Arrive - Summer/Fall 2016

[financially].” Situated in a two-story row house, Brigantessa pays homage to Cicala’s heritage and features Calabria chilies, lemons, a mess of garlic and olive oil. His pizzas follow the strict standards of Neapolitan tradition. They’re cooked in a

950-degree Gianni Acunto oven—the Rolls-Royce
of pizza ovens—for 90 seconds and emerge chewy
and soft. In one rendition, Cicala stuffs the crust
with sheep’s milk ricotta. ( Take note, Pizza Hut,
this is how it’s done right.) The prices reflect those
of a neighborhood restaurant—nothing is more
than $27. When asked why entrees in Philadelphia
don’t typically cost north of $30, Brigantessa co-
owner Francis Cratil Cretarola goes back to those
diners not being afraid to express their opinions:
“If you did, people would punch you in the face.”
Around the corner from the Liberty Bell, High
Street on Market serves some of the best values
in town. It’s a bakery and sandwich shop with the
ambition of a four-star restaurant. “Everyone
is really pushing it in their departments,” says
chef Jon Nodler. The bread slices are as thick as
a book yet pliable and airy. Extra flourishes are
everywhere. The beet-cured smoked salmon
breakfast sandwich, for instance, is layered with
fried capers and a healthy schmear of celery
cream cheese. And the shrimp toasts come with
whipped foie gras because, why not? Nodler and
his wife, pastry chef Sam Kincaid, are originally
from Madison, Wisconsin, and they fell for Philly
during an impromptu honeymoon here a few
years ago. “We realized Philadelphia was at a tip-
Nodler. “The community is very strong in the
sense that it is very supportive of one another,

with a healthy level of competitiveness. That has really helped the food conversation on all levels.”

Don’t Forget the Drinks

In a city known for its dive bars and beer-and-a-shot specials, a cold pint at the end of the day remains a vital part of life. Amid a rising craft beer scene in Pennsylvania—thanks to breweries like Victory, Free Will and Weyerbacher—Philadelphia has become a place for beer nerds. Tria Taproom on Walnut Street has 24 taps, with 12 for beer and the other 12 for wine, including locally produced selections. The bar has Riesling from Pinnacle Ridge Winery in the Lehigh Valley and chardonnay from Heritage Vineyards in, eek, New Jersey.

“The wines are very fresh,” says Tria’s wine director, Michael McCaulley, who has visited Heritage and vouches for it. Tria Taproom is a place for the fun, funky and irreverent. “One of the things we’re doing is kegging things that haven’t been kegged before, like vermouth, sherry and sake,” says McCaulley.

The credit for Philly’s transformation largely goes back to chef Marc Vetri and restaurateur Stephen Starr. Vetri upped the dining game with his ode to Northern Italy at Vetri, while Starr has brought a showman’s flair to his restaurants. Starr’s fondness for big, bold outposts is seen in his nightlife equivalents Buddakan and Morimoto. In recent years, he’s also backed the chef-driven Serpico and Talula’s Garden and the groovy Ranstead Room speakeasy. ( The last one is found by going through the kitchen at Starr’s El Rey Mexican joint.) Talk to Starr’s staff and they’ll tell you he sweats the details. “I’ll call a restaurant and make them put me on hold to hear what music is playing,” confirms Starr.

He got his entrepreneurial start selling tchotchkes on the Atlantic City boardwalk as a teenager. “I learned everything I know from that,” he says. “I figured out how to sell myself and my product.” He evolved into a music promoter and then gravitated toward restaurants in the early 1990s because Philadelphia had fancy spots, but nothing that felt like a party. In the near future, he anticipates that Philadelphia chefs will be more innovative than those in New York because chefs can monetarily afford to take more chances.

“The Philadelphia dining scene is booming,”
says Starr. “I go to a lot of cities and other than
New York, we either rival or surpass any other
city I go to.”
It’s the kind of hometown pride that even
Annie would have trouble arguing with.