Vetri
Vetri
12/12/09
1312 Spruce Street
Touted by many (even those with pretty ambitious Italian restaurants themselves like Mario Batali) as being America’s best Italian restaurant. I had been plotting a way to get to Philadelphia just to dine at Vetri since Alan Richman’s article in Bon Appetít magazine back in 2005. Then came his book, Il Viaggio di Vetri- published last year, which recounts his journey to the Italian town of Bergamo and back to Philadelphia to ultimately open his own restaurant. The book is filled with recipes so inspiring that I decided the time could no longer wait. I must make a plan and put it into action.
Exactly 60 days in advance, with no airplane reservation and no hotel, I place the call and make a reservation to dine at this temple of Italian cuisine. Can it ever live up to its reputation or, even more tenuous, can it live up to the 5-year anticipation in my mind?
The menu consists of the day’s selections. From these items the chef chooses a menu tailored to each person based on what the diner has relayed to the waiter and designed to create a logical flow. Much to my relief, some of the dishes I’d been dreaming of are on the menu.
Amuse bouche constisting of: (R to L) savory fritter topped with lardo, butternut squash fritter, burrata wrapped with lomo, country-style pork terrine with mosto cotto and foie gras terrine. It’s a fun way to start and a good mix of flavors.
Oyster crudo with radicchio di Treviso
Nantucket scallop crudo with persimmon
Cauliflower sformato with farm eggs is good to the final scarpetta!
One of the evening’s best dishes, a caramelized onion crespelle (crepe) is very concentrated in flavor and marries well with its truffle fonduta.
Almond tortelli in white truffle sauce is another stand out dish of the evening. The almond flavor is just the right touch.
The gnocchi are light with a very concentrated spinach flavor, but somehow miss the mark of perfection. Perhaps they need a hit of salt. I would prefer a butter sage sauce rather than brown butter which competes for the spotlight.
Rigatoni with veal sausage and bitter greens are a chewy al dente. I love the contrast between the rich sauce and the punch of the greens.
Striped bass with barlotti beans shaved fennel and radicchio
One of Marc Vetri’s signature dishes, baby goat, served atop polenta is delicious and delicate. Great job on the crispy skin.
Light and creamy chestnut custard in textural contrast with crisp flaky pastry is perfect. Chestnuts custard taste like winter in Northern Italy.
Apple stuffed donuts with vanilla gelato
The intimate dining room and professional service round out the top-knotch experience.
And I was even able to meet the man himself, Marc Vetri! Now, I’m plotting my way to get back to Philly for more and more Vetri.
Ciao for now...