The early word on Speck

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The early word on Speck

POSTED: Thursday, August 5, 2010, 6:08 PM

Filed Under: Chef Salad | Openings

Photo | Shola Olunloyo

Shola Olunloyo is nearing the finish line on his first restaurant, at The Piazza at Schmidts in NoLibs. Speck, which we first talked about in April, will offer Olunloyo's progressive New American cuisine in a clean, refined and natural setting. A 15-foot glass façade will open onto outdoor seating right on the Piazza. The restaurant's custom-fitted kitchen, located in the center of the space, will be equipped more than 100 spices on floating glass shelves, as well as some serious food nerd toys, including five immersion circulators, two circulating baths, a infrared salamander and a pasta extruder. Some menu highlights will include razor clams with yuzu, garlic and olive oil (above); rabbit escabeche with cauliflower, prunes and Earl Grey tea; tomato-almond gazpacho with crab remoulade and tomato sorbet; medium rare steak tartare with olive oil and capers; corn soup with pickled chanterelles and pistachio oil; and skate with brown butter miso and sunchoke. And yes, there is actual speck on the menu here, in the form of speck-wrapped fingerling potatoes with smoked paprika aioli (below) and speck toast with poached egg and gruyere. The menu will comprise small plates designed to be shared and prices will range from $4 to $24. Speck will also feature a bar with cocktails, craft beer and an international wine list.

Photo | Shola Olunloyo

Speck will also serve as the new home of Studiokitchen, the private dining experience Olunloyo put on in his former home in West Philly that produced as much buzz amongst Philly diners as it did food porn on the chef's blog of the same name. Studiokitchen has come back Tuesday to Saturday as a pre-paid nine-course, eight-seat chefs counter. Reservations for this will be taken online only and can be placed up to a year in advance. The restaurant is aiming for a September opening, after which point Olunloyo will serve dinner Tuesday to Sunday from 5 to 11, as well as lunch on Saturdays and Sundays from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Tweets that mention The early word on Speck :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper -- Topsy.com

Posted 2010-08-07 19:09:27

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by winston yuan, Meal Ticket. Meal Ticket said: Anthony Sica with the early word on @SpeckFood, coming to @ThePiazza in September: http://bit.ly/biPabe [...]

daytime drinker

Posted 2010-08-05 15:12:01

THIS IS GOING TO CHANGE EVERYTHING !!!

lucky to have eaten Shola's food several times
he turned my least favorite dessert in the whole world, Tiramisu and made it the thing i can't get out of my mind. It was that good

Anthony Sica

Posted 2010-08-05 15:36:41

@ daytime drinker, Are you talking about the Aerated Tiramisu?

Amen

Posted 2010-08-05 14:17:54

I am so ridiculously, ludicrously, out-of-control excited about this restaurant.  I need to step outside and catch some air.  I'm flipping out.

Now Boarding: Studiokitchen at Speck :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper

Posted 2010-08-09 15:43:07

[...] Olunloyos Studiokitchen, the eight-seat chefs counter at his soon-to-open Speck (check out last week’s rundown of the project), has just started taking pre-paid reservations. Seatings for Studiokitchen begin the first week of [...]

Ticket Stubs: Meal Ticket Weekly Recap, Aug. 2-6 :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper

Posted 2010-08-09 11:03:37

[...] BlogFish-y business, all artichoke'd up, 32 ounces to freedom• Make your own Franklin drink• The early word on Speck Video Blog• Behind the Scenes with Kurt Vile• PSN Dodgeball Leagues• Tricking [...]

Confused

Posted 2010-08-06 11:42:57

Didn't Shola say that tapas/small plates were over a few years ago?

Posted by Anthony Sica @ 6:08 PM Permalink | Post a comment

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