My friend writer Sophia Romero, who runs the blog, The Shiksa from Manila, emailed to say that a Filipino restaurant, PURPLE YAM, is officially opening on November 10th in Ditmas Park (1314 Cortelyou between Rugby and Argyle to be exact).

Owned by
husband-and-wife team, Romy Dorotan and Amy Besa who ran Cendrillon in
SoHo for years, they are bringing the same Filipino Pan-Asian concept
to their new digs. "We look forward to continuing our love affair with Keralan, Cantonese, Vietnamese and Indonesian food simply because we have very dear friends who come from these cultures," they write on their web site.

Above chef Romy is pictured next to his brand new restaurant stove. "We thank our architects, Claire Weisz and Rob Berry—our heroes!. When you walk into our new space and you say you love it, it is because of them and their vision to transform that 99 cent store into something magical," they write on their website.

Romy and Amy are long-time Brooklynites; they had this to say to those who have been waiting for their restaurant to open its doors.

"Thank you so much for all those phone calls, encouraging emails and personal visits to the restaurant site when we were under construction. It has been one long, hard slog to get everything together. It has been eight months since we closed Cendrillon. And in this tough economy, the only reason Romy and I have survived this long drought was a combination of family and friend who all pitched in just to see us through. We dedicate this new and beautiful restaurant to them and we will make it up to them by creating a home for everyone where food is the center of life powered by a philosophy that food is for nurturing people and the bond that unites a community."