Dining news: Bolo debuts in Rittenhouse; Human Robot Brewing opening Center City outpost

Philadelphia's restaurant scene is gearing itself up for the summer as April comes to a close. There are several new openings, and there are also some new food and drink items.

Last week, Chef Yun Fuentes' Latin American restaurant Bolo and rum bar opened in Rittenhouse. Evil Genius Beer Co. launched another limited-edition beer on Saturday.

This week, two Philadelphia area chains added new items to the menu. Rita's Italian Ice introduced frozen coffees while HipCityVeg redesigned its entire menu.

What you need to know this week about Greater Philadelphia's dining scene

Rittenhouse gets a new Latin American restaurant and rum bar

Bolo is a Latin American and Rum Bar in Rittenhouse Square that opened on 14 April.

Bolo, located at 2025 Sansom St. was created by chef Yun Fuentes. The first-floor bar and lounge can accommodate 34 guests, while the second-floor dining room can seat 60.

The menu includes riffs on dishes from his childhood spent in Puerto Rico, using techniques he learned from his time in Old San Juan in New York, North Carolina, and Philadelphia. Dinner items include Tuna con COCO, Smoked Whitefish Salad, Lamb Picadillo Empanadas and Lobster Mofongo.

Bolo's Bar offers classic rum cocktails like pina coladas, mojitos, and signature drinks such as the French Twist made with rhum agricultural, pineau de Charentes, chamomile, and the Coco Bolo made with Old Grandad Bonded Bourbon and Coco Rico with a lime twist.

The restaurant also partnered up with Philadelphia craft brewery My Local Brew Works in order to create two beers as part of its draft beer program. Bolo Light, a cream ale with 4.6% ABV and Bolo Dark, a brown ale with 5.2% ABV is the restaurant's draft beer program.

Fuentes served as the culinary director at Milkboy Restaurant Group prior to his new venture. Fuentes has worked previously as an executive chef for restaurateur Stephen Starr's Alma de Cuba, and as a Chef at Garces Group concepts Amada & Village Whiskey.

Bolo is open to serve dinner Monday through Wednesday, from 4 pm to 10 pm and Thursday through Sunday, from 4pm to midnight. For now, it will remain closed on Sundays.

Evil Genius Beer Co. teams up with a bacon-themed food truck and restaurant for a beer collaboration

Evil Genius Beer Co., a restaurant with a bacon theme and a food truck are launching their beer collaboration this Saturday.

Fishtown Brewery has partnered up with Bake'N Bacon - a Black-owned business - to create a limited-edition beer named Tast-E Bacon.

Tast-E Bacon, a 5% alcohol-by-volume beer that is inspired by the popular restaurant and food-truck chocolate-covered strawberry topped with crumbled bacon, has notes of all three flavors. The beer was brewed using smoked malt with light hops.

Tast-E Bacon is not made with bacon, so people with dietary restrictions are able to enjoy it.

Trevor Hayward, co-founder of Evil Genius, said that the beer company's owner Justin Coleman met his team and the Bake'N Bacon owners at a brewery festival.

Hayward and cofounder Luke Bowen founded Evil Genius in 2011 The company has teamed up most recently with burger chain White Castle in order to brew Main Character Energy. It is a 6% ABV Hazy Kiwi Dragon Fruit IPA.

Bake'N Bacon began in 2019 as a mobile food service. It plans to open a brick-and mortar at 1148-1150 S. 11th St., in South Philadelphia, later this spring or in the summer.

Quick bites

Human Robot Brewing will open a new location on the western edge Center City. Human Robot Schuylkill banks will open its doors on May 11 at Spread Bagelry’s 2401 Walnut Street outpost. According to a post by the Philadelphia brewery, it is located inside. The brewery will be open from Thursdays to Sundays, 3 p.m. until 10 p.m. during the weekdays and 12 noon to 10 pm on weekends. According to the posting, Human Robot Schuylkill Banks is currently serving only beer, but will soon expand to include a cocktail list. Customers can also bring their own food. The location will offer "light fare" for sale, but they are welcome to purchase it. Rita's Italian Ice & Frozen Custard introduced its new Cold Brew Frozen Coffees on April 17. Rita's vanilla custard and ice cream are used to make the drinks. They come in three flavors: original, mocha, and caramel. Rita's Frozen Cold Brew Coffees will be available for a limited period at all Rita's stores. The menu of HipCityVeg, a plant-based fast-casual concept that opened in 2001, has been completely redesigned. Customers will still be able to order its most popular items such as Smokehouse and Ziggy Burgers and Crispy HipCity Ranch. New offerings from the Philadelphia-based chain, launched on Friday, include Oh Maitake Burgers, Spicy Crispy Sandwiches, Southern Fried Maitake Salads, Miso Noodle chick'N Salads, Shroom booms, and hand-battered onions rings.

If you missed it

Meetinghouse, a brand new beer, will open a bar/restaurant in the former Memphis Taproom, located at 2331 E. Cumberland St., on the border between Fishtown and Kensington. Former Tired Hands Head Brewer Colin McFadden, and Keith Shore - a former Danish art director of a craft brewery -- founded the concept. Shore announced in a post on social media that the concept planned to open "soon." Our Town Brewery, based in Lancaster, plans to expand its business into Philadelphia by opening a taproom at Fairmount. The outpost, located at 1519 Ridge Ave. will have 10 taps with seating for 80 to 100 people in its indoor and outdoor areas. Bobby's Burgers, the chain owned by celebrity chef Bobby Flay, is expanding its franchises in the United States and internationally. It has set Philadelphia as a target city for new locations. The brand wants to sign an agreement for multi-unit development with a local franchisee who has experience in the food industry. Spread Bagelry, a Philadelphia-born company, plans to open 7 locations by 2023. This will include its first 3 outside the region. The fast-casual bagel company will open four locations in Philadelphia suburbs, two in Charleston, South Carolina and one in Savannah, Georgia this year. Spread, known for its Montreal style bagels, opened its first location in Rittenhouse, Philadelphia, in 2011. It currently has 10 stores in Greater Philadelphia, New Jersey, and Cherry Hill.