway Shopping Center in the former Java’s Brewin’.

“When I opened the original Bakehouse, it was always part of my plan to have multiple locations,” owner Frank DeViva told the Times Leader recently.

The new space will offer many of the same Bakehouse items and also something the original location, which opened in 2004, can’t: A drive-through.

“Everyone wants to go to a drive-through,” DeViva said.

The new Bakehouse will have a soft opening Sunday, Aug. 1 and a grand opening Sunday, Aug. 8.

RUTH’S AT NOON

Ruth’s Chris Steak House inside Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs (1280 Route 315, Plains Twp.) is now open at noon Wednesday-Saturday for lunch. The menu — featuring a wide range of appetizers, burgers, sandwiches and more — includes lobster bisque, veal osso buco ravioli, prime French dip and prime burgers, seared ahi tuna salad and steaks.

“With the addition of table games at Mohegan Sun, we are now serving lunch to help accommodate the increased traffic at the casino,” said Jeffrey Metz, president of the Dallas-based Metz Group, which owns and operates Ruth’s Chris.

For more info, visit www.poconodowns.com/dining or call 570.208.2266.

SOUP FOR YOU AGAIN

The Original Soup Man, aka “The Soup Nazi” made famous by an episode of “Seinfeld,” has reopened its flagship 259A West 55th St. location in New York City, the very location used in the popular episode.

Owned by Al Yeganeh, the restaurant closed six years ago but reopened earlier this month. For more info, visit www.originalsoupman.com. If you do go to sample the “The Soup Nazi’s” soup, remember to have your money ready and move to the left immediately after ordering!

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