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Chef Salad
Back in August, we told you about Nanina Scriber, the vet of NYC's Benoit who is the now chef de cuisine at Olivier Desaintmartin's Zinc (246 S. 11th St.). Check out her opening menu, which features classic colder-weather plates like lamb shank prepped "cassoulet style" and roasted chicken with root vegetables, after the jump (click to enlarge). Nostalgic, non-squeamish French bistro fans will be excited to note that Desaintmartin still offers an $85 duck press for two option.
Chef Matt Levin, late of Adsum, is bringing his menu eccentricities to Mémé (2201 Spruce St.) next Tuesday, Sept. 27, when he'll partner with chef David Katz on a five-course, cocktail-paired dinner based around a late-summer theme ingredient: corn. Priced at $50 a head, the duo's menu will feature dishes like Japanese jack fish with popcorn purée; fried chicken served with 10 textures of corn; sea scallops with smoked corn cobbler and Armagnac cherries; and pushed foie gras with corn sherbet, mascarpone spheres and burnt vanilla. Drinks, also be of the corn variety, will come courtesy of Mémé's Tom Pittakas, former beverage director of Alison Two. "The dessert cocktail will have a caramel corn thing going on," teases Levin. Grab a spot for the 6 or 8:30 p.m. seatings by calling 215-735-4900.
Back in June, we told you about Peter McAndrews' plans for the old Locust Crest Tavern (1191 N. Middletown Road) in Media. The chef and restaurateur — four eateries qualifies for restaurateur status, no? — behind Monsù, Paesano’s and Modo Mio is calling the spot Il Porto, Italiano for "the door." The name comes from the antique walk-in McAndrews discovered inside the place during renovations, its door etched with the year 1936. “In my mind, it’s also like we’re opening the door to your palate,” says the chef, who promises pizzas cooked a new wood-burning oven, as well as Venetian-style bar snacks called cicchetti and daily specials like whole-roasted fish and porchetta. Il Porto will seat about 30 at the bar and 45 more in two dining rooms. McAndrews says the place is about a month away.
Photo: Drew Lazor
Eat Along the Street (EATS), the kickoff for Manayunk's Eco Arts Festival, is just two days away, but readers can still purchase tickets for the street-food event, headed up by chef Moon Krapugthong (Chabaa Thai) and restaurant consultant Judy Spielman (Space by Spielman, Ltd.). Taking place on Sept. 21 from 6 to 9 p.m., the food festival and cooking competition at Propper Brothers (115 Levering St.) benefits Thailand's Wat Bodd Vorraditth orphanage, with the goal of training youth for a future in the culinary/hospitality industry. Come out and experience street cuisine flavors with Krapugthong and other local chefs, such as Clark Gilbert of Gemelli (4161 Main St ), Mary Cullom of Spring House's Arpeggio (542 Wood Spring Road) and Rich Landau and Kate Jacoby of the upcoming Vedge. Stay for the culinary competition, which will be judged by a panel including chef Jose Garces, Munish Narula of Tiffin and Tashan and CP's own Drew Lazor. General admission tickets start at just $35.
Got a few more details on the Oct. 5 edible swan song of Jennifer Carroll, whose impending departure from 10 Arts by Eric Ripert we mentioned back in August. On Wed., Oct. 5, Carroll will host the traveling Celebrity Chef Tour at the Ritz-Carlton restaurant (10 S. Broad St.) for a seven-course wine-paired dinner benefiting the James Beard Foundation. Joining Carroll in her Philly kitchen — D.C.-based chefs Adam Sobel, Scott Drewno and Victor Albisu; fellow Top Chef alum Eli Kirshtein; Michael Ginor of Hudson Valley Foie Gras; and 10 Arts pastry chef Monica Glass. Tix, which include food, drink, tax and grat, are going for $180 a head.
Over the next few weekends, Brian Ricci (above) will be rolling out a new cool-weather menu at Queen Village saloon Kennett (848 S. Second St.). "The menu this fall reflects what folks responded to last fall [and] winter," says the chef and pizza maestro. "I wanted to gently prod our regulars who have come to trust us over the past 10 months, and I'm most looking forward to things like the pork loin-and-black pudding bundles. Maybe that's more than a gentle prod."
Chef Carmen Cappello, who opened The Wishing Well (767 S. Ninth St.) with longtime buddy Chris Martino in April 2010, is through cooking at the Bella Vista public house. He's no longer a partner in the business, either, and tells Meal Ticket he's also sold off his interests in his North South Meatery & Canning Co. product line and Smoke Truck mobile barbecue operation, both collaborations with local BBQ man Mark Coates. (No further details on the fates of either project just yet.) Cappello, who assures "everything is on good terms and friendships are intact," does have a potential opportunity in the pipe, but is not ready to discuss it publicly at this time. Meanwhile, the Well's new exec, Barry Hipple (bumped up from the chef de cuisine slot), launches his new menu tonight.
Photo: Drew Lazor
A couple local chefs have appointments at the prestigious James Beard House this fall. First up on Oct. 25 is Robert Aikens, Brit-born chef of Stephen Starr's jolly good show The Dandelion (124 S. 18th St.). He’s teaming up with his twin brother, Tom, of Michelin-starred Tom Aikens in London, for a seven-course, booze-included modern English feast involving poached pigeon with winter truffles, cider-glazed pork belly and the chicken liver/foie parfait we love sososomuch at Dandelion. (Find the menu, in its full, $205-per-person splendor, after the jump.) On Nov. 9, look for Aimee Olexy of Talula's Garden (210 W. Washington Square) and Talula's Table (102 W. State St., Kennett Square) at the Beard House. No menu yet ... maybe because ex-chef Matt Moon is still listed on the invitation?
Photo: Drew Lazor
Olivier Desaintmartin's Zinc (246 S. 11th St.) is getting a new chef the third week of September — Nanina Scriber, late of Alain Ducasse's Benoit in Midtown Manhattan, who's replacing Justin Bennett, now cooking with Brian Ricci at Kennett (848 S. Second St.).
Meanwhile, at Caribou Café (1126 Walnut St.), the Chopped-winning chef's other Center City establishment, Desaintmartin is is offering two bits of long-form dealage. The first is a 15 percent industry discount after 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and after 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday; it's a summer promo he's carrying into fall. The second: Through the month of September, drop $20 and you'll get an order of steak frites, plus a wine or beer. For those seeking a fully immersive experience, Desaintmartin would like it to be known that Caribou will gladly accept Euros in lieu of U.S. dollars for the deal. "I'll give the difference to my waiters [to make up] for the tips the French don't leave them," jokes Desaintmartin, a native of Champagne. "Don't they study foreign customs before they travel?"
Xochitl (408 S. Second St.), which Demetri Pappas and Peter Leontara took over from former owners Michael Solomonov and Steve Cook last month, retained chef Lucio Palazzo (above) in the switchover. Now Palazzo has announced he's leaving the Headhouse Square Mexican joint after Restaurant Week in mid-September. No official landing spot for him just yet; the chef tells Meal Ticket he plans on taking some time to pursue kitchen apprenticeships to "hone his craft," and is focusing on restaurants in California, Mexico City, Italy and NYC.
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