Concierge March, 2014

The Importance of Concierge Connections…

“There are more concierge professionals in

Philadelphia than ever before, and that has a

lot to do with all the new condos, apartments,

and hotels. On a daily basis, we get to send

hundreds of our customers to countless

restaurants, retail stores, entertainment

venues, museums, doctors – you name it.

Our recommendations literally translate to

tens of millions of dollars every year to our

local community”.

Ken Alan – Founder of the

Philadelphia Concierge Association

The Young Ben Franklin

“The doorstep to the temple of wisdom is a

knowledge of our own ignorance.”

BenFranklinToday.com

The Restaurant Report by Bob Bickell

Chef Nicholas Elmi – Restaurant Laurel;

40 Years at Friday Saturday Sunday;

March Tomatoes with Chef Chris Daly;

Restaurant Commentary –

Chickie’s & Pete’s

Chef Nicholas Elmi

It was about two months before the official

ending of Le Bec-Fin. I found myself having

dinner with Chef Perrier and his public

relations lady at Sampan on 13th Street.

I asked the chef a very simple question, and I

received a very interesting answer. My

question was “How good is Nicholas Elmi?”

His answer: “He is very, very good. He is

actually better I am.”

BB: He is better than you are? I find it difficult

that you would ever make such a statement.”

Chef: “He is better than me.”

BB: Can I quote you on this?

Chef: “Yes you can.”

And there you have it. We wake-up and Nick

wins the title of “The Top Chef” and his

restaurant Laurel is an over-night success.

George is an intriguing character who could

have been beloved in this City. I would

suggest that he is respected for 42 amazing

years, but he is hardly beloved. The rumor on

the street is that he is looking for a small

restaurant to do it all over again. I hope that

happens. It would certainly be interesting.

Laurel – 3 Bells or 4 Bells?

Craig LaBan has spoken, and Nicholas

Elmi’s new restaurant received a very

positive 3 Bells. Of course, Chef Elmi

wanted 4 Bells, and eventually that

might happen.

I have heard two very different versions

from several Philadelphia chefs, and it

goes something like this…

Laurel is a 22-seat BYOB restaurant that

is dinner-only for five nights per week.

On that basis alone, it doesn’t deserve

the 4 Bells.

The other side (which I prefer) is that

Nicholas Elmi is an artist. He is the

restaurant, and he is doing precisely

what he wants to do. It’s not easy for a

young chef to open his own restaurant,

and you can’t get rich with a small BYOB

concept. The quality is in the 4-Bell

category, and that’s what it should be.

My thought is that Nick survived and

matured at Le Bec-Fin. I have no idea

what he had in mind at the Rittenhouse

Tavern other than a job. He had to be

unhappy and he did the right thing. A

chef with his talent has to have his own

place. His future is way ahead of him,

and it’s going to be good. End of story.

FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY

There is a moment in time when one can

attach the word “classic” to a given

restaurant. The truth is that most of the

classics are gone. In my mind, after 40 great

years, Friday Saturday Sunday has earned the

right to be called a “Philadelphia Classic”. The

good news is that this place might go another

40 years.

Weaver Lilley was part of an amazing

movement in the early 70’s known as a

“Restaurant Rennaisance” and one might

suggest there is yet another Philadelphia

Restaurant Rennaisance that is taking place as

we speak.

The key players of the 70’s Rennaisance (other

than Friday Saturday Sunday) include The Frog

and the Commissary; the Black Banana;

Lickety Split; The Knave of Hearts; The Astral

Plane; Judy’s; The Garden; Les Amis; and the

original La Terrasse.

With all the neat restaurants that were part of

the 70’s thing, the sole survivor is Friday

Saturday Sunday, and of course

the man –

Weaver Lilley

www.FriSatSun.com

Tomato Times by Chef Chris Daly

When people say tomatoes it reminds me of

when I worked in the Michelin starred

kitchens of Philippe Contacini in Paris.

Tomatoes with Mozzarella were his favorite

and when he would come to dinner to my

home in New York City, usually with a few

other Michelin starred chefs in tow, I knew

how to hit that Achilles heel.

Heirloom Tomatoes from Upstate Farms in

Columbia County or Abundant Life Farms in

Walker Valley and the best handmade

mozzarella I could find here in the city, fresh

ground pepper, some sea salt and Mission

Olive Oil from California.

What a “food memory”, some great dinners

cooked with ease and friendship and enjoyed

by some of the greatest cooks I have ever

known.

The quality of those tomatoes was all based

on the season and it was a given among any

chef that you would never serve any guests in

your restaurant let alone your home the

salmon pink colored tomatoes of January that

tasted like nothing with a texture best

described as mealy and mushy.

For all tomato lovers one of the biggest

“payoffs” for being patient and waiting for “

real “heirloom tomatoes to come is using

them in the simplest form that turns out the

most sublime results you can imagine, simple

food made with the best grown seasonal

products.

While we wait for heirlooms though, I do have

to add that the hot house tomatoes from New

Jersey in late spring, early summer are pretty

good to say the least.

Many times, with careful cooking with the

seasonal approach, restraint is the answer and

you really don’t need to do too much to those

tomatoes or any whole food product for that

matter.

I always remember Bill Grimes of The New

York Times calling me and asking how my

cooking at Bellew in mid- town Manhattan

could be so good. My simple answer was that

it had taken me close to 18 years to learn how

to do nothing to food.

So, In the middle of a gray day in a week that

is coming in like a Lion with weather that has

been a little erratic to say the least, I am

drawing some brief rays of sunshine tinged

with hopes of spring from two farmer friends

Jan and Linda when they talk planting new

crops of tomatoes.

Jan from Upstate Farms and Linda from

Abundant Life Farms grow heirloom tomatoes

and the past week they have been sorting

seeds to plant.

Linda who grows Bio-Dynamic mentioned that

there was some good news in spite of the fact

that our weather has now entered into a

realm that is best described as crazy. The

brown louse or stink bugs that made their way

from Virginia last year because of (you

guessed it) the erratic weather, won’t be a

problem this year. The extreme cold here

killed them off.

California is in the middle of some pretty

extreme weather right now and one of the

best hopes for people across the United States

this year who is going to be to focus on buying

local from farmers like Jan and Linda.

As a chef who has lots of patience developed

over the course of several years, my question

is when is the consumer going to “get

political”, and vote with their wallets and

stand by the renaissance of local growers and

Community Supported Agricultural Concerns?

Or CSA’s as they are known.

There is a real secret weapon we can all yield

and that is to support the re- creation of small

family type and “artisanal” farms.

When are we going to start saying no to

factory farming that is a huge part of the

destruction of our environment?

Hopefully before all real food is just a “food

memory “.

Chef Christopher Daly

COMMENTARY by Bob Bickell

Chickie's & Pete's is a Philadelphia area sports bar and restaurant chain with a total of twelve locations. The company has experienced some financial issues over the years as it relates to their payment system to their employees (tips, minimum wages, overtime, etc.). Several employees have filed lawsuits, and eventually the U.S. Labor Department got involved with an investigation; the results of which are somewhat staggering.

The bottom line (so to speak) is that Chickie’s & Pete’s has agreed to pay $8.52 million in back wages and damages to some 1,159 past and

present employees, and a portion of this is to settle some ninety Federal lawsuits.

My guess is that the $8.52 million, coupled with a public relations disaster represents a major blow to the future of this company, and the chain’s owner (Peter Ciarrocchi, Jr. was quoted as saying that the settlement “was the right thing to do”. Having said that, the owner also made a statement that sounds almost ridiculous given the overall situation in question…

"Our employees are the backbone of our company, and they deserve our respect and appreciation. We believe these settlements are in their best interests, and we worked cooperatively with the DOL and with plaintiffs' counsel to make them happen."

Even the Department of Labor supplied an interesting quote…"Tips are the property of the employees who received them. "Taking a portion of those tips can have costly consequences for a restaurant owner.”

I guess they have a point there.

Wastin’ away again in Margaritaville…

Success stories have been notably missing in the

modern version of Atlantic City (until the opening of

Margaritaville at Resorts). For the multitude of fans

who follow Jimmy Buffett, the folks at Resorts have

reinvented “Paradise”. The longs lines of people just

waiting to get in tells the story. He probably won’t be

there, but it doesn’t matter.

Jimmy Buffett is a singer, song writer, and a

businessman. He has an enormous following because

he has stayed true to his music and his fans. Almost

everything he does can be characterized as an "island

escapism" lifestyle. This means beaches, water, and

suntan lotion (and things like margaritas). What’s not

to like?

The folks at Resorts seized the moment, and it’s no

surprise that the people love it. Buffet’s most loyal fans

are called “Parrot Heads” and they are the most vocal at

his ongoing live events. It doesn’t matter what you call

them, they are showing up in Atlantic City.

It’s a real pleasure to finally talk about something that

looks like a roaring success in this area of the world.

“Wastin’ away again in Margaritaville

Searching for my lost shaker of salt

Some people claim that there’s a woman to blame

But I know it’s nobody’s fault”

www.ResortsAC.com

Abstinence is Prime for Pure Italian Vines

by Petrina Fisher Wells

Ask a group of Americans to list some Italian

wines and most of them will include

Montepulciano, Chianti and Pinot Grigio. Others

might mention Prosecco, Barbera and Barolo.

But only a very few would talk about

Schioppenttino, a black grape from Northern

Italy, or Tazzelenghe, a grape that roughly

translates to “tongue stinging” or “tongue

cutting.”

Clearly, they don’t know what they’re missing.

Italy boasts more than 1,500 indigenous wine

varietals, a remarkable number compared to

France, California and Australia, which primarily

grow around 15. “And only about 600 Italian

varietals have been genetically identified,” said

Bill Binczak, II, president of Bethlehem, Pa.-

based South Italy Imports. (Genetic

identification involves tracing and indentifying a

property through every step of production.)

You might think a little vineyard sex wouldn’t

tangle the family vine. But Italian purists believe

in vine abstinence to produce the most

authentic wine, one which lets any appreciative

drinker distinguish the terroir (the area where

it's grown) and discern the elements in the soil.

Along with son Bill and daughter Stacey, Binczak

is on a mission to introduce America to wine

varietals from all 20 of Italy’s wine-growing

regions. “We’re focusing on traditional or

‘ancient’ wines, which Italians in Italy drink

regularly; it’s not necessarily what Americans

drink,” Stacey Binczak explained. “We lean

toward Italian producers who have never

exported to the U.S., so these wines are unique

in more ways than one.” Many are also new to

American palates, which is part of their appeal.

“Americans are eager to try new things, and

they have a favorable attitude toward Italian

products in general,” adds Bill Binczak.

With a passion and love of Italian grapes, the

Binczaks educated themselves by attending

wine-tasting events over the years. This coupled

with frequent travels to Italy, where they have

learned to cherish the finer points and little-

known qualities of the wines Italians enjoy

every day. It didn’t take long to realize that

these wines were unknown in America.

Consider La Corsa, a vineyard in an area that

has produced wine for more than 2000 years.

Its reputation of high-quality and well-balanced

varieties spread to southern France, which was

a vast distance in those days.

Thanks to South Italy Imports, Pennsylvania

oenophiles can appreciate wines that include La

Corsa’s varietals, such as the elegant Sangiovese

or Aghiloro.

To order or for more information, contact

stacey@southitalyimports.net. She can help you

select a few bottles or start an impressive wine

collection. To see all South Italy’s wine

offerings, visit www.southitalyimports.net . A

wine tasting room opens to the public in

Bethlehem. Follow on Facebook for exact dates.

Barbara’s Kitchen

The lady can cook! Just

follow her instructions.

BARBARAS’CHICKEN…

8 skinless boneless chicken thighs

Salt & pepper

All-purpose flour

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

8 garlic cloves, halved lengthwise and lightly

smashed

2 cups of low sodium chicken broth

2 tbs fresh lemon juice

2 tbs butter

½ cup of banana peppers (or whatever pepper

you like.)

Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper and

dust with flour. In a large skillet heat the oil till

shimmering.

Add the chicken and cook over high heat

turning once until brown and crusty on both

sides (About 10 minutes).

Lower the heat to low and add the garlic and

cook for 1 minute until the garlic is lightly

browned.

Transfer the chicken to a platter leaving the

garlic in the skillet.

Add the chicken broth to the skillet and cook

over high heat, scrapping up any browned bits

until reduced by half. (About 5 minutes)

Lower the heat to low and add the lemon juice

and butter and swirl until emulsified.

Return the chicken and any accumulated juices

to the skillet.

Add the peppers and cook, turning the chicken

until coated in the sauce. (About 3 minutes)

Transfer the chicken and sauce to the platter

and serve.

Barbara could have been a chef. What more

can we say?

Prime Travel…Philadelphia

The Barnes Foundation

The Huffington Post just suggested that

Philadelphia is the most underrated City in

America. They presented 31 reasons to prove

their claim. We have listed some of them (the

Wing Bowl was eliminated for fear that a

visitor might actually go there).

Over 200 BYOB Restaurants…

Cheesesteaks… (And cheap Beer)…

History (the Liberty Bell) etc…

The Reading Terminal…

Our Art Community…

Boathouse Row…

Fairmount Park…

Federal Doughnuts…

Our great Restaurants…

And interestingly enough – The Eastern State

Penitentiary…

(they failed to include the SS United States).

Philadelphia Museum of Art

A sweeping panorama, Treasures from Korea celebrates the artistic achievements of the Joseon dynasty, a line of twenty-seven monarchs that ruled the Korean peninsula for more than five hundred years and left a substantial legacy for modern Korea. Objects explore the roles of king and court, the distinct spheres of men and women in society, and religious beliefs, all underpinned by the ideals of Confucianism. This is the first full-scale American exhibition to be devoted to art of the Joseon dynasty. Thru May 26th.

On Saturday March 15th

Explore our Treasures from Korea exhibition.

Enjoy a day of festivities for the whole family.

Why Would a Chicken Cross The Road?

(Read this if you have absolutely nothing to do)

ARISTOTLE: It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.

AL GORE: I invented the chicken. DR SEUSS: Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I've not been told.

ALBERT EINSTEIN: Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?

BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with that chicken! SARAH PALIN: The chicken crossed the road because, gosh-darn it, he's a maverick!

BARACK OBAMA: Let me be perfectly clear, if the chickens like their eggs they can keep their eggs. No chicken will be required to cross the road to surrender her eggs. Period.

JOHN McCAIN: My friends, the chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road.

HILLARY CLINTON: What difference at this point does it make why the chicken crossed the road!!!

GEORGE W. BUSH: We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road or not. The chicken is either with us or against us. There is no middle ground here.

COLIN POWELL: Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road.

JOHN KERRY: Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken's intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it.

DR. PHIL: The problem we have here is that this chicken won't realize that he must first deal with the problem on this side of the road before it goes after the problem on the other side of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he is acting by not taking on his current problems before adding any new problems.

ANDERSON COOPER: We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.

NANCY GRACE: That chicken crossed the road because he's guilty! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks.

PAT BUCHANAN: To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.

MARTHA STEWART: No one called me to warn me which way the chicken was going. I had a standing order at the Farmer's Market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider information.

GRANDPA: In my day we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough for us.

BILL GATES: I have just released eChicken2014, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents and balance your checkbook. Internet Explorer is an integral part of eChicken2014. Colonel Sanders: Did I miss this one?

SPRING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Photo by Doug Cox