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Il Pittore in pictures
Chris Painter, longtime kitchen overseer of Stephen Starr's restaurant empire, is unveiling his very own Il Pittore (2025 Sansom St.) this coming Wednesday, Oct. 26.
Il Pittore in pictures
Chris Painter, longtime kitchen overseer of Stephen Starr's restaurant empire, is unveiling his very own Il Pittore (2025 Sansom St.) this coming Wednesday, Oct. 26.
Taking the reins of the old Noble space, Il Pittore ("The Painter") is spread out between a 22-seat ground floor, with a kitchen bar, wine/cocktail bar and communal walk-in table (both that and the host stand were rendered from Noble's gorgeous bubinga bar); and a 66-seat white-tablecloth upper level that takes advantage of the space's existing skylights. (The rooftop garden is still intact, too.) The ground floor has been widened considerably, lending more openness to what will undoubtedly become a bustling gathering place for reservation waiters and cocktailers. Check out the 11-by-16 mural recreation of artist Leonetto Capietto's famous "Pates Baroni" greeting those scaling the staircase.
Though Pottsville native Painter, who ran Starr's Tangerine and Angelina ahead of becoming the restaurateur's culinary director in 2008, is strong with myriad food disciplines, he's most passionate about old-world European cooking. "Working with Asian restaurants, for example, there are sauces you can make in 5 minutes," says Painter, who spent close to a month traipsing about Italy last fall for R&D. "With this, it can be a three-day process for many things — and you feel that when you eat it. If you take care at the ground level, what comes out at the end lingers with you."
Indeed, multi-day prep is required for many dishes on his subtly modern menu, broken up into antipasti, primi and secondi sections. Painter's maialino a fuoco lento (slow-cooked suckling pig) takes 72 hours to get right, and he demonstrates similar patience braising whole baby goats for his corzetti con sugo di capretto, a dish that required him to track down a set of hard-carved wooden presses used to crank out the fanciful coin-shaped pasta (last photo). Other menu highlights include the duck-stuffed agnolotti d'antara, served with juniper-cured duck prosciutto (Painter gets in whole quackers); strozzapreti with lobster bolognese; and an herb-grilled 32-ounce porterhouse for two served with salsa verde and a cold Tuscan bean salad.
Laura Maniec, one of the youngest master sommeliers around, consulted with Starr sommelier Frank Ziebis on Il Pittore's 200-bottle wine list, which is exclusively Italian with the exception of bubbly. Prices on the big-boy list range from $40 to a straight-ballin' $700. The cocktail list is two-tiered, with Italian classics paired with some more modernized renditions, while the beer list will reflect choices The Boot, as well.
Currently taking reservations via phone (215-391-4900) and OpenTable, Il Pittore will serve Sunday to Thursday from 5 to 10 and Friday and Saturday from 5 to 11.
Wow I can't believe how different the downstairs looks!— MLF- Wow, finally inspired Italian food in Philly!! Thank you Chef Painter! I ate there last night we had the swiss chard Ravioli with truffle butter & chanterelles, Parpardelle with wild boar ragu, Suckling Pig & Veal cheek & buckwheat polenta with marrow butter, along with fantastic wine recommended by the friendly Sommelier Frank....WOW! Why hasn't this place been all over the news?! Honestly from beginning to end a fantastic experience!— fzheavenearth
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