CHLOE

[Tom D]

After touring the historical area for the first time in about 35 years (grade school) we had a very good meal in a nice neighborhood restaurant named CHLOE.  Started with 2  salads, the Chloe salad has baked panko crusted goat cheese, mesclun greens, red onion and orange chipolte dressing. The other salad was aroasted beet salad that had grilled onions, arugula, mandarin oranges toasted walnuts and balsamic dressing. Both were yummy. Entrees were a delicious Chilean sea bass with a pesto drizzle and I had the Moroccan spiced lamb with minted cous cous, spicy tomatoes and cucumber raita.  We shared a special Peach cobbler and had two coffees. Totally stuffed the bill with tax and a generous tip was 68 dollars. A real bargain in our mind. Service was excellent and helpful

Chloe, 232 Arch st. 215-629-2337 BYOB. No reservations.

PS The bread came with a wonderful spiced hummus spread.

If we lived in the city, this is the kind of place we would visit often

Tom

[cjsadler]

Digging up a very old post. I see a couple recommendations for it, but no reviews.

[Greg Salisbury]

I loved Chloe the one time I was there. Granted, I really, really don't get out much, but this was the best American BYOB (recusal here) for my money in the city. And the chef/owners (I think her name is Marianne) are super nice.

Edited February 22, 2004 by Greg Salisbury (log)

[Thomas Secor]

Going here this weekend when Im in town for the Flower show. Any further thoughts would be appreciated (we also have reservations for Fork, but one member of our group is low on funds so we are heavily leaning towards Chloe, with the BYOB option. sad).

[mrbigjas]

It's not that sad--they're both good places!

[sara]

After meeting Dan and Mary Anne at the Egullet dinner on Monday night, I'm heading to Chloe tonite for dinner with LiamDC. We're debating what kind of wine to bring-- I have a couple of lovely Italian reds, some syrah, a sauvignon blanc, some muscats...anyone been, have thoughts on the menu and what might be nice to bring? It's only 2 of us, but I may bring as many of 3 bottles--after all I'm graduating this weekend!!

[Andrew Fenton]

After meeting Dan and Mary Anne at the Egullet dinner on Monday night, I'm heading to Chloe tonite for dinner with LiamDC. We're debating what kind of wine to bring-- I have a couple of lovely Italian reds, some syrah, a sauvignon blanc, some muscats...anyone been, have thoughts on the menu and what might be nice to bring?

The answer, of course, is "yes."

[davidbdesilva]

Chloe is perhaps at the top of my "Great restaurants that I've heard so many good reviews about that I must get to" list. The problem is that, coming from the suburbs and they having a no reservations policy always scares me that I'll come all that way and not be able to get a table. I have always thought of making a reservation at a 2nd choice restaurant and going to Chloe with a backup if I can't get a table. But then again, that wouldn't be very nice for the 2nd choice if I got in, now would it?

[menton1]

Last winter, on a very cold Friday night, we arrived in Old City late and looked for parking around Chloe for about 20 minutes. We found a spot, brought our lovely wine, and shivered in at 9:05. The waitress informed us that because of the cold weather, they had closed the kitchen 5 minutes before our arrival and could not serve us. (They normally seat on Fridays until 9:45) The place was about 80% full, so they had tables available and seemed to be doing a brisk business in spite of the weather. We fumed out, put the wine in the car, and had a nice meal at Serrano nearby (Still a long walk in the cold!)

No matter how good their food is touted to be, Chloe will never see us at their place again! What unprofessional and infurating behavior for a restaurant!

[sara]

I am so thrilled that running into Mary Ann and Dan on Monday night inspired me to revisit their wonderful restaurant after a long absence. They are cooking absolutely f-in brilliant food there. Liam and I enjoyed a drop-dead superb set of dishes last night (all of which were specials):

1. Taylor Bay Scallops, in the shell, in a white wine, herb butter and cherry tomato broth with homemade bread. These were the MOST succulent tasty scallops, the size of big mussels, we'd ever had. Each one was treasured, a revelation. I am so regretful that I didn't bring my camera. Every drop of this dish, including the savory broth, was fought over and sopped up. They were especially perfect with the New Zealand sauvignon blanc (Goldwater Dogpoint 2002) Liam brought.

2. Crispy Duck Confit, bing cherry and ginger compote, micro greens. Rich, crispy duck with ripe as hell cherries, a lovely combo. Awesome with the 1998 sangiovese I brought.

3. Sauteed soft shell crabs (2), avocado, cherry tomato, grilled corn salsa, lemon aioli. OH MY GOD. Big, juicy, beautiful, incredibly gorgeous pairing with the avocado and corn. I savored every last bite of this.

4. Grilled Berkshire pork sirloin, pineapple papaya salsa, rice. Very tender, rare center with a nice crispy blackened skin on outside, lovely with the citrusy sweet ripe salsa.

The apps were $12.50 each, the entrees about $23.

5. Banana Bread Pudding-- their signature dish, taste it and you'll understand why. Ours came with fresh berries and coconut ice cream. According to Mary Ann, one regular comes in and orders bread pudding as both his appetizer and again as his dessert! Perfect with the Kiona late harvest gewurtz I brought.

We arrived at 8:30 on a Friday night of Penn's graduation weekend, and were seated immediately (there were 4 two-tops available). Our server was knowledgeable, polite, and the wine service was excellent (we brought a total of 3 bottles, used separate glasses, everything was chilled appropriately, etc).

This was absolutely in the top 5 meals I've enjoyed in Philadelphia in the last 5 years. I think it'd be a real shame to be deterred from this restaurant by its no-reservation, and/or cash only policies, or the owners' desires to close on-time. (That couple works practically alone in their kitchen; IMO it's the owner's perogative once in awhile to close a little early, especially in the dead of winter--sure it's frustrating, but if it were me, at that later hour I would've dropped my partner off to secure a table prior to searching for parking in Old City, which is ALWAYS hard to park in, no fault due to Chloe. Menton, Would you have been equally pissed had you arrived to find out they'd closed for a vacation--given that you'd forgotten to call ahead? It's happened to me twice at Chloe; I still went back. Since we were going to end up going late last night, I called ahead and ask how late they'd be serving...)

Edited May 15, 2004 by sara (log)

[Tom D]

Hooray, I can post again but that is another story you don't want to hear

Been back to Chloe many times since my original post. Each time has been "special".

The care and hard work of the owners really shoes in the food, preperation and presentation.

Getting shut out of a restaurant can be frustrating but give Chloe another chance. You won't be disappointed.

For us Chloe is one of our favorite BYO, others are Django, Matyson and Radicchio Cafe.

Tom

[menton1]

[iMO it's the owner's perogative once in awhile to close a little early, especially in the dead of winter--sure it's frustrating, but if it were me, at that later hour I would've dropped my partner off to secure a table prior to searching for parking in Old City, which is ALWAYS hard to park in, no fault due to Chloe. Menton, Would you have been equally pissed had you arrived to find out they'd closed for a vacation--given that you'd forgotten to call ahead? It's happened to me twice at Chloe; I still went back. Since we were going to end up going late last night, I called ahead and ask how late they'd be serving...)

I don't know how you can find my feelings unjustified; Of course, I don't blame them for the parking-- I'm not an idiot-- and vacations are another thing, that would have been an "Oh, well" feeling and certainly I would have tried to go back. But closing earlier than normal is NOT a professional business practice, and I was putting my story in context. Old City is not the wilds of Alaska, and the place was 80% full anyway. It was just cold, no snow or storms going on (dead of winter??) I'm glad you enjoy the food there, but your lack of empathy for my feelings and your defending the restaurant's undefendable behavior is puzzling...

Great food does not excuse bad behavior.

[tim olivett]

Speaking of empathy, you never know if maybe they had told the front of the house to stop seating at 9pm and perhaps you had someone inform you whose attitude may not have been representative of the owners, who happen to be very affable friendly people who toil away to make sure everyone who does come in has a great time. Sorry you had a bad experience but I'm sure it wasn't a reflection of their feelings as they work very hard every day to go above and beyond to share their talent and love of food & hospitality with their diners.

Believe me, chef-owners of little restaurants like Chloe aren't in it for the money, they do it out of love for what they do and the chance to share with others.

In little places like that it's not the same as multi million dollar operations, there's just them running it and who knows why they needed to close early that night - it's not easy keeping the kind of hours and level of commitment it takes to run your own little place.

I'm sure they would love to have you come back in and share in their enthusiasm for taking care of guests, not to make a buck and turn away someone because it wasn't convenient or snowing or whatever.

In 12 years, I've had one sick day and that was when I was in the hospital, it's just the nature of running a small restaurant, it's just not feasible to have a back up staff to always meet the expectations of every diner.

At the same time that's part of what makes little restaurants like that such a joy, it'd be worse if they left at 7pm and let someone else cook their food for them, instead they stay and plug away out of a sense of passion, pride, generosity and dedication. Happy or sad, tired or full of energy, sick or healthy, night after night it's showtime where you have to serve food made from scratch that day. There's no "Oh, I'll get that done tomorrow". It's like when people get so upset if I happen to have to 86 a particular fish on Sunday night. They don't understand that it's not incompetence, it's because I don't want to order so much it's still sitting around on Mon or Tue. People get upset but the irony of it is I'm actually trying to serve them the freshest products possible.

[Holly Moore]

[iMO it's the owner's perogative once in awhile to close a little early, especially in the dead of winter--sure it's frustrating, but if it were me, at that later hour I would've dropped my partner off to secure a table prior to searching for parking in Old City, which is ALWAYS hard to park in, no fault due to Chloe. Menton, Would you have been equally pissed had you arrived to find out they'd closed for a vacation--given that you'd forgotten to call ahead? It's happened to me twice at Chloe; I still went back. Since we were going to end up going late last night, I called ahead and ask how late they'd be serving...)

I don't know how you can find my feelings unjustified; Of course, I don't blame them for the parking-- I'm not an idiot-- and vacations are another thing, that would have been an "Oh, well" feeling and certainly I would have tried to go back. But closing earlier than normal is NOT a professional business practice, and I was putting my story in context. Old City is not the wilds of Alaska, and the place was 80% full anyway. It was just cold, no snow or storms going on (dead of winter??) I'm glad you enjoy the food there, but your lack of empathy for my feelings and your defending the restaurant's undefendable behavior is puzzling...

Great food does not excuse bad behavior.

I am siding with menton1 on this one. In my restaurant days I sometimes got in trouble with my staff for seating someone a couple of minutes after closing. Unless we're talking blizzard or the kitchen roof caving in (as happened once for me), I'd never refuse seating to someone who arrived well within our stated hours and especially on a freezing night.

It is not a greed thing. It is hospitality. And it is gratitude. Out of the thousands of restaurants in Philadelphia, menton1 chose my restaurant. And he braved the nasty weather to make it to my door. An evening when many of my regular diners had stayed home. He ventured out. He came to my restaurant. And I'm going to slam that door in his face?

I just met the owners of Chloe at the Moshulu affair (Bravo Tim, by the way. And thanks!) Very nice folks. I have only heard raves about their cuisine. I am hoping that this was a sole lapse in their otherwise fine hospitality.

[menton1]

Thank you, Holly-- someone who gets it!! It's unbelievable to me how these people keep defending this place, and digressing off as to how wonderful and dedicated the owners are. (Sounds like our politicians explaining one of their blunders!) What these folks need is a 3-block trudge on a night with a 0° wind chill and then to be turned away for no apparent reason other than " it's cold". I guess this would be what it would take to have an understanding for my feelings.

[mrbigjas]

First of all believe me, I'm not discounting your story at all. This winter I and a few friends made the trudge from the 2nd St. el stop to Konak over on Race in the midst of that one-day snowstorm we had in February. We sure woulda been pissed if they had decided to close.

That said, what would make you forgive them? An apology? A free meal? An addition to their voicemail saying RESTAURANT TENDS TO CLOSE WITHOUT WARNING?

I mean, I just don't see what the resolution could be. You certainly have a valid complaint, and yet most people go there and have a really nice time, which makes me think that it was a one-time customer service screwup on their part--which leads me to think there's gotta be a way to make it up to you somehow.

[Tom D]

Hi Menton 1

Totally understand your feelings, I think we have all been put in unreasonable positions by restaurants.

The difference is some of us are willing to forgive and forget and some just can't.

Django is a great alternative if you can snag a reservation.

Tom

[Holly Moore]

I'm speaking in general here and not directing this at Chloe, as I don't know all sides of the story.

But to my way of thinking, for a restaurant to turn away a customer who arrives well within its stated hours under these circumstances:

We found a spot, brought our lovely wine, and shivered in at 9:05. The waitress informed us that because of the cold weather, they had closed the kitchen 5 minutes before our arrival and could not serve us. (They normally seat on Fridays until 9:45) The place was about 80% full, so they had tables available and seemed to be doing a brisk business in spite of the weather.

is more serious than typical restaurant lapses such as serving a diner an over cooked piece of fish or making a diner wait 15 minute for the check. The difference is that closing early and turning a customer away is a deliberate act. The other two examples, while upsetting, are probably unintentional.

Many people state they won't return to a restaurant because of single instances of bad cooking or poor service. It is just as reasonable for a customer to state that he won't return for a single case of inhospitality.

Here's what I think probably happened. Even though the restaurant was 80% full, they hadn't sat any/many people in the past hour. The diners at the tables were in the latter stage of their meals. The restaurant management made a business decision that it wasn't worth staying open. Dollars and cents. Or the servers, who work on tips, sensing there wouldn't be enough business the rest of the night to make it worth their being there, pressured the management to close. No matter what the case, closing early showed little empathy or regard for customers. Though I am sure the restaurant did not see it as such, it was an act of intentional, inconsiderate inhospitality.

What a lot of restaurants - many businesses in fact - often don't realize is the negative implications of a single incident above and beyond the involved customer. There is both good and bad word-of-mouth. A customer who feels mistreated is going to tell his friends who will tell their friends.

Nowadays that same customer can go onto a food discussion forum such as eGullet and spread the word to a much broader audience. In this case, a deservedly positive discussion of a very good restaurant has evolved into a discussion of a customer’s bad experience. Hundreds or thousands now know of it. Further, eGullet is read by many professional food journalists. They too now know of this bad experience. That doesn’t mean it will influence their writing, but it is now part of their knowledge of the restaurant.

My point is that restaurant management always needs to look at things from the customer side of the table. They must sense how a policy or decision will be viewed by their customers and potential customers. And they have to understand that an unresolved bad experience with just one customer may have significant down-the-road impact on the overall good will and reputation of their restaurant.

Carrying this just a little further, they didn’t loose just that one table for two for one meal. They lost it for any repeat meals that might have resulted from a good experience. It is hard getting people through your door in the first time. Getting them back as repeat customers is easier. All you have to do is treat them right.

And going just a little bit further. Assuming the person turned away has some influence over his base of friends, the restaurant lost a bunch of other potential repeat customers too.

All by closing the kitchen an hour early on a wintry night.

[sara]

Used one of my few nights in Philly this month to visit Chloe again. My friend and I arrived at the end of last night's storm, about 7:15 pm, found a parking space right out front, and were seated immediately for dinner. I brought a bottle of Coleman's Pinot Gris (OR) and Chaddsford Merlot (PA). The pinot gris was especially delicious.

I had the asparagus bundles to start, these were great grilled asparagus with goat cheese and balsamic. The sauce easily qualified for mopping up with bread. I then had a special-- potato gnocchi with a pork, beef, and duck ragu. Wouldn't have normally ordered this in the summer, but after that storm, I was in the mood for some comfort food. This fit the bill. It was described as a large appetizer or small entree, but really, the pasta was so filling it was like a big entree. Not that I didn't manage to finish every last bite! My friend had the grilled caesar salad to start, which I got a taste of and liked (I love the idea of grilled romaine), and then she had the halibut, which she liked so much I didn't get a taste! We followed that up with the banana bread pudding and a flourless chocolate cake--both delicious and accompanied by fresh little strawberries and blueberries. Dinner for two, $63. Plus I had to buy some of those great Kerry 04 t shirts they're selling (and the servers are wearing) for $10 each! Good deal.

The service was very prompt, knowledgeable and friendly. Our wine service was great, as usual. And they were very happy to let us hang on to our table til 10:30 at night (thus we had a 3 hr meal), as we drank through those bottles of wine. The place was largely full at 7:30, and still had about 4 tables going at 10:30.

Again, high recommendations for everyone to check this place out.

[Andrew Fenton]

I said (temporary) goodbye to Philly with a lovely dinner at Chloe last night. We both ordered entirely off the specials menu; lots of good stuff on it this time around.

We each had the Grilled peach and fig salad, with gorgonzola and balsamic, with a big ol' mound of microgreens on top. Lovely mix of sweet and salty and great for a summer salad. If I could make one change, it'd be to substitute a sweeter Roquefort for the gorgonzola; but it was pretty great as it was.

My entrée was the Hawaiian butterfish (Hawaiian what? Always something new from the sea. This was much like a sea bass in flavor.) Seared, with a great, great crust: well-seasoned and just crunchy enough. A thick slice, so it stayed very moist throughout. Served on jasmine rice with a cherry tomato and avocado salsa.

Beth had a small entrée of five goat cheese and ricotta ravioli. She liked them; I only had a small taste.

Dessert was also excellent. I had chilled peach and champagne soup with passionfruit sorbet. (This was one of the appetizer specials. And it would have been a good- if sybaritic- appetizer.) Wonderful stuff, especially the sorbet, which was as good as any sorbet I've had in ages.

This was all washed down with a 1989 Clos Baudoin Vouvray Aigle Blanc. One of my favorite wines right now. It's a little sweet to go with most meals. That's why I chose the salad and dessert I did, and it paired great with both.

As a side note, the restaurant was almost empty when we got there (6 PM Friday). That may be because we ate early- it was half-full when we left. Or because it's August in Philadelphia. But I've always been skittish about the no-reservations policy; nice to be able to walk in.

[Greg Salisbury]

Hawaiian butterfish is also known by the monikers escolar and waluu.

[stephenc]

The waiters and waitresses at Chloe are super friendly.

[cjsadler]

I could've sworn there was a website for Chloe. If there is, I can't seem to find it now. Anyone know?

[shacke]

Making preparations to go with another couple on a Saturday night and am still a bit wary of no rez places. Anyone know a typical wait for a table at Chloe? It's been on my list and unless its a really long wait I am inclined to make an attempt.

Evan

[jelly]

Making preparations to go with another couple on a Saturday night and am still a bit wary of no rez places.  Anyone know a typical wait for a table at Chloe?  It's been on my list and unless its a really long wait I am inclined to make an attempt. 

Evan

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Get there by 5:30pm or there is a good chance you will have a long wait.