PRIME CONCIERGE November, 2013

Meet Jamie Cooperstein… President of the

Philadelphia Concierge Association…

“We are committed to

excellence as we strive

to serve the City of

Philadelphia and its

surrounding counties

and states. Our members

are some of the finest

concierges who are

empowered and dedicated to establish and

promote high professional and ethical

standards. Our mission is to encourage

friendship, communication and integrity

throughout the Philadelphia region, nationally

and internationally.”

“Since the early 2000s, the discourse about

the decline of French food has been oscillating

between satisfaction and sorrow: some cheer

that ever-arrogant France no longer produces

“the best cuisine in the world”—however

exaggerated that claim ever was—while

others simply mourn the loss. Much of the

concern revolves around the decline of haute

cuisine at the top and the invasion of fast-food

joints at the bottom, as if there were nothing

worth reporting between these two

extremes.” – Sophie Brissaud, “Food Arts”

In our November Restaurant Report, we talk

about the decline of high-end French

Restaurants, and yes, Chef Perrier is

mentioned. We realize that it’s time to allow

the man to retire in peace (if such a thing is

possible). And yes, it is time to move on, even

though we still find the man interesting.

The Restaurant Report

by Bob Bickell

Vetri in South Jersey; Catelli Duo;

Brasserie Perrier; and Ocean Prime.

Who would have thought that a Marc Vetri would

place an upscale restaurant in a South Jersey Mall?

But who would have thought that Vetri would

build two restaurants on Broad Street in North

Philadelphia?

I would also add who would have thought Vetri

would have a pizza joint (Pizzeria Vetri) on

Callowhill Street in Fairmont?

Of course the word “joint” doesn’t apply to

anything the Vetri people do, and some people

think of his Osteria simply as an upscale version of

an Olive Garden (obviously people who have never

dined at Osteria).

The short answer is that Marc Vetri and Company

can do whatever they want to do, and everything

they want to do ends-up as a winner. Quality in

every phase of their business is their secret (so to

speak). They take chances because they can, and

how many owners would even consider the

thought of opening in a shopping mall?

We’ll see what happens, and shortly we’ll see

what happens to yet another owner soon to open

his Distrito at the same mall.

Jose Garces is even getting ready to occupy the

former Old Original Bookbinder’s in Old City.

When you get on a roll, and when you have the

talent (and success) of a Jose Garces, you take

chances, simply because you can.

The big winner here is South Jersey. It’s been a

chain dominated restaurant community for far too

long, and an Osteria and a Distrito have to be a

welcome sight for the local folks who appreciate a

more serious (chef-driven) dining experience.

Catelli Duo While there might be a shortage of

outstanding independent restaurants in South

Jersey, there are still great independent

concepts, and Catelli Duo is the perfect

example.

After a 17-year run with Catelli Ristorante,

they wanted to make things even better.

Invariably, a restaurant that is planning to be

around for the long haul needs a great chef,

and Chef Lou Imbesi is one of the area’s best.

The addition of Chef Roberta Adamo makes it

even more interesting, and a visit to their site

will tell you everything you have to know.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words,

so we have included some photos to help

make our point.

Open seven days for Lunch & Dinner

with weekend Brunch

12101 Town Center Blvd.

Voorhees – 856-751-6069

WWW.CatelliDuo.com

You hate to see a great restaurant going out of

business, and closings have implications in terms of

the direction of a given restaurant community. This

one is most interesting because in my opinion, this

closing had so much to do with the most recent

closing only one block away.

Brasserie Perrier opened in 1997 and basically after

Chris Scarduzio took over the kitchen, this spot was

an amazing success. The people responded to a

more casual French-oriented presentation and a

very happening bar scene.

This restaurant officially closed on New Year’s Eve in

2008. The problem was presented as real estate

related as the owner of the property demanded a

more realistic deal regarding the rent. Of course,

the key owner of Brasserie Perrier was George

Perrier, the owner of Le Bec-Fin located only one

block away.

It’s important to note that in approximately 2004,

the classic French restaurants in New York were

closing, one after another. Places such as Lutece,

Chanterelle, and La Cote Basque closed their doors,

and in January of 2008, Daniel Boulud (a close

friend of Chef Perrier) opened a more casual French

Bistro called Bar Boulud. The writing was clearly on

the wall, but George was determined to keep his

high-end Le Bec-Fin going.

George was upset that many of his loyal customers

were attracted to the more casual Brasserie Perrier,

and he produced a situation where he was basically

competing against himself.

In a strange way, it is my belief that George was

simply not ready to accept the fact that the high-

end French restaurants were simply on their way

out. He didn’t fight the real estate issues, and with

some obvious problems, they could have moved

Brasserie Perrier to a new location (possibly even to

the building one block away that he owned).

Brasserie Perrier was precisely the perfect way to

go, and as I said before, look at the success of his

one-time top chef, Pierre Calmels of Bibou - one of

Philadelphia’s best (French) restaurants.

French food will always be, but the high-end

(expensive) French restaurants are basically

yesterday’s news. George had a great run of some

42 years, and it’s intriguing to consider the

possibility that if in 2008, he would have accepted

the French bistro idea, we would have avoided all

the craziness of the past few years.

Brasserie Perrier might still be happening.

Ocean Prime

The recently opened Ocean Prime is dazzling to say

the very least. Philadelphia marks the addition of

the 10th Ocean Prime from the popular Cameron

Mitchell chain.

It will be interesting to watch as Ocean Prime is

essentially a steakhouse, and located in a crowded

neighborhood with the likes of The Prime Rib, Del

Frisco’s, Morton’s, The Capital Grille, The Palm,

Butcher and Singer, Ruth’s Chris, and Barclay

Prime.

One thing is for sure, if you are a fan of ambiance,

Ocean Prime just might be your destination of

choice.

Ocean Prime

124 South 15th Street

215-563-0163

The Young Ben Franklin

BenFranklinToday.com

PRIME ARTS

The Museum Shop

Take advantage of extreme discounts on a multitude of Museum merchandise at our Underground Bazaar.

November 29th, 30th, and December 1st from 10am to 5pm, held in the rarely seen Vaulted Corridor underneath the Museum.

Choose from furniture, framed prints, giftware, note cards and much more - all at extraordinary savings. All sales are final; no additional discounts apply; and shoppers are responsible for transporting their purchases home.

Prime Travel…Italy

Here are 10 Reasons to

visit this amazing country…

Alberobello

Amalfi

Balbianello

Bergamo

Levanzo – Cala Dogana

Castelluccio di Norcia

Sempre – Castelluccio

Cattedrale di Pinerolo

Erice

Fusine – Laghi

Chiesa della Gran di Dio –

Torino

My definition of Peace……