Restaurant notes: Vetri alumnus is opening in Collingswood
Joey Baldino, Vetri's chef de cuisine, is going the Sicilian BYOB route.
Collingswood has been undergoing a game of restaurant dominoes.
The last move has been made, so let me recap:
Alex Capasso moved his Blackbird Dining Establishment from 619 Collings Ave. a few blocks away, into a portion of his West Side Gravy at 714 Haddon Ave. Both share the space in a neat set-up that manages to give prime window seating to patrons at both the polished Blackbird and the casual West Side Gravy. It's the former Woolworth's.
That consolidation created a vacancy at 619 Collings Ave., and Heather and Rakesh Ramola saw their chance. They own IndeBlue, the excellent Indian BYOB across the street at 618 Collings Ave. Bingo. They moved across the street, doubling their seating.
That created a vacancy at 618 Collings Ave.
The new occupant will be .. drumroll ...
Joey Baldino, former chef de cuisine at Vetri and sous chef at Osteria.
Baldino, a French Culinary Institute grad who has been part of the Vetri orbit for a decade, tells me that he does not yet have a name for his "regional, classic Sicilian" 35-seater opening in May or June. Simple food, he says.
Vetri himself, who has appointed Adam Leonti as chef de cuisine at Vetri, is wishing him well.
By the way: Vetri goes the prix-fixe route on Tuesday, March 15, as Inquirer critic Craig LaBan reported last month.