The man who brings us the best branzino in town sits down with Street to tell us about his Italian food empire. The Philly native and Drexel alum worked nights in the White Dog and New Deck kitchens; who knew he’d be serving some of the finest dining in Philly a few years later? Marc Vetri — chef of Vetri and Osteria, a James Beard winner and a Food and Wine Best Chef of the Year — tells us about his plans for expansion, Italian inspiration and his gastronomic preferences.
Street: We’ve heard rumors of a new trattoria in the works. Are these rumors true? Marc Vetri: Yes, Amis. It will be a Roman-style neighborhood trattoria — real rustic, real neighborhood-y. The same style food but a little bit younger… just real simple food.
Street: When did you create our favorite Vetri dish, almond tortellini? What inspired the flavor profile? MV: My first couple years here. We had something similar to it in [northern] Italy on one of our trips there, and we started to mess around with it. We used to use ricotta with the almonds, and then we started cooking rice and puréeing that up and mixing almonds into it. That was really neat.
Street: What is one ingredient you cannot live without? MV: I love working with artichokes. Little ones or big ones, it doesn’t matter.
Street: What is your favorite kitchen tool? MV: I hate to be dull, but my hands.
Street: How would a sous chef describe you in the kitchen? MV: Definitely not hotheaded — level-headed for sure. I find you can get a lot more out of people by just explaining things instead of yelling.
Street asked two sous chefs to see what they thought... Sous Chefs: [He’s] a bad ass motherfucker. He’s a great teacher — very patient and very good at motivating people. He teaches us to work hard and enjoy what we do.
Street: Do you have a favorite meal? MV: Meals are more about who you spend them with than what you eat.
