Vetri's Osteria

[Vadouvan]

Very excited about Vetri opening a "casual" place.

Since all the BYOB's serve the same food, it would be nice to have a place like Lupa in Philadelphia.

Thus far mid priced Non BYO Italians have been boring (D'angelos,Panorama) or disasters (Angelina, Valentino).......

Mark we are counting on you.........

[wkl]

is it open now?

[marinade]

Very excited about Vetri opening a "casual" place.

Since all the BYOB's serve the same food, it would be nice to have a place like Lupa in Philadelphia.

Thus far mid priced Non BYO Italians have been boring (D'angelos,Panorama) or disasters (Angelina, Valentino).......

Mark we are counting on you.........

←

Hey Vee'

Are you referring to Caffe Valentino at Wharton and Moyamensing? We have rezzies for Sunday dinner. Their antipasti and carpacci menu looked interesting so I thought we'd hit on it.

Jim

[Vadouvan]

Valentino on the square.....

[shacke]

I want to put this thread on the map to track what will hopefully be many of us gulleteers trying Osteria in the coming weeks.

I for one am very excited at the prospect of this restaurant.

While we wait for opening day, any news or sneaked tidbits, do tell. I am sure at least one ( ) of us in here can get a sneak preview of the digs, atmosphere, food.....

Not sure of the exact opening date as it seems to have shifted over time.

Evan

[Andrew Fenton]

Is it known what sort of food Osteria will be serving (I mean, more specifically than Italian?) I've heard pizza, which is interesting and good. But is Vetri going for any specific regional focus: are we talking Roman style, Neapolitan style, or a more Americanized version?

They have a website, but no menu as of now.

[Pensage]

Was at a pre-opening reception/cocktail party last evening. The place is a great looking space, think Italian rustic meets hip all in the same space with lots of windows.

Dark, rich, earthy colors, brick - wood fired oven, wood fired open grill - like the one in Alba in Malvern. Open kitchen.

Large private dining room with floor to ceiling windows, wine bar...all the elements.

Other than the pizzas, I don't know if the canapes served were representative of the larger menu items, but they were very tasty - spicy sausages with polenta, fried mozzarella with a tempura like coating on skewers, home cured - thinly sliced hams....

I didn't see a menu, so I can't comment on the overall "style" or regional concentration of the food, but the samplings were great.

For those curious, the restaurant opens for business on the 15th.

Enjoy!

Edited February 13, 2007 by Pensage (log)

[Vadouvan]

Osteria is very good.

Stopped by around 9.30pm last night, the place was full.

Few seats open at the bar.

There is a bar-bar where you can eat and a counter-bar in front of the open kitchen where you can also eat. Lots of table seating.

I would not say the food concentrates on one regional style but it eexcels at what it does.

The memories that come to mind are CasaMono meets Lupa, co-incidentally both batali restaurants.

Immediate observations :

Vetri spent his money wisely and smartly.

This is the *only* open kitchen in Phliadelphia where the atmospheric conditions of cooking in the kitchen have absolutely no effect on the atmospheric conditions of the diners.

Translation, great ventilation, this is one of the primary reasons I consciously avoid open kitchens like Amada,Audrey Claire, Buddakan...ect ect.

This is not to say those arent good restaurants, just that they have semi-lame ventilation systems.

This is readily apparent because they are cooking tons of pasta, sauteeing, grilling and have a brick oven/wood pizza setup......

And on to the pizza.....

*By far* the best pizza in Philadelphia.

Had a pizza called "Lombarda"...cotechino, cheeses, an egg cracked on top almost over-easy.

It rocked.

Smoky, superthin crust, crisp.

in WKL-speak...the shizzy.

Tried a few small plates, white beans artichokes,octopus,tuscan kale, clams stew.

All food was solid and delicious.

Several wines by the glass.

Desserts looked great, there are a lot of interesting dishes to go back for...

Tortellini in brodo, tripes roma style, bisteca fiorentina, roast chicken with porcini...pastas with complex ragus....

Vetri was there, took us on a tour of the facilities, nice rustic space, not overdone, just comfy and about the food.

Another small step for Mark Vetri but definitely a giant leap for Italian food in philadelphia, all the stereotypical garbage like vodka cream sauces, Amatriciana without pepperoncini,winter tomato salads, pre grated locatelli instead of ungrated reggiano, flavorless olive oil at the table ect ect are thankfully absent.

Really great food.

Edited February 17, 2007 by Vadouvan (log)

[Andrew Fenton]

tripes roma style

Marc Vetri, you had me at trippa alla romana...

Thanks for the report, V. Osteria sounds great. (Anybody want to check it out with me for Tripe Club 2007? Shoot me a PM.)

Edited February 17, 2007 by Andrew Fenton (log)

[Vadouvan]

I may be making a tripe trip up there tonight.

[herbacidal]

Hmm, I made my last NYC trip an Offal Tour.

Could we do an Offal Tour here?

[philadining]

Tripe Trip!!!

Tripe alla Parmigiana

I don't feel strongly one way or another about tripe, but this stuff was delicious! It was cooked to a tender texture in a rich tomato sauce, with a little gooey cheese on top. Scoop a little on a crunchy crostini... man that's good.

We enjoyed a salumi plate while lurking around the bar, which I didn't manage to get a picture of, because we were balancing it precariously in a jostling crowd. But everything was excellent - from home-made lardo, to paper thin prosciutto and porchetta, to hearty salami. I'm not sure I'll be able to resist getting this every time to start.

Pizza Magherita

This was very good in that simple, straight-ahead way. I know it's a fine line, too much sauce and the crust loses its texture, but I feel like this one could have used a little more, it was a little dry out toward the edges. Still, a nice crunchy crust in the classic Napolitana style, and excellent cheese and sauce.

Pizza Lombarda

Baked egg, bitto, mozzerella, cotechino. I actually didn't manage a bite of this one tonight, but I'm getting it next time!

Arancini, Spiedini di Mozerella, Tuna and Chickpea Fritters, olive oil poached tomatoes.

The crispy, deep-fried rice balls were awesome. The crispy, deep-fried cheese might have been even more so.... Tuna fritters were good too. Should have dabbed some poached tomatoes on those crunchy things, but we inhaled them too quickly.

Bacala

Great texture, mild, but present, cod flavor. Good stuff.

Capon Tortellini in Brodo

Ok, it's Italian wonton soup, or maybe more like a Kreplach... the pasta had a great delicate texture, and the broth was intensely chickeny. Great on a winter evening.

Osteria was, not surprisingly, totally jammed on its first saturday night. And this place is so good, I expect that it's going to be for quite some time! It's a really nice space, all the food we had was delicious. We would have tried a few other pastas, but they'd sold-out. There were a couple of intriguing specials, but they'd sold out too! But more importantly, there's almost nothing on the menu that I don't want to try, so I'm eager to go back, probably on a slower night, or hmmm... maybe I'll even make a reservation!

Despite Osteria's somewhat trailblazing location, on Broad Street north of Spring Garden, the crowds seem not to be daunted. And rightly so, this is a very comfortable, pleasing space, with great food. If you're not willing to go a few blocks out of your normal orbit for that, well, I think you've stopped wanting to enjoy life. I'm getting back up there as soon as possible!

[Vadouvan]

Pizza Lombarda

Baked egg, bitto, mozzerella, cotechino. I actually didn't manage a bite of this one tonight, but I'm getting it next time!

Pizza was fantastic again. Mark personally banged out the pizza last night/

Delicious indeed.

Andrew the tripe was fantatic abd a bargain at 10 dollars.

Edited February 18, 2007 by Vadouvan (log)

[Andrew Fenton]

Pizza was fantastic again. Mark personally banged out the pizza last night/

Delicious indeed.

Andrew the tripe was fantatic abd a bargain at 10 dollars.

That really looks great. I'ma head over this week sometime, maybe on Wednesday.

That tripe looks to be both fantastic and fanatic-- also, at $10, a starter? That's probably for the best. I can persuade the missus to go out for pizza, but she probably won't touch tripe, so I'll have it all to myself...

[philadining]

http://www.osteriaphilly.com/

not much info yet, just a phone number and a map.

[ColleenD]

My boyfriend and I stopped in Friday night. We had called ahead but didn't get an answer so we just decided to try our luck and see about eating at the bar. It was very busy, but we managed to get two seats at the kitchen counter. It was cool because we could watch everything going in and out of the enormous brick oven.

We had the pizza with homemade porchetta. It was amazing--definitely the shizzy, to quote Vadouvan. As much as I liked that, I liked the candele with wild boar ragu even more. We also had the grilled chicken with porcini sauce, which was great, and the white beans, which were...white beans...good but I just don't get all that excited over them.

Definitely looking forward to a return trip to try a few more things.

[shacke]

An observation. Why is there such an obsession with tossing chopped parsley on everything? I mean, Vetri is a good chef. I expect that "plop" as a crutch on crappy food at Applebees or Fridays but it's all over the dishes above? It's not an inert flavor so why automatically incorporate that into all these plates that really don't need it? The dishes don't need the extra visual appeal. It's kinda lame. Oh yeah - I don't particularly like it either (and it looks like the stronger tasting flat parsley) so that's why I take notice.

[philadining]

Shacke, I think you have some deep-seated primal issues with shreds of green on your food. First the cilantrophobia, now this?!?! Did you have a traumatic confetti incident as a child?

Well, OK, now that I look back at the pictures I suppose you have a point, it does kind of look like almost everything just got an automatic spray of parsley, but I can testify that it was an accent, not a distraction, at least from a taste standpoint.

[wkl]

are we sure it's parsley? could be basil on the pizza. (i know there's a whole leaf on the pizza) but the chopped green could be basil. no? seeing as it's an italian joint and all..........

[guzzirider]

Interesting. I've heard that some people have a genetic trait that mucks with their ability to taste cilantro (me... I love the stuff!) Is it possible that some people have the same issue with parsley?

I like parsley. I use it at home. What I don't like are the places that put the giant sprigs of curly parsley on the plate like some sort of ornament. Come to think of it, I usually end up eating that too... :-)

__Jason

[Vadouvan]

Regarding Parsley......

Shacke's point is a good one and well taken as someone whose food knowledge and interest I greatly respect.

As Philadining's companion during that meal.....I assure you the wisps of parsley in the pictures in no way deterred the banging flavors of the food. In particular that pizza with the egg (which I ate alone)

Lets also remember that Marc Vetri didn't start cooking last week.

I can assure you that while premature simply because of the age of the restaurant, this is easily the best Italian restaurant in the city period, BYO or not.

NOW....without getting too off topic

Yes the parsleyfication of food in many restaurants is incredibly amateurish but it is usually when the herbs are sprinkled all over the rim of the plate.

There is however also an *equally amateurish* practice that many restaurants engage in but nobody seems to complain about.

For example places like Brasserie Perrier and the Fountain at 4 Seasons garnish plated food with fresh herbs like rosemary and thyme sticking up.

Edited February 19, 2007 by Vadouvan (log)

[dagordon]

OK. This is unbelievably exciting.

We just got back from Osteria. The meal that we had was OUTSTANDING. The quality of the food was through the roof. It is absolutely scary that they've been open for, what, 4 days?

We had the Lombardo pizza, the assorted salumi, the cotechino and egg and polenta, and the tripe to start. And then the candele pasta with boar and the rabbit with polenta, brown butter, and sage. And then pistachio and vanilla gelato and the tangerine "zuppa" (tiramisu) for dessert.

It's going to sound repetitive but everything was, well, outstanding. The main courses were obscenely good. The texture of the candele pasta was sublime. The rabbit was reminiscent of Vetri's spit-roasted goat conceptually, with generous amounts of rabbit crispiness.

The food was at least as good as Vetri's, at a fraction of the price.

It was better than any meal I've had at Lupa.

I'm going to stop now, out of fear that people will think that I'm affiliated with the place, which I'm not.

[Diann]

you know what was DELICIOUS?

they have this pizza -- and damn me, I can't remember the name! -- but it's a pizza crust, split in half, stuffed with robiola, very light and tangy, and then they drizzle truffle oil over the top crust.

the salumi plate arrived simultaneously, so I took some of the lardo and draped it over the cheese inside the warm pizza crust. the lardo got all creamy and melty, the cheese was light and fluffy, the crust was crispy, and the truffle scent hit you in the face all at once -- it was tasty.

[philadining]

you know what was DELICIOUS?

they have this pizza -- and damn me, I can't remember the name! -- but it's a pizza crust, split in half, stuffed with robiola, very light and tangy, and then they drizzle truffle oil over the top crust.

←

That's the "focaccina" and not only does it sound good, but that lardo improv sounds like an excellent customization!

This is going to be tricky, this really is a rare menu where I pretty much want to try everything. Bummer, might have to go back a few times... soon...

[vigna]

I had a light meal at the Osteria bar last night. The Tortellini in Brodo was delicious (probably they should be called Tortelloni, as the pasta pockets were quite large) with a very intense chicken broth (as mentioned and illuastrated above in Philadining's post) and a nice filling with a subtle (nutmeg?) flavor. But not inexpensive at $16. The Fritto Misto appetizer (see Philadining's nice photo above) was very good, especially the deep fried Arancino (rice ball), the best one I've ever had including a year living in Palermo where this is a specialty, usuually available from street vendors and snack bars. The other items on the plate, tuna fritter, fried mozzarella, and poached tomatoes were good, but not as special. Bread was delicious, with excellent virgin olive oil for dipping. The final wine list is not available yet, but for now, there was a very good selection of Italian bottles with fair prices. Wines by the glass were temporarily limited, with only two reds (a Barberesco and a Barolo at $15 and $18 a glass and several whites at $6 - $7 a glass offered. The Argiolas Vermentino from Sardegna was a great wine at $6 per glass! Service was a bit rough (perhaps to be expected at this point), with one mixed-up order, but was quite friendly, and I was nicely comped a second glass of wine while waiting for the correct plate to arrive. I definitely will be back to work myself through the menu. But although the high quality of food probably justifies the cost in most cases, main courses do seem to be priced fairly high, and there are really no inexpensive appetizers (except for the tripe).