Vetri's Osteria

[Vadouvan]

It's called Miss Tootsies on south street.

[wkl]

i think the existence of places like osteria, snackbar, etc. raise the bar for all eateries in the area. even if it's beyond your budget you should be aware of what goes on in these establishments and celebrate their existence.(assuming your passionate about well prepared food) they should improve quality at all price points at many different establishments.

people will train with marc vetri at osteria and leave to open their own places and they may be more budget friendly and really good. i mean, the guys at molcajte mixto worked at le bec fin...

[Vadouvan]

people will train with marc vetri at osteria and leave to open their own places and they may be more budget friendly and really good.

Absolutely correct, it could not have been said better.

Osteria/Vetri will do for Phila what Paul Bertoli/Alice Waters did for the bay area.

Seriously, Sue from Cowgirl Creamery worked under Bertoli....

http://www.cowgirlcreamery.com/bios.asp

If you are passionate about Italian cooking, you *must* have cooking by hand.

http://www.amazon.com/Cooking-Hand-Paul-Be...ie=UTF8&s=books

and take your ace (can you say ass on e-gullet?) to Oliveto.

http://www.oliveto.com/

Super banging food....

and while you are there, check out A-16 too.

Its the kind of Italian food we dont have in philly that Osteria now does...

http://www.a16sf.com/

Edited February 21, 2007 by Vadouvan (log)

[Carlson1105]

Going tomorrow night, Vadouvan. Since you seem to have worked your way through the menu, what one thing should not be missed?

[Vadouvan]

1. Take a dartboard with you.

2. When you get there, attach the menu to your dartboard.

3. Throw 3 darts recklessly anywhere on the menu.

4. Eat what you hit.

Seriously....

Pizza lombarda

Salumi plate

Sausage with fried egg

Tripe romana

Rabbit with polenta

smoked octopus pizza

Candele with boar Ragu

I am really resisting going again tonight.......

[Andrew Fenton]

Italian food made with intergrity isnt any cheaper than any other cuisine.

The biggest problem here......and I quote THOMAS KELLER    is that "Americans are increasingly receptive to mediocrity"......unquote.

Direct your hate mail to Per se...columbus circle.

Okay, V, I've been wondering about this all day, and I have to ask. What do you think about this Keller quote in light of the revelations about the frozen frites at Bouchon?

[mrbigjas]

Absolutely correct, it could not have been said better.

Osteria/Vetri will do for Phila what Paul Bertoli/Alice Waters did for the bay area.

Seriously, Sue from Cowgirl Creamery worked under Bertoli....

that cowgirl creamery "red hawk" rocks the house. capaneus brought it to a dinner we were at and by the end of the meal it was just sitting there stinking at us. i couldn't stop snarfing it.

and take your ace (can you say ass on e-gullet?) to Oliveto.

http://www.oliveto.com/

Super banging food....

and while you are there, check out A-16 too.

Its the kind of Italian food we dont have in philly that Osteria now does...

http://www.a16sf.com/

←

sweet, i'm in oakland this week. i'll have to see if i can get to either of them...

[Vadouvan]

Okay, V, I've been wondering about this all day, and I have to ask. What do you think about this Keller quote in light of the revelations about the frozen frites at Bouchon?

Well Andrew..

TK made that quote in an interview shortly before the first opening of Per Se.

Unfortunately yes .........since then they have been busted for using frozen fries.

They claim that frozen fries give them consistency for the volume they serve.

It is important to note we are talking about Bouchon and not the French Laundry or Per se.

Either way it is a tad hypocritical because integrity doesnt compromise for volume.

It is a bit funny that they cant justify cutting potatoes on a mandoline but they give the image of being precise about everything else.....

[NaFairge]

ate there on monday. sat in front of the pizza oven at the counter.

tremendously romantic evening.

pizza: marc's sausage and egg. ridiculous.

salumi: prosciutto, lardo, porchetta, soppresatta. damn damn damn fine. you could taste the cure on the lardo like i smell my girlfriend's perfume in my coat closet even after she's gone. and all the meats minus the prosciutto are housemade.

ribeye for two. wicked big, perfectly cooked, amazing flavor. honestly a wonderful steak.

..........best steak i have ever consumed........

desserts: polenta bread pudding, cannoli, chocolate flan. after the steak, i could not pay attention to the sweet. polenta stood out. flavor profile was wonderful.......unique texture: creamy but with bite.

wine: bottle of rivello. 60 bucks. fine with that cause it rocked with the steak. mostly cab blend but it did not drink like cab. leathery, big, dark jam, some smoke..........my kinda wine.

would have loved a vin santo or co. afterwards.

as far as the prices go.........whatever. i want good food. hell i spent 40 bucks at giwa the next day for lunch.

i feel the prices are right on. ever had steak and pasta at davio's? you'll spend a lot more.

[matthewj]

V, I will disagree. A frozen french fry from a company that specializes in French fries is 100% better than a french fry from an Idaho potato, from who knows when or where. All for the sake of what?.... A romanticised version of real fries that are cooked in house. Give me a great fry. McDonald's does the best fry. Cuvee was a close second. Both were and are great fries. Both are frozen products. Crispy and delicious. A lot has to do with the oil and the amount of fries that a fryer can take, to efficiently achieve the perfect fry.

Pomme purree frozen or fresh? I think various groups who would advocate the frozen kind. Consistency is the key.

[matthewj]

you go Na fairge

[Andrew Fenton]

Sorry, I don't buy the idea that Bouchon has to use frozen fries for reasons of consistency. Heck, Five Guys makes fresh-cut fries, and they're very good and very consistent. I'm not a fan of McDonald's fries.

Vadouvan, you're of course right that this isn't about the French Laundry. Still, Keller has gotten a whole lot of ecstatic press for the Bouchon frites over the years. He literally wrote the book on them-- or at least, has that recipe for fresh frites in the Bouchon cookbook. So using frozen frites in his restaurants is deceptive. I'd hope that a restaurateur could maintain integrity and quality across all levels of his restaurants, not just at the top. (As Marc Vetri seems to have done... just to put this back on topic.)

[robert40]

How many orders of fries would Five Guys be preparing at one time compared to a 200 seat (Bouchon, Las Vegas) restaurant? And that's not even taking into account the immense deference and size between the two menus.

Certainly may be a interesting thread worth starting.

[Vadouvan]

Robert is correct, perhaps this needs it's own thread.

or at least, has that recipe for fresh frites in the Bouchon cookbook. So using frozen frites in his restaurants is deceptive.

Andrew I would say that acid test works for me, if you publish your process in the book (real fries) and then you use something else inthe restaurant (frozen fries).

That is indefensible and deceptive. If you thought frizen freis were better, you should have just sadi so in the book.

V, I will disagree. A frozen french fry from a company that specializes in French fries is 100% better than a french fry from an Idaho potato, from who knows when or where. All for the sake of what?.... A romanticised version of real fries that are cooked in house. Give me a great fry. McDonald's does the best fry. Cuvee was a close second. Both were and are great fries. Both are frozen products. Crispy and delicious. A lot has to do with the oil and the amount of fries that a fryer can take, to efficiently achieve the perfect fry.

Pomme purree frozen or fresh? I think various groups who would advocate the frozen kind. Consistency is the key.

Matt, indeed you are one of 13 people in Philadelphia whose culinary opinions are worth thier salt.

On the subject of fries though, I disagree, I am pretty sure they are buying SIMPLOT french fries however if you follow the same process with real #1 grade russet potatoes, they blow Bouchon's frozen fries away.

Wash throughly skin on #1 russets.

Shave on french mandoline and soak through 3 changes of water for about 10 minutes .

Leave it in a bucket with ice cubes/ice water for about 3 hrs.

Remove drain and fry.

For every gallon of peanut oil, use one cup of duck fat.

1st fry 325

2nd fry 350

Rouge makes good fries and they have the volume, blue angel used to do the same.

Anyone can tell the difference between simplot fries and real potatotes.

Check out this site......

Folllow your way to the potatoes, yes they are consistent but they aint better.

http://www.simplotfoods.com/index.cfm?cont...orner&article=1

It's bullshit, they are actually trying to rationalise frozen vegetables....

http://www.simplotfoods.com/index.cfm?cont...ype=-1&x=92&y=6

http://www.simplotfoods.com/index.cfm?cont...ts&class_id=151

Its not about better, it isnt better, its just more consistent.

Back to Vetri.

Edited February 22, 2007 by Vadouvan (log)

[MarketStEl]

Matt, indeed you are one of 13 people in Philadelphia whose culinary opinions are worth thier salt.

←

Except I hear he's not in Philadelphia at the moment. (Corrections to this information welcome.)

I've still got Matt as a profile for an upcoming issue of Postscript. Assuming I'm around to edit the next issue, that is. (No, it's not bad news.)

[KitchenMom]

Ok, I'm living vicariously until I get a chance to get there, probably not until the week after next. So--has anyone tried the mushroom and taleggio pizza yet? It sounds like a winner to me, and I'd love to hear some opinions.

Also, some of the pizzas look similar to the pizzas at Otto (though I'm hoping they are better). Anyone who's had both care to compare?

[Vadouvan]

Way better than Otto.....

[Carlson1105]

Dined at Osteria last night. Enjoyed the Fritto Misto, Salumi, Rigatoni with Gorgonzola, and the Special of Spaghetinni Lobster. Everything was very enjoyable. Better call first if you want pizza though. As we went to order our pizza, the server mentioned that she forgot to tell us that the pizza oven was cracked, and there was no pizza being made. Jeff told us the problem should be taken care of by Saturday. Can't wait to go back.

[Buckethead]

I went on Wednesday night, you guys aren't kidding, the place is awesome. We had the pizza Lombarda, capon tortellini, candele with boar ragu, arancini, and the sweet hazelnut polenta for dessert. The only thing I wasn't crazy about was the arancini. I liked the fritter that had peas in it, but didn't care for the tuna one. Everything else was fantastic. For the outstanding quality of the food, I think the prices are right on, maybe even a little low. The candele and boar ragu for $16 is a few bucks more than my neighborhood red gravy place, but it's five times as good, the pasta is house-made, and the boar!!

It was easily my favorite restaurant meal in the last several months. I'd put Osteria right up there with Ansill as one of my favorite places in the city. If they improve the way places normally do in the months after opening, look out.

When we were there, there was a big empty space in the rear (the north side of the building, you can see it from the sidewalk) with two large tables, both empty. It wasn't lit up and didn't look quite finished back there, but it looks like an area intended for large parties. Does anyone know what that is?

[Carlson1105]

Jeff took us on a little tour last night. The back room is for large parties. First one is tomorrow for 35 people.

[philadining]

Joy Manning from Philly Style wasn't sure whether to believe the hype about Osteria. Imagine my surprise when hitting the "hype" link, it's US!

Now Joy, we may be a little hyper, but we're not hypeurs!

Jeeze, Blogalicious thinks we're anti-hype, now P.S. thinks we are the hype, I'm getting dizzy...

[Rich Pawlak]

Joy Manning from Philly Style  wasn't sure whether to believe the hype about Osteria. Imagine my surprise when hitting the "hype"  link, it's US!

Now Joy, we may be a little hyper, but we're not hypeurs! 

Jeeze, Blogalicious thinks we're anti-hype, now P.S. thinks we are the hype, I'm getting dizzy...

←

Surely we don' t need to rely on STYLE for analysis now, do we?

[Vadouvan]

joy Manning from Philly Style wasn't sure whether to believe the hype about Osteria. Imagine my surprise when hitting the "hype" link, it's US!

Now Joy, we may be a little hyper, but we're not hypeurs!

Jeeze, Blogalicious thinks we're anti-hype, now P.S. thinks we are the hype, I'm getting dizzy...

Interesting, very interesting indeed....

A few observations....

1. I have always suspected that a *lot* of the food media read E-gullet as "lurkers" not only for

the obvious content but as a source of information and inspiration.

2. Her recitation basically mirror's the evolution of this thread.

3. She "gets it". No price complaints, great effort to research the food.

4. She obviously is a very good and solid writer.

BUT i found this phrase amusing......

"I thought the chorus of acolytes and true believers was made up of some highly impressionable trend chasers who let the New York Times decide what’s good. But this time, all the rumors were true."

I'ts pretty funny that people still get itsy bitsy riled up whenever the words New York come up in any food discussion.

We aren't Ny whores here on E-gullet are we ?

Edited February 24, 2007 by Vadouvan (log)

[KatieLoeb]

Be nice. We're happy to have the local and regional media lurking here. Remember that means they understand we know of which we speak...

[Vadouvan]

Speaking of Pasta prices.....

These are even more expensive than O's

http://www.mercatobyob.com/menu.cfm?sub_page=Pasta

Edited February 24, 2007 by Vadouvan (log)