What's coming

• The Bamboo Club, a polished-looking contemporary Asian fusion chain out of Arizona, is prepping for a Nov. 20 opening at the Pavilion at King of Prussia, between the Cheesecake Factory and Cosi, off Allendale Road. (This place will actually take reservations.) Atmosphere includes glossy black ceilings and walls, foliage and murals. The menu, sectioned according to preparation (steamed, grilled, sizzled, wokked or noodled), will span Thailand, China and Korea. Examples: spicy crackling calamari salad ($9), Thai spicy shrimp with green beans ($15), and Hong Kong steak flamed tableside with brandy and mushrooms ($19). The Bamboo Club, open for lunch and dinner seven days a week, is also big on wines (101 on the list) and tropical drinks. The chain is owned by Main Street & Main Inc., the largest franchisee of T.G.I. Friday's. Take a sneak peek by going to www.thebambooclub.com.

The long-vacant northwest corner of 17th and Spruce Streets - which last was Galileo, after a stint as Fratelli - is getting new life. The brothers who run Plaza Pizza in Northern Liberties are in the early stages of planning a family-style, moderately priced Mediterranean. No name yet. Put down the fork: The liquor-license application has just been posted, so it's months out.

Speaking of liquor licenses: In early June, we reported that the price of a license in Philadelphia - which had hovered between $20,000 and $28,000 for the better part of a decade - was about $35,000. Last week the going rate was closer to $45,000. Licenses are sold on the open market, so it's an old-fashioned supply-and-demand issue, lawyers say.

Nov. 8 will see the opening of the Bridge, a six-screen movie theater, on 40th Street between Walnut and Locust. (Quick history: Robert Redford had been pegged to build and operate it until his financial partner filed for bankruptcy in 2000. Backer is now National Amusements, run by Shari Redstone, daughter of Sumner Redstone, who controls the entertainment giant Viacom.) The Bridge, whose prototype is in Los Angeles, will have a restaurant, 12 Lounge, with a lunch-to-late-night menu of sandwiches, pizzas and appetizers, as well as alcoholic beverages. The name is the same as the one attached to the 12-screen Bridge in L.A.

Remodeling

• The operators of Westside Grill (140 Moorehead Ave., West Conshohocken; 610-260- 0054) have refashioned it as Nouveau, a nightclub-cum- steakhouse. It's open from dinnertime ($18 to $24 entrees) through late night, Tuesdays through Saturdays. Partner Carlo de Marco says the club is aimed at the late-30s-plus crowd.

That banging sound at Capital Grille (Broad and Chestnut Streets) is not some steak-tenderizing trick. Workers are feverishly working to finish a 50-seat addition on the Broad Street frontage in the next several weeks, just in time for high season. Managing partner Ed Dougherty says it's needed because he has had to turn away nearly 1,000 diners a week.

It's quieter now at Jimmy Rubino's Ralph's in Ambler (110 E. Butler Pike). Rubino hired sound engineer Richard Brown to design fabric panels that would mimic the existing decor. The sound level, boosted by a tin ceiling, has been cut almost in half.