The Baltimore Avenue restaurant scene expanded this summer when the Mediterranean restaurant/cafe Aksum opened near 47th Street.

Its beautifully remodeled dining room and exterior bring a welcome touch of color and diversity to this already lively location. The atmosphere at this BYOB restaurant is conducive to free-form conversation, and the menu of “small plates” encourages guests to linger and share. The setting is pleasant, and the staff is friendly and accommodating. These qualities are assets, but they can also be liabilities, and we hope that the place can work out a few kinks and become a success.

My first visit to Aksum was a low-key birthday celebration on a weekday night. My friends brought wine and a bottle of bubbly, and our server promptly supplied us with wineglasses and champagne flutes. From the small-plates menu, the Stuffed Grape Leaves ($5) were good but unsurprising, and the Avocado and Tomato salad ($9) was fresh but not remarkable. On the other hand, the “Angry” Baby Eggplant Salada ($10) was delightfully spicy and perfectly portioned for sharing, and the Grilled Calamari ($9) were outstanding. The Mahi Mahi Pita Wrap, however, didn’t fit the flavor and style of the other offerings. The aoli was tasty, but overall the dish was a little bland and awkward to share. We also ordered the Orzo Arrabiata ($11) and found it used the same sauce as the eggplant. It’s good sauce, but we would have liked more variety. Once we’d secured some pita, which was not as forthcoming as it should have been, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The chairs got more comfortable, the people-watching got better, and our server become friendlier; by the time we opened our third bottle of wine, she’d practically joined our party.

Toward the end of the evening, we reached an impasse: we wanted to finish our wine, but there wasn’t anything else we wanted to order. There were a few empty tables, and no-one was waiting for ours, so we decided to stay a while longer. The very friendly server and staff made us feel at home and didn’t rush us. It will be curious to see how well Aksum handles the problem of turnover as their popularity grows; without a liquor license (and no corkage fees) the restaurant becomes a very attractive low-cost place for folks to hang out and enjoy the evening without spending much money. I suppose we should have smoked an after-dinner hookah — perhaps next time.

About a week later, a friend and I tried the weekend brunch. Things were busier – the dining room was full, with families on hand (young children with their parents, and college students with theirs). Choices such as the Egg Mezze Platter ($9) and the UCity Breakfast Wrap ($11) looked great on the menu and on other people’s tables. We ordered Sweet Corn Griddle Cakes with blueberry compote, eggs, and turkey sausage ($13) and the Salmon and Spinach Omelet with delicious tiny twice-fried tomatoes ($12), both of which arrived beautifully presented, but slightly cold.

What we’d experienced as a leisurely pace at night became an bothersome delay at brunch. In the evening, we’d been happy to lounge, but at the start of the day, people have places to go. For lunch, brunch, or dinner, the food is basically good and the decor is unique and comfortable. Although the service can be slow, the staff is very friendly. You might not enjoy Aksum if you are on a schedule, but if you want a casual, cozy meal capped with a leisurely spell at the hookah lounge, this is the place for you. I think in the end Aksum’s success will hinge on how well they can match the tempo of service to the mood of the clientele while continuing to turn a profit. We wish them the best, and thank them again for a very pleasant birthday evening.

– Jen

We’re a bit late on this, but it would be a shame if we fail to mention this great achievement by one of our neighbors.

Congratulations to West Philly’s Jacob Soll for receiving the MacArthur award, sometimes called the ‘genius award.’ Soll, a history professor at Rutgers University-Camden, is among this year’s 22 recipients of the prestigious award, which recognizes “exceptional merit and promise for continued and enhanced creative work.” The award includes a $500,000 grant that the recipients will get “no-strings-attached” over the next five years.

Newsworks.org has a great interview with him on this page.

St. Francis de Sales (47th & Windsor) is organizing a flea market tomorrow, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.  There will also be a sidewalk sale at the corner of 43rd and Osage from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Bargains, lots of useful stuff, and… free cookies! See the flyers below for more information.

Here’s something to watch out for. Neighbor Ayse, who lives on 45th Street between Spruce and Locust, is reporting some theft in her area:

“There was some minor theft that happened here over the past twoish days, and I just wanted to give people a heads up that there might be someone checking for unlocked doors and pilfering packages. I had a FedEx package stolen that was in the foyer between the front door and the apartment door (the front door was unlocked, but closed). My roommate also had a package delivered that was ripped open, but the contents were still there. The downstairs tenants had a cell phone and digital camera stolen from inside the apartment – small, potentially not immediately noticed. We reported the stolen package and stolen tech items to the police, but it’s unlikely they’ll find them since they’re disposable/ so small. But we wanted to let the police know in case it keeps happening. And we realize that it’s not the greatest idea leaving our front door open, but that aside, we wanted to give people a heads up to lock their doors and pay attention to packages.”

It always seemed too good to be true. The experiment in buying wine at special kiosks in grocery stores around the state, including one at the Fresh Grocer at 40th and Walnut, is over.

The Pronto Wine Kiosk program which included around 100 kiosks across various Pennsylvania locations is being shut down due to some monetary disputes between the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) that runs the kiosks and the machine supplier, a Conshohocken-based company Simple Brands L.L.C. The PLCB claims to not have been reimbursed by Simple Brands for over $1 million in expenses it incurred from the kiosks wiring and stocking. Simple Brands were supposed to supply the machines at no cost to PLCB, while sharing the profits.

The kiosks had all kinds of age verification technology and even a built-in Breathalyzer (important for the one at 40th and Walnut streets, which is surrounded by students). But customers often said the kiosks were difficult to operate.

Penn’s student newspaper The Daily Pennsylvanian reports that the Fresh Grocer has expressed disappointment over the kiosk closing. It quotes Carly Spross, the Fresh Grocer Marketing Director, who said that this service brought “convenience” to the Fresh Grocer’s customers and “helped bring in additional foot traffic to our stores.”

West Philly resident Wendell Pritchett, an urban historian and former aid to Mayor Michael Nutter, has been appointed to the School Reform Commission, the body that oversees the administration of Philadelphia’s public schools.

Pritchett, who is chancellor of Rutgers University-Camden, will fill one of the two Commission openings left vacant by the recent departures of chair Robert Archie and member Johnny Irizarry. The quick appointment of Pritchett gives the commission the necessary quorum of three. Other members include Denise McGregor Armbrister, whose term expires in January, and Joseph Dworetzky, who commutes to SRC meetings from the West Coast.

Pritchett, a familiar face at youth baseball games and the University City Swim Club, is a close Nutter ally and served as the Mayor’s deputy chief of staff and director of policy. He taught at the University of Pennsylvania School of Law from 2001-2009 and was the school’s associate dean from 2006-2008.

Pritchett will jump right into the new post. One key issue the commission will face in the next couple of months is the looming closure of several schools in the city.