Serious Eats

Is the Best Italian Restaurant in the US in Philly

Posted by Ed Levine, October 31, 2006

I did an insane thing last night. I took the train to Philadelphia to meet some friends at Vetri. Vetri was opened a few years ago by Marc Vetri, a Philly native who had cooked in NY at Bella Blu, an Upper East Side Italian restaurant that serious eaters have never paid much attention to.

Rave reviews greeted Vetri's opening in Philly. Mario Batali raved, saying that Vetri was possibly the best Italian restaurant on the East Coast. My friend Andy Clurfeld of the Asbury Park Press kept telling me that I had to check Vetri out.

So I did, last night, even though my first train was so late I had to buy an Acela ticket in order to be a mere half hour late. And Andy and Mario and everyone else who has been telling me about Vetri are right.

Vetri is a terrific restaurant, serving the kind of simple, gutsy, long deep-flavored Italian food rarely found in this country. People in jeans and jackets and ties seem to be having a terrific time at Vetri eating unpretentious, unbelievably delicious, unapologetically rich food.

What did we eat?

A superb Antipasto plate with little cubes of fried potato, sherry-charred burssels sprouts, grilled fennel, prosciutto, mortadella, grilled scamorza, and a couple of things I can't remember.

Golden sweet onion crepe with white truffle fondue

Chestnut Fettucine with Wild Boar Ragu

Sweetbread Ravioli with Braised Veal Sauce

Spinach Gnocchi with Shaved Ricotta and brown butter

Pappardelle with porcini mushrooms and shaved white truffles

Almond tortellini with white truffle sauce

Smoked pork sausage with mostarda

Roasted baby goat (capretto) with soft polenta

For dessert:

Buttered pear tart with chocolate sorbet

Beignets that we dipped in Italian Hot Chocolate

Ice Cream Sundae with Candied Hazelnuts

Maple Napoleon

I don't know if Vetri is the best Italian restaurant in America, or even the East Coast for that matter. I do know that it was easily worth the trip to Philly, even if your train is an hour late.

Vetri is at 1312 Spruce Street, ph: 215-732-3478

Here's Craig LaBan's review in the Philadelphia Inquirer

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