Washington Post names Philly one of America’s 10 best food cities
The Washington Post has named Philadelphia one of America’s 10 best food cities, thanks to a food scene where “substance trumps flashiness.”
The Washington Post has named Philadelphia one of America's 10 best food cities, thanks to a food scene where "substance trumps flashiness."
WaPo scribe Tom Sietsema turned his attention to the City of Brotherly Love for his fifth edition in the best food cities series, which previously featured the likes of San Francisco, Portland, Oregon, and Chicago. And while there isn't a numbered list yet, Sietsema writes that this city definitely "knows how to cook, eat and drink."
And perhaps that's because, as Marc Vetri put it to WaPo, we are all "about the story" of the plate:
Marc Vetri, the maestro of Italian chefs, credits customers with an appetite for more than just what's on the plate. "Philly is about the story," he says. "They want to know not just when you're opening, they want to know the story of how you made it there."
In addition to Vetri, the article goes on to shout out to many of Philly's most prominent chefs, including Michael Solomonov:
Today's culinary stars tend to put out food that few other chefs in the country are making. Look no further than the modern Israeli list at Zahav by Michael Solomonov and the fascinating vegan scripts created by Landau, who, with the help of prime local produce, has spurred his peers to treat vegetables with the respect once reserved for meat and fish. (Sans earnestness: "Vegan is a diet," he says. "Vegetables are food." )
Greg Vernick:
Meanwhile, in a market where fine-dining establishments are few, Vernick Food & Drink, opened four years ago by Greg Vernick, an alumnus of the New York-based Jean-Georges Vongerichten empire, is the contemporary American exemplar of easy class and refined creativity. No one touches toast (toast!) like Vernick, whose thrilling menu elevates spreads on breads into a category all their own.
Noord's Joncarl Lachman:
For the chef-owner of Noord Eetcafe, a 38-seat Northern European retreat in trendy East Passyunk, "it's like having people into your home, except they bring the wine and pay for the food."
Rich Landau of Vedge:
In modern Philadelphia, small is big. Unlike in other major markets, rents here are moderate, making it easy for chefs to open personal expressions. With $100,000 and a decent piece of real estate, says chef Rich Landau of the innovative vegan restaurants Vedge and V Street, "you can snap your fingers and open in two months."
And, of course, Stephen Starr:
No discussion of the food scene in Philadelphia would be complete without a shout-out to Stephen Starr, who started in the comedy and music industries but went on to open 21 restaurants in the city (and 14 elsewhere), starting with the martini-fueled Continental in 1995, when Philadelphia was, the impresario recalls, "a frontier that was wide open."
But, as WaPo notes, it isn't just Philly's best chefs that make us one of the best food cities in the country. It's also our great BYOB and craft beer cultures, which Joe Sixpack says is related to our blue-collar roots:
Other traditions are more fluid. Good craft beer, for one, seems to flow everywhere in this town, which for seven years has hosted what organizers say is the largest Beer Week celebration in the country, with more than 50,000 participants.
"Philly is very self-aware of its image as a blue-collar town," says Don Russell (known as Joe Sixpack by Philadelphia Daily News readers), who counts 50 or so breweries in the area. "No drink evokes that better than beer."
Besides that, though, it would appear that Philadelphians simply "have cookery in their blood":
Don't take just my word. "Philadelphians have cookery in their blood. After all, the city was a riverfront baby, born in a tavern, close to the hearth," writes co-author William Woys Weaver in his book-length introduction to 1987's "The Larder Invaded: Reflections on Three Centuries of Philadelphia Food & Drink."
With those elements in combination, Philly may well be on its way to establishing a food culture that outdoes culture behemoths like New York City and Los Angeles:
Los Angeles, too, at least as far as Vedge is concerned. Landau and his chef-wife, Kate Jacoby, originally planned to open their vegan restaurant in California, but "we couldn't pull the trigger," says the chef, who stayed in Philadelphia partly for "the Colonial vibe and four seasons."
That rootedness — plus a sense of attention to detail, be it for a sandwich or a $155-a-head Italian feast — sums up the food scene in Philadelphia, where substance trumps flashiness. Landau, for one, coaches his staff to "make sure you're cooking for Craig LaBan every night."
Though, if you live here, you already knew that.