Vetri's Osteria

[percyn]

Ok, I haven't been, but I have been reading all your thoughts and reviews.  The food looks good, and from the reviews make me very interested in making a reservation.  One thing that keeps sticking out to me is the price for those pizzas - $15 for a margherita is outrageous, and a pizza for $22.00?  I would think that the pizzas are supposed to be an appetizer, or something for multiple persons to share as an appetizer.  But even when you look at it that way, the prices are still unbelievable.  That must be one fancy oven to have to recoup, and it won't take long at an average price of over $18.00.  The menu looks like it has some very country/peasant style dishes, but with the pricing, the owners seem to be making the restaurant a destination/special occasion place rather than an everyday establishment.

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Dave, I would gladly pay $22 for the quality of pizza I got at Osteria vs the $15 I pay at the local pizzeria for a much less imaginative and poorly executed one.

[rlibkind]

I haven't been to Vetri's Osteria yet, but last week in Phoenix I visited Pizzeria Bianco. Well worth the $12 for a pizza margherita (I splurged and added anchovies). Given that Philadelphia's a slightly pricier town, the $14 Vetri charges for what I imagine is a similarly well-crafted pie may be expensive, but not outrageous for the quality.

[MarketStEl]

Got a dissenting opinion from a friend this evening who dined there last weekend.

He noticed a lesbian couple seated next to him at the bar, one of whom had asked the bartender for Bombay Sapphire and was served Bombay instead. According to him, when the woman noticed the difference and commented on it, the bartender dismissed her concern, saying "They're the same thing." (At least the bartender did not charge her for Sapphire.)

The bartender, as he described him, also didn't really know much about the food; when my friend asked what was in a (mumble -- a seafood bisque? Something liquid with seafood), he was told something like "Shrimp, and mushrooms, and other stuff -- you'll like it." He pressed for more detail and got a similar reply.

When the pizza he ordered arrived, he told the bartender that it was burnt; the bartender urged him to try it anyway -- twice.

And when he called to ask where the restaurant was located relative to City Hall, the staffer who answered the phone didn't know and (again, as he related to me) sounded annoyed when he asked her if she could find out.

In sum, it sounds like he encountered Waitstaff With Attitude. If the place is overstaffed, this problem may eventually solve itself. But consider this a data point for the overall set.

[wkl]

i don't think it's fair to any establishment to post about incidents that come second hand. messages,stories, intentions, etc. can change quite a bit from what really happened when passed along this way.

also, does it really matter that the couple at the bar was lesbian? would it have mattered if they were straight?

[Vadouvan]

ot a dissenting opinion from a friend this evening who dined there last weekend.

He noticed a lesbian couple seated next to him at the bar, one of whom had asked the bartender for Bombay Sapphire and was served Bombay instead. According to him, when the woman noticed the difference and commented on it, the bartender dismissed her concern, saying "They're the same thing." (At least the bartender did not charge her for Sapphire.)

The bartender, as he described him, also didn't really know much about the food; when my friend asked what was in a (mumble -- a seafood bisque? Something liquid with seafood), he was told something like "Shrimp, and mushrooms, and other stuff -- you'll like it." He pressed for more detail and got a similar reply.

When the pizza he ordered arrived, he told the bartender that it was burnt; the bartender urged him to try it anyway -- twice.

And when he called to ask where the restaurant was located relative to City Hall, the staffer who answered the phone didn't know and (again, as he related to me) sounded annoyed when he asked her if she could find out.

In sum, it sounds like he encountered Waitstaff With Attitude. If the place is overstaffed, this problem may eventually solve itself. But consider this a data point for the overall set.

As Wkl said, not to dismiss your contribution sandy but not even second hand reports but third hand reports dont exactly fall into the realm of strict accuracy. certainly by legal standards this would be considered exclusionary hearsay.

What difference does it make if the couple were lesbian ?

Is there some suggestion that same sex couples are treated with bias ?

When you call to ask where the restaurant is, I am sure they would have said 640 north broad.

640 north broad is a giant condominium. If you step outside Osteria and look down the street, you can see city hall but not vice versa. I would asume most people can google the restaurant and find its phone number and location, once you find the address and or map, what is the point of asking where they are in relation to city hall. City hall is in the center of the city.

One could make the case as using that as a basis of locating businesses but thats completely silly. You find the address, you go there.

Anybody knows that the 600 block of north broad is approximately 6 blocks from city hall unless they just moved to philly last night.

Cmon these people had nitpicky prima-donna-ish complaints regarding direction

That's just pure laziness.

The seafood bisque describes on the menu what was in it.

Do people not read menus anymore ?

Post your own complaints not other people's complaints.

Saying my friends went there and sat next to lesbians who had a bad time simply cannot be taken as a serious report.

Edited March 6, 2007 by Vadouvan (log)

[Jeff L]

also, does it really matter that the couple at the bar was lesbian? would it have mattered if they were straight?

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I agree with that. Sandy, at the risk of being politically incorrect here, it seems that you do tend to gratuitously insert gay-centric commentary.

I think I am far more interested in your obvious knowledge of food and restaurants in the area and your well written food blogs than I am to know where a certain gay bar is.

[Andrew Fenton]

The bartender, as he described him, also didn't really know much about the food; when my friend asked what was in a (mumble -- a seafood bisque? Something liquid with seafood), he was told something like "Shrimp, and mushrooms, and other stuff -- you'll like it." He pressed for more detail and got a similar reply.

The seafood bisque describes on the menu what was in it.

Do people not read menus anymore ?

Hold on- is the seafood bisque on the menu? I'm pretty sure it wasn't when I was there; and it doesn't seem to appear in the menu photos that Percy took. Granted, menus change-- but it sounds to me like this was a special. In which case, the server ought to be able to describe it.

[davecap]

Dave, I would gladly pay $22 for the quality of pizza I got at Osteria vs the $15 I pay at the local pizzeria for a much less imaginative and poorly executed one.

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Capanaeus, Percyn and rlibkind

thanks for the reassurances. I want to go and try based on your recommendations. It will still be a little painful. I lived in Italy when the lira was still alive and used to get a pizzette fired in a wood burning oven for $1.00 and it was the best I have ever tasted and now judge all pizzas against that one.

I will let you know my results as soon as I can a babysitter and a reservation.

Dave

[Andrew Fenton]

thanks for the reassurances.  I want to go and try based on your recommendations.  It will still be a little painful.  I lived in Italy when the lira was still alive and used to get a pizzette fired in a wood burning oven for $1.00 and it was the best I have ever tasted and now judge all pizzas against that one.

If it makes you feel any better, a good pizza on the Via dei Tribunali in Naples now commands the outrageous price of around 5 euros.

Unfortunately, we're not in Naples (and I curse the fates for it nearly every day!)

[jmbrightman]

I don't get the complaints about the price of a pizza. Tacconelli's is around $16 with 3 toppings, and it appears Osteria is a bit more creative with the toppings offered...

[MarketStEl]

[my post deleted]

As Wkl said, not to dismiss your contribution sandy but not even second hand reports but third hand reports dont exactly fall into the realm of strict accuracy. certainly by legal standards this would be considered exclusionary hearsay.

What difference does it make if the couple were lesbian ?

Is there some suggestion that same sex couples are treated with bias ?

You and Jeff L are right. That fact was completely irrelevant to the discussion at hand, and my friend included it only by way of observation. However, I only post about the locations of gay bars when I might want somebody to find one. And queens do get into Oscar Night a little more than straight bar patrons do, IMO.

By legal standards, this indeed would not stand up in a court of law, but where do you think newspaper feature columnists get much of their material from? My only sin according to the standards of that profession was in not calling the restaurant to get their side of the story. (Back in my Boston days, I wrote a similar essay for the now-defunct Allston-Brighton Citizen Item about a woman who was upset over a sweetheart-deal sale of a public building to a local university and who tried to confront the politician who arranged the deal at a campaign fundraiser. I called the pol's office to get their side of the story, but all they said was "There's no story there," a view with which I disagreed. So I ran the story entirely from her point of view, noting only that the pol declined to comment for the article. Again, not admissible in a court of law, but it does provide information on a matter of public interest -- and it presumes that the reader is intelligent enough to add sufficient grains of salt if he or she feels they are needed. So it is here as well. I'll borrow the Fox News slogan here: "I report -- you decide.")

This one anecdote certainly won't keep me from checking out Osteria, especially in light of all the other comments about it on this board. Nor would I suggest that it keep any of you from doing so.

When you call to ask where the restaurant is, I am sure they would have said 640 north broad.

640 north broad is a giant condominium. If you step outside Osteria and look down the street, you can see city hall but not vice versa. I would asume most people can google the restaurant and find its phone number and location, once you find the address and or map, what is the point of asking where they are in relation to city hall. City hall is in the center of the city.

One could make the case as using that as a basis of locating businesses but thats completely silly. You find the address, you go there.

Anybody knows that the 600 block of north broad is approximately 6 blocks from city hall unless they just moved to philly last night.

Cmon these people had nitpicky prima-donna-ish complaints regarding direction

That's just pure laziness.

Maybe, and I tend to have little patience for people who can't figure out the Philadephia street grid either. But unlike the numbered streets, not everyone has memorized the sequence of east-west streets or knows which street is six blocks north of City Hall. (Keep in mind also that some major cross streets--Spring Garden [edited to add: 550 N] is one--are actually midblock streets on the numbering grid; because of this, simply counting six blocks off heading north from City Hall would have left the patron at least one block shy of the restaurant--two if the traveler counts Cherry Street erroneously.)

Had the waitress said "Broad and Wallace," it probably would have prevented my friend from asking the question, and it's also true, as I pointed out in my first foodblog, that Philadelphia street signs include the house numbering coordinates. But I wouldn't put this question in the same category as asking a SEPTA driver "Does this bus go to 69th Street?" when the destination sign clearly reads "69th St Terminal". It may show the diner as a clueless newbie, but it should be answered courteously if asked.

(Edited further to add: And yet I may have to allow your diss of my friend's orienteering skills. I had to tell him how to locate Market East Station the other day, and he lives about three blocks from me.)

Post your own complaints not other people's complaints.

Saying my friends went there and sat next to lesbians who had a bad time simply cannot be taken as a serious report.

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I'll post my own comments after I've visited.

And as I pointed out above, the lesbian reference was gratuitous here, and you all rightly called me on it. My friend only mentioned it because he saw something (the gin-switching) that later served to reinforce his own sour impression--all the other experiences related here were his own.

Edited March 6, 2007 by MarketStEl (log)

[guzzirider]

After much delay, Cherie and I finally made it in tonight... and we weren't dissapointed. The Pizza Lombarda and bucatini dish were my favs... also enjoyed the tripe, octopus, and some cheese dish that was the special tonight (just arrived, apparently). Forgive me for not being more descriptive... didn't take notes... just kind of enjoyed it "in the moment".

However, I did manage one picture with my horrible celll phone camera... something I haven't seen posted on here yet. Tonight's special dessert was Nutella pizza - two layers of cracker-thin crust, with a layer of Nutella sandwiched between, fired and then doused w/ powdered sugar. A perfect example of elegance through simplicity (and the combination of crunchy, chocalately, sweet, and subtle saltiness would be a stoner's dream!). That and a glass of limoncello... pure dope. Can't wait to go back and try some of the other dishes...

__Jason

[KatieLoeb]

I suppose I should finally post about my birthday dinner last weekend, eh? Better late than never, I suppose.

Miss Claire and I started off with glasses of Prosecco to be festive and have something to imbibe whilst looking over the menu and considering the specials that were expertly recited by our waitress. Madness nearly ensued when Percy came over and brought me a bit of his tripe dish that he insisted that I taste. It was delicious, but I thought the manager was going to have an aneurism when food we hadn't ordered mysteriously appeared on our table. Once I explained all was well again. We finally decided to start with one of the specials, an antipasto of mixed grilled veggies and one of the pasta dishes, the candele with wild boar ragu. The antipasto was great - enough for two and very light and tasty with several interesting veggies on the plate including salsify, something I love but rarely have seen on these shores. The candele was also very tasty, but served at an oddly cool temperature. I don't know - maybe I just like my pasta warm-hot. But it was quite tasty nonetheless. We also got some expert wine advice from one of the managers and tried a really nice glass of a 100% Cabernet Franc from Collio that was perfect with this course.

For our main courses I ordered the rabbit and Miss Claire had another special, a rich macaroni dish that was sinfully good. The rabbit was delicious but I'd forgotten how hard rabbit is to eat. It's really bony, with lots of little splinter bones. Very tasty though, although I'm not sure I'd order it again. Again we were regaled with good wine advice and tried a couple of other reds that were quite well paired with our dishes, including an interesting Cabernet/Galliopo blend. The only minor glitch of the evening was finding a wee blob of plastic wrap in one of my dishes. I've worked in enough restaurants to know that stuff like that happens, however mortifying it might be, so I can't bitch too much. I suppose someone else might not be so forgiving.

I thought dessert was the best overall course we ate. We ordered that melty-middled chocolate cake and the polenta budino Andrew so highly recommended upthread. Oh yeah. The polenta dessert might be the best dessert I've had in ages. Really creamy and satisfying in a pure comfort food sort of way. The staff was kind enough to send over a tangerine tiramisu-ish dessert for me as well (heck - it was my birthday and my last hurrah with no calorie restrictions. So shoot me!) and that was also really delicious.

All in all I very much enjoyed Osteria. It was not an inexpenive evening, but is certainly a place I'd go back to again. I must try the pizzas and make a mission evening of having the steak for two some other time. I didn't notice too much hovering of the staff and thought everything was well handled, at least in my experience there. I suspect that like all restaurants with a large staff, there are certain folks that are simply better servers or have more pleasant personalities than others, and perhaps the folks that had bad service experiences just got unlucky with their server that night. That should take care of itself eventually, and I wish them all much continued success there. It's a gargantuan undertaking, opening a restaurant of any size and scope, particularly one that has this much buzz and advance expectations preceding it. I think things will only smooth out over time and that it will be an unbridled success. I certainly wish that for them.

[serpentine]

And when he called to ask where the restaurant was located relative to City Hall, the staffer who answered the phone didn't know and (again, as he related to me) sounded annoyed when he asked her if she could find out.

When you call to ask where the restaurant is, I am sure they would have said 640 north broad.

[snip]

Anybody knows that the 600 block of north broad is approximately 6 blocks from city hall unless they just moved to philly last night.

Cmon these people had nitpicky prima-donna-ish complaints regarding direction

That's just pure laziness.

Wait, the report is meaningless because it's second hand, but Vadouvan can successfully judge that the lesbians in question were nitpicky, lazy prima-donnas in regards to direction when faced with an employee who claimed to not know how far the restaurant is from City Hall? Huh.

I suppose all visitors to the city have our street grid memorized as well, no-one should visit an establishment without mapping it first. Egads, it would kill the guy to say, "it's several blocks north of City Hall, look for a big condo building?"

[wkl]

"I suppose all visitors to the city have our street grid memorized as well, no-one should visit an establishment without mapping it first. Egads, it would kill the guy to say, "it's several blocks north of City Hall, look for a big condo building?"

um, that's kinda the point. we don't know that he didn't offer that advice, becaus ethe account wasn't first hand.

[Vadouvan]

Wait, the report is meaningless because it's second hand, but Vadouvan can successfully judge that the lesbians in question were nitpicky, lazy prima-donnas in regards to direction when faced with an employee who claimed to not know how far the restaurant is from City Hall? Huh.

I suppose all visitors to the city have our street grid memorized as well, no-one should visit an establishment without mapping it first. Egads, it would kill the guy to say, "it's several blocks north of City Hall, look for a big condo building?"

Serpentine, to add to WKL's comment...

Not only wasnt the "account" first hand, it was vague and absurd beyond any boundary of fairness.

If you read upthread...

I believe Sandy Smiths original quote was......

Got a dissenting opinion from a friend this evening who dined there last weekend.

He noticed a lesbian couple seated next to him at the bar, one of whom had asked the bartender for Bombay Sapphire and was served Bombay instead. According to him, when the woman noticed the difference and commented on it, the bartender dismissed her concern, saying "They're the same thing." (At least the bartender did not charge her for Sapphire.)

So basically someone told me they talked to two lesbians who werent happy at Osteria.

Doesnt quite rise to the level of a reliable report.

It also wasnt established that either Sandy's friend or the aforementioned lesbians were visitors to the city.

Laziness isnt a character flaw to me, it's just a misuse of time and that's why i use it freely.

I dont mean to insult anyone.....

fact is there is a lot of things you can complain about in a restaurant but complaining about the location after you have been given the address isnt on the top ten list.

Certainly employees should be as helpful as possible but anyone who has ever dined out know's hostesses are overwhelmed with people waiting for tables, checking coats and answering phones in the first few days of a brand new popular restaurant.

Asking a hostess to go find out where the restaurant is in relation to another landmark seems pushing it to me. Poeple who are ususally that precise about where they are going seems to me can google the place and find out, it isnt like the map of the entire street grid is on the internet.

Even though I replied, the finer points of who said what to who when and what gender they were adds nothing substantive to this thread.

Edited March 13, 2007 by Vadouvan (log)

[KitchenMom]

Back to the food. . .

I finally got a babysitter and made it to Osteria Sunday night. It was easily the best restaurant meal I've had in a while, in terms of the overall experience. For food, we started with the salumi plate and the Lombarda pizza. Everything everyone has said about these is true and then some. For mains I had the rabbit and hubby had the candele with wild boar bolognese, also both fantastic. This was probably the best rabbit dish I've ever had. Nice and moist with terrific flavor, and so rich I took one small tasty potion home for a snack. For dessert, I had the polenta budino and, since hubby is allergic to hazelnuts, I had it all to myself. He had the chocolate flan (seems misnamed to me) and the accompanying pistachio gelato was amazing.

We just had a couple of wines by the glass (I wasn't familiar with them and don't remember, but they were nice). The espresso was also very good.

In terms of the overall experience, service was just right--attentive without being overbearing. It was slightly confusing because we had several different servers throught the evening, including the sommelier who took our dessert order, but really wan't a big deal and I didn't get any sense of the hovering that others have mentioned. The other thing I noticed, which nobody much has commented on, is the portion size, which was just right to be able to sample a number of things and end up completely satisfied but not obscenely full. I also really enjoyed the dishes (I'm a sucker for chicken plates).

The place had a nice, energetic buzz and lively feel without being too loud to carry on a conversation. Also, driving in from the 'burbs, you gotta love the ease of parking around there. I can't wait to go back!

[MarketStEl]

FWIW, my friend is a relatively recent arrival from DC, having lived here six months. Neither he nor I know whether the women were locals or visitors, and since they weren't the ones asking for directions, it's not relevant anyway, just as their sexual orientation was. (However, we queer folk tend to have our Gaydar on at all times, so it shouldn't be surprising that my friend noted it too in his telling.)

And everything else I related besides the gin substitution happened to my friend, not those women, so it comes to you secondhand--from the source via me--no different than a typical newspaper story.

Keeping in mind that every text has two authors, the writer and the reader, you could go back to my post above and conclude from what I wrote there that it was my friend, not the waitstaff, who had the attitude problem.

I did accurately characterize the larger point, which was that a friend of mine had an unsatisfying experience there. I would think that after saying that, it would behoove me to provide details to the best of my ability so you could learn how he came to his judgement. All I had to go on to furnish those details was his own account of his own visit. I know that most observations posted here are first-hand, but if second-hand accounts are considered unreliable on their face, well, we may as well be done with the entire journalistic profession save for those reporters who live their stories or report on documents they uncover.

[mandabear]

I ate there last saturday with my boyfriend and 2 friends, things started well. We waited minimally for an 8 45 reservation, very competent and friendly host staff but no coat check???? no biggie, anyway we started with pizzas which were really awesome, i mean they lived up to the hype. my friends had the margherita, less adventurous, and I had the Lombarda-- i think, (the one with the egg). Truly outstanding, loved it. We followed up with the lobster spaghettini, which was good but not quite hot, maybe that's the way it's supposed to be. I had the Wild Boar ragu, clearly the best dish at the table, boyfriend had the pork ribs, sausage, cabage and polenta, which was not to my taste, and my other freind had the chicken which was totally tasty-- haha. I enjoyed but I was not bowled over as I expected to be. I thought it was a casual place, but the vibe was very "see and be seen"

maybe I will try it again....................

[Vadouvan]

I thought it was a casual place, but the vibe was very "see and be seen"

maybe I will try it again....................

Here lies the perils of dining out on saturday night.

[mandabear]

it is funny how that works--- being a former restaurant girl who lived for monday and tuesday's off, I have now joined the man in the grey flannel suit and have off on the weekends. I guess I am still not used to the Sat night dinners.......

[philadining]

...very competent and friendly host staff but no coat check????

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The hostess has offered to take my coat when I've been there. (But I've never taken her up on it, as I have a camera in the pocket....)

[shacke]

...very competent and friendly host staff but no coat check????

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The hostess has offered to take my coat when I've been there. (But I've never taken her up on it, as I have a camera in the pocket....)

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But you were happy to see her too, right?

[Alec Hart]

I took advantage of the snowy weather to finally eat at Osteria and wow. It was an outstanding meal.

I started with the sardine special. Three whole sardines in oil which perfectly peeled away from the bones. Definitely the best sardines I have ever eaten outside of Spain. Truly immaculate.

I followed that up with the wild boar and it too was wonderful. I can't really expound on the food any better than has been said upthread, but I will add that our service was great. There was a plethora of servers, but I contributed that to Osteria being staffed for a busy Friday night only to have a 3/4 full restaurant because of the snow.

We asked our three different servers many food questions as one member of our party was vegan and got satisfactory answers each time.

The hostess did take our coats as we came in.

I will be going back soon. Hopefully next week as there are so many dishes that I want to try, but I doubt I would classify Osteria as an everyday eatery. The bill was simply too expensive for me to make it a regular place. And that brings me to my only complaint. When we were told the specials, we were not told the prices and they were generally more expensive than what was on the menu.

-- Alec

[Jeff L]

And that brings me to my only complaint. When we were told the specials, we were not told the prices and they were generally more expensive than what was on the menu.

-- Alec

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In most places I've been, specials are almost always more expensive that regular menu items, however your server should have mentioned pricing. I think it's the right thing to do but in my experience, some servers tend to feel somewhat awkward reciting prices to a table. Of course, you could have asked I guess.