How Philly Restaurants High Street, Pod, and Kalaya Found Success | Eater Philly

"I remember when Stephen Starr opened Pod in 2000 near the University of Pennsylvania as an entertaining, futuristic space designed by the Rockwell Group—complete with three color-changing dining pods and a sushi conveyor belt delivering nigiri, crab spring rolls, tempura rock shrimp, and an express bento box—and how the venue later reinvented itself as Kpod serving Korean dishes like mandu, rice cakes, banchan, and bibimbap under chef Peter Serpico before reopening as Pod again with a more polished Japanese-focused menu featuring mentaiko spaghetti, curry udon, rib-eye sukiyaki, new specialty rolls like a Butter Krab Roll, returning favorites such as spicy tuna crispy rice and wagyu beef hot stone, the restored group pods, and the return of sushi chef Kevin Yanaga to spearhead the sushi program." - Ernest Owens