Culinary Tour of Philadelphia - Vetri Restaurant

Looking through Zagat's, I was surprised to see that there was a new #1 restaurant in Philadelphia for Food...and one that I had never heard of before. With a 28 for Food, Zagat's called Vetri:

"A “religious experience” is how devotees describe Marc Vetri’s “splendid” Italian “splurge”, rated No. 1 for Food in this Survey and deemed a sure way to “impress your date” (or anyone) thanks to its “quaint” Wash West brownstone setting, “polished” service, “wonderful” wine pairings and “sublime” $135 tasting menu (no à la carte); though most agree it’s “worth every penny”, you may want “a stiff drink just before the check arrives.”"

We arrived at Vetri about 10 minutes early for our 9pm reservation (the earliest we could get) and waited only about 5 minutes to be seated. The restaurant is quite small, tucked away in a brownstone, so we were a little nervous about how closely we might be sharing our dining experience with our neighbors. However, the 9pm reservation seemed to serve us well & we were quite happy with our table selection. The ambiance made us feel like we were guests in someone's dining room as opposed to patrons at a high end restaurant. It was a very intimate feel, further accentuated by the fact that the attire of other diners ranged from jeans to evening dresses. A nice, eclectic feel. The dining started off with one of the many waiters we would see that night telling us that they typically like to give all their guests a welcome glass of Prosecco while they enjoy the "amuse bouche" of their house-made salumi platter and a crudite plate with a balsamic glaze.

Quick note here: there will be no pictures....unfortunately, Rich & I tried every setting imaginable on our camera to be able to take pictures without the flash, but each one was darker than the next...Just imagine they looked awesome!

Ok, back to the plate of goodies....On the salumi platter was a pastrami-style foie gras terrine with a strawberry mostarda on brioche, a roasted vegetable tart w/ a polenta crust, two different styles of sausage - fennel & peppercorn, & a pickled pattypan squash in a litle bed of shaved parm. While all were absolutely wonderful, the clear winner of the plate was the pastrami-style foie gras, which melted in your mouth with the perfect balance of creaminess & salt/pepper aftertaste. All of this went very well with the glass of Prosecco (unfortunately, we did not get the name of this before we waddled out of the restaurant).

We decided to let the chef choose the remainder of our menu rather than make any special requests. We also chose to do the Grand Wine Pairing - typically we opt for selecting wines from the list rather than a pairing. However, since the vast majority of the wines were Italian & we had no idea what dishes we would be served, we opted for the wine pairing. Neither decision disappointed.

Course 1:

Lobster Panzanella (Wine: Contadi Castaldi, Franciacorta Brut Rose N.V.) - Little chunks of lobster all coated in a large bread crumb mixture served with slices of cucumber, tomato, pattypan squash & the lightest, brightest olive oil drizzle on top. This dish paired perfectly with what we were told was Italy's answer to Rose Champagne, which was quite tasty with hints of Honeydew & Strawberry. All in all, a wonderful dish which indicated good things to come...

Course 2:

Sweet Onion Crepe w/ White Truffle (Wine: Conterno Fantino, Dolcetto d'Alba 2010 "Bricco Bastia")

Foie Gras Stuffed Quail w/ Canteloupe (Wine: Trimbach, Gewurztraminer 2001 "Cuvee des Seigneurs de Ribeaupierre")

This was the only course that Rich & I differed in our opinions dramatically. Rich was served the onion crepe while I was served the quail. While I thought the taste of the quail married well with the foie inside & the addition of the melon was brilliant, overall I thought the dish lacked something. It seemed a little bland to me. Rich, on the other hand, was not exactly diving into his sweet onion crepe & later said that he thought the onions to be way over-caramelized, verging on burnt. Once we ate our half & made the switch, we both looked at each other like we were crazy. I thought the sweet onion crepe had beautiful flavor and the earthiness of the Dolcetto balanced it out beautifully. Rich thought the quail/foie combination idyllic & thought the flavor to be subtle rather than bland. So, all in all, while this course was not a complete failure as our initial thoughts might have indicated, this was probably our least favorite course of the night.

Course 3:

Spinach Gnocchi w/ Brown Butter (Wine: Felsina, Chianti Classico 2008 "Berardenga")

Almond Tortellini w/ Truffle Sauce (Wine: Jermann, Chardonnay 2009)

Can I just start with WOW??? While we knew this was an Italian restaurant, I don't think we had fully prepared ourselves for the joy of homemade pastas. These were two dishes that Vetri is very well known for & they serve often to their guests. I can see why - the Spinach Gnocchi were a bright/vibrant green with shavings of Ricotta Salata on top all sitting in a delicious brown butter sauce. They were light & delicious & I could have eaten a whole plate of them. When I didn't think it could get any better, we switched plates & the almond tortellini was now in front of me. While I didn't fancy myself a huge almond fan, I am now. The tortellini itself was so light & perfectly cooked. Biting into the tortellini you immediately got the hint of truffle from the sauce & the crunch of the almonds. The almond flavoring came out afterwards as a beautifully subtle finish. This course was hard to call....I think a slight edge goes to the Almond Tortellini but both were wonderful.

Course 4:

Corn Plin w/ Scallion & Truffle (Wine: Cantina Terlano, Sauvignon 2009 "Winkl")

Rigatoni alla Bolognese with Chard (Wine: Bussola, Valpolicella Ripasso 2006 "Ca del Laito")

Our 2nd pasta dish of the evening was just as amazing as the first. I started with the Corn Plin, which looked a little like a flatter version of a mini stuffed rigatoni. While I am a big believer that if you put truffle in anything it will taste good, the star of this dish was the velvety corn inside the pasta. While I was savoring my dish (which paired beautifully with the Terlano), Rich was thoroughly enjoying his rigatoni covered in "the perfect meat suit" (yes, we may have been a little food drunk by this point). There was very little actual sauce in the bolognese, which was basically a mixture of meat & vegetables on top of a perfectly cooked rigatoni. The Valpolicella that this dish was paired with was one of our favorite wines of the evening - hints of Tobacco & Earth, while still displaying a very smooth finish.

Course 5:

Dry Aged Ribeye w/ Grilled Peaches & Black Cabbage (Wine: Duckhorn Vineyards, Merlot 2008)

Black Bass w/ Eggplant & Corn (Wine: Jermann, Capo Martino 2004)

Our last entree course - the Ribeye was cooked perfectly - the char on the outside of the ribeye came through and was balanced out by the sweetness of the grilled peaches. We were initially surprised to see this paired with a California Merlot but after tasting it, we realized that a big, bold California Cab would have overwhelmed the subtlety of the accompaniments to the steak and would have been too different from the Italian wines we had mainly been served. The black bass was also wonderful - the skin had a perfect crispness & the eggplant puree underneath the bass managed to complement the fish so well. The Jermann was one of my favorite whites of the night, with a very complex flavor profile. You could taste a little bit of the toasted oak combined with sweet, ripe fruit.

At this point, the waitress came up & asked us if we wanted to add a cheese course....why we thought that was a good idea, I don't know, but I find it very difficult to say no to cheese....so, we didn't. I won't go into detail since I will save the cheese discussion for our next dinner, but it was a tasty accompaniment to the rest of our meal.

Course 6:

Chocolate Polenta Souffle

Pistachio Flan w/ White Chocolate Gelato

While our stomachs were stretched almost to capacity, we still very much enjoyed the desserts. I have to admit here that while I fully confess to be a chocaholic, I think my favorite was the Pistachio Flan. It was like a thick, rich, Pistachio bundt cake, with a drizzle of warm chocolate on the top and the white chocolate gelato was to die for. The Chocolate Polenta Souffle was their version of the molten chocolate souffle was wonderful as well and the polenta seemed to give it a little more structure.

I feel almost as full writing about this dinner as we did last night waddling from the table into the streets of Philly. While I know we have 2 amazing dinners left, I can with absolute certainty say that our meal at Vetri was, by far, the best meal I've ever had in Philly. We'll have to see where our next 2 nights land on that scale......