Details on Nicholas
posted by Drew Lazor
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As promised, some details on Nicholas, which opens for dinner this Sat., May 17.
- The 30-seat BYO is in the former Caffe Carmen (2015 E. Moyamensing Ave.). Chefs/owners Nicholas Matteo and Nicholas Sweeney will host an open house this Thu., May 15, from 7-9 p.m.; grand opening's two days later. After that, it'll be open Thursday to Sunday for dinner.
- South Philly natives Matteo and Sweeney became friends working the line at Striped Bass in the mid- to late 90s, then later as sous chefs at Morimoto. "We've been talking about it since the Striped Bass days," says Matteo when asked how long he and Sweeney have wanted to open a place. "We've been looking over the years for something small and simple. We've [already] worked at big-name, high-volume places."
- The chefs'll serve (if you want to label it) New American bistro cuisine. As for ingredients, they'll stay "as local as possible. We were doing cooking demos at a farmers market last summer in Moorestown, New Jersey," says Matteo. "Every week, we would make a dish based on what the farmers would have, what they were pulling out of the ground that week. We'll work on our menu weekly and do our own shopping."
- Since they'll be doing different things every week, it's tough to tease specific entrees. But Matteo says they'll have some staples, like chicken breast or steak prepared with whatever's entering season (for example, fingerling potatoes are coming up soon). They'll be doing a lot of seafood — remember where these guys worked. (Matteo has also put in time with Samuels & Son.) Breads will be made in-house, as will small gourmet pizzas. They'll also offer mixers for BYO cocktails.
- This is definitely an uncommon model in the Philly BYO scene, which seems to be dominated by couples, one in the front of house and one in the back. Two chefs as owners? "We do argue a lot," laughs Matteo. "People who don't know us think we're having a fight like a married couple in the middle of the market, but in the end, we take his ideas and my ideas and come out with a better dish."
- "Basically, what we're trying to do is spur of the moment," adds Matteo. "Like the old ladies used to do — go to the market, see what's good that day and come back and cook it."
May 13th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
[...] · Perhaps the biggest Food Blob in the entire city, the Food Distribution Center in South Philly, is slated for a move to a $200m new facility that will carry the only slightly less generic name Philadelphia Regional Produce Market. Confession: We’re kind of obsessed with this place and would love to do a video segment on it before it’s sent to the dustbin of history. If you’ve got an in, please email us at phoodie[at]gmail[dot]com. [Inky] · After our Bloody Mary blowout post a few weeks back, we thought we’d seen it all, but no: Check out Alfa’s flight of Bloody Mary variations (pictured). Oh. My. God. [Rachel’sGuide] · And ever the studious inspector of restaurant fetuses, City Paper’s Drew Lazor gets the deets on new South Philly BYO Nicholas, helmed by chefs Nicholas Matteo and Nicholas Sweeney, both of whom have done time at Morimotio and Striped Bass. The long and the short of it: New American bistro style, lots of seafood, menu changing almost daily, and yes, they’ll have fresh mixers for your booze. [CP] 173c [...]
May 13th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
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