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Did The Continental start a veritable revolution?
The Web site for the award-winning alternative weekly, the Philadelphia City Paper.
Did The Continental start a veritable revolution?
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| continentalmartinibar.com |
In his latest review, CP critic David Snyder praises Stephen Starr's Pizzeria Stella, and draws a correlation between the Headhouse Square eatery and Starr's flagship Continental and Second and Market:
Fourteen years ago, Philly's dining scene appealed to a much older crowd � to the extent there was a dining scene at all. But after Stephen Starr opened the Continental in 1995, everything changed. The Old City martini bar "struck a nerve with people who were young, and people who wanted to feel young," Starr recalled in a recent interview. [...]
Pizzeria Stella, the latest addition to Starr's ever-expanding restaurant galaxy, may turn out to be just as revolutionary for Philly.
Holly Moore of hollyeats.com took umbrage with Snyder's characterization of he Continental as a harbinger of imbibable modernity here in Philly. His response, in the comments (Snyder writes back, too):
Yo you young whippersnapper: Ever hear of the Restaurant Renaissance? Ever hear of Yuppies? Philadelphia has had an exciting restaurant scene since at least the mid 70's. All along it has been at least partially driven by young professionals.
Stephen Starr is an important part of today's restaurant scene, but I don't recall the Continental being all that groundbreaking other than serving a bunch of flavored martinis.
This discussion raises a few interesting questions. Snyder is not the only person we've heard cite the opening of the Continental as a hashmark moment in the development of Philly's current dining identity. But is the martini bar's importance overstated? Would Philly's restaurant scene still have advanced healthily without it, or did it set the bar for others? What do you think? We'd especially like to hear from those who've lived in the city since 1995, when the Continental first opened.
Leave your opinion in the comments here and/or in the comments of the Stella review.
Without Starr Philadelphia would certainly be different. You eliminate Morimoto's celebrity name drawing power and take all of Garces' restaurants as well, since he started in the kitchen at El Vez under Starr. There could very well still be a dining scene, but it would certainly look much different. Mike http://theotherguywhoateeverything.blogspot.com/
My sense is that the Continental, while not all that impactful, may have given Stephen Starr the credibility and capital infusion to bring his showmanship to Philadelphia restaurants. And Starr has opened some excellent restaurants. Where Marc Vetri�s and Jose Garces� restaurants embrace their roots and points of view, the Starr Organization functions more like a restaurant chain. They pick a concept, research the hell out of it, pour on the bucks, and shoot for excellence - Maybe steaks one cycle, then Mexican the next. Sometimes they hit a home run; sometimes a single. They rarely strike out. While Starr restaurants are key players, they are more an entity unto themselves � a segment of the restaurant scene but not the lodestar. I am with Joy Manning (comments section cited above) that Django and the BYO's and small restaurants that followed better define and distinguish today's Philadelphia restaurant environment.
You can never find a definite beginning of anything: certainly not anything as complex or difficult to define as a "restaurant revolution." I agree 100% that the wave of BYOs led by Django define where the heart of Philadelphia dining is today. But you have to give Starr credit for nurturing some of that talent. Didn't Bryan Sikora work at Blue Angel? I know that Shola Olunloyo did.
There's no dispute as to Django's importance; the quaint BYOB was on fire during its run with Sikora at the helm (2001-2005). But I wouldn't say it was the beginning. The reason so many of the restaurateurs I have spoken with identify The Continental's 1995 opening as such a pivotal moment is becuase it brought the crowds to Old City that allowed other restaurateurs to be successful. The economy was getting better then, so Starr doesn't deserve all the credit. But in my experience, if you want to find the beginning, you follow the money.
[...] Starr might’ve started his restaurant empire with The Continental in 1995, yet it wasn’t until 1998 that Starr dining became fine. That�s when his richly opulent [...]
[...] The Continental! Stephen Starr’s very first restaurant, on the corner of Second and Market, opened in 1995, but it’s never featured a happy hour � until last Monday, when they quietly rolled one out. [...]
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