http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/michael_klein/table_talk RSS Feed for Inq Col Michael Klein Table Talk en-us Thu, 24 May 2012 03:53:20 GMT http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/michael_klein/table_talk/20120524_Italian_in_Media_from_a_guy_named_McAndrews.html Peter McAndrews — yes, he’s all Irish — married a second-generation Italian American woman, Lisa DiPaolo, and they honeymooned in Italy. After one bite of the food, “I didn’t want to come back to America,” he said. He ended up training for six months in Piedmont and six months in his wife’s ancestral hometown of Molise. McAndrews, who spent a dozen years as chef at the American bar Rembrandt’s in Fairmount, has opened a string of Italian concepts in Northern Liberties and the Italian Market, starting in April 2007 with Modo Mio in Northern Liberties, followed by two Paesano’s sandwich shops, Monsu, and Popolino. All serve rustic stuff; for McAndrews, a dish doesn’t seem complete without a fried egg on top. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/michael_klein/table_talk/20120517_Center_City_chef_migrates_to_Northeast_Philadelphia.html Bledar Istrefi, executive chef at Center City’s popular Bellini Cafe, bought a house in Northeast Philadelphia. Istrefi, 33, soon realized that although the Northeast is teeming with pizzerias and other quick-serve options, it has few Center City-style Italian BYOBs — polished, candlelit, great food and service. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/michael_klein/table_talk/20120510_The_polished_Vernick_Food__amp__Drink_arrives_in_Rittenhouse.html Culinary Institute of America grad Gregory Vernick, who spent most of his career in the Jean-Georges Vongerichten orbit opening his restaurants around the world, has come home to do the same for himself. With his wife, Julie, the Cherry Hill native opened Vernick Food & Drink (2031 Walnut St., 267-639-6644), in a bi-level brownstone. Food is simple and easy to understand. “If there are three ingredients listed on the menu, that’s what’s in it,” he says. It’s dinner only for now; see menu at www.philly.com/vernick. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/michael_klein/table_talk/20120510_Nicolas_Fanucci_talks_about_the_new_Le_Bec-Fin.html Two months ago, Georges Perrier sold most of his interest in Le Bec-Fin, the French institution he created 42 years ago. Still, almost every day, Perrier shows up. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/michael_klein/table_talk/20120503_Spiga_brings_casual_Italian_food_to_13th_and_Locust_in_Center_City.html Twenty years ago, Girasole on Locust Street just off 13th Street was the stylish go-to Italian spot for theatergoers. After it packed its tent in 2004 — it reopened in 2009 at Broad and Pine Streets — the space housed a series of sketchy nightspots. Now, with the neighborhood on the upswing — you have Fish on the opposite corner, Green Eggs Cafe next door, and a strip of hot restaurants around the corner (Sampan, Barbuzzo, Jamonera, Zavino, etc.) — the building is going the stylish Italian route again. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/michael_klein/table_talk/20120503_Whats_for_lunch_on_18th_Street.html Restaurants want to be where the action is, and 18th Street from Market Street to Rittenhouse Square is one of the busiest restaurant corridors in Center City. Like the proverbial birds of a feather, a growing clutch of eateries, approaching two dozen, is catering to the lunch crowd. In the last week, a soup/salad/sandwich place called Brodo took a spot in the United Plaza building, just south of Market. Across the street, a Japanese soup restaurant called Nom Nom Ramen opened in March, and the vegan takeout HipCityVeg opened two weeks ago just north of the square, next to what may become a Crumbs Bake Shop. The week-old Rittenhouse Tavern, in the Art Alliance at the southeastern corner of the square, expects to join the lunch fray. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/michael_klein/table_talk/20120426_Restaurants_that_will_bloom_in_May.html Last year was a busy one for restaurant openings in Philadelphia, and this year is showing no signs of letup. Take May, for example, when a dozen restaurants from a mix of new and seasoned operators are hoping to unlock their doors. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/michael_klein/table_talk/20120419_Even_the_water_is_Italian_at_Pizza_DiMeo_rsquo_s.html Wood-fired oven by wood-fired oven, the city’s pizza scene is heating up. When American-raised Antimo DiMeo, 20, expressed interest in following his Neapolitan-born father, Pino, 43, in the pizza business, the son insisted he wanted to cook in the old-country way, with a wood-fired oven. (Pino’s parlors use conventional gas ovens.) http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/michael_klein/table_talk/20120412_Table_Talk__Latin_BYOB_in_Fairmount.html Husband-wife veterans Guy Shapiro and Luli Canuso have been around the block a time or two after meeting at the once-trendy Mirabelle on Callowhill Street in the 1980s. She was a pastry chef at Le Bec-Fin. He cooked for Russian mobsters, among other employers. Now they have set up on a sunny corner near their Fairmount house with BlueCat (1921 Fairmount Ave., 267-519-2911). http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/michael_klein/table_talk/20120405_Square_Peg_fits_into_Center_City_Philadelphia.html Square Peg, the restaurant-bar at 10th and Walnut Streets (215-413-3600) that replaced a Marathon Grill a couple of weeks ago, has been ramping up its operation. Thursday marks the start of lunch (limited seating at first). Chef Matt Levin (ex-Adsum, Lacroix) is doing twists on American comfort food under owners Barry Gutin and Larry Cohen (Cuba Libre, GuestCounts Hospitality, 32°). Specialty is all-day breakfast.