First Person Arts

Rick Nichols, food writer for the Inquirer, led an enthusiastic gaggle of diners up and down East Passyunk Ave last night taking in some of the fantastic new restaurants and saluting the classics.

The night started at Paradiso (1627 Passyunk Ave, right near Tasker) with a melt-in-your mouth short-rib braciola over polenta with a veal stock gravy.  Chef and owner Lynn Rinaldi noted that the veal stock gravy was a departure from her mother’s traditional red.  We were upstairs for the event, and it easily accommodated our crowd of almost 60 people!  The downstairs dining room was lovely and quiet except when we were hauling our gear in and out…Sorry if you were eating there last night.

From there, the scrum moved down the block past Izumi–a Sushi restaurant on Passyunk!–and made a quick stop at Artisan Boulanger Patissier at 1648 S. 12th St.

We breezed through the delightful Cantina Los Cabalitos at 1651 E. Passyunk.  Chef Christian Decker piled tortillas wilth barbecued goat, cilantro and lime for the meat eaters and offered a vegetarian taco with roasted corn, calabasa, mushroom and a pickled onion Salad.

Moving south towards Tre Scalini (1915 E Passyunk Ave), the crowd peeked in the windows at Marra’s, and Rick Nichols was heckled by a passer-by for not stopping in for pizza (Marra’s was closed, or we would’ve!).   Fortunately, it was resolved that Marra’s had the “best pizza in town” before the situation escalated.

At Tre Scalini–a Molise restaurant–Chef Mara treated us to an eggplant neopolitan, her signature broccoli rabe over poleta and plenty of wine!

Next was a quick jog up the street to Phil Mancuso’s cheese shop, Lucio Mancuso & Son (1902 E. Passyunk Ave).  We were worried he might not be open, but within moments he was ready for us with a taste of the unbelievable Ricotta cheese he makes in these enormous copper-lined vats in the basement.  As it turns out, Phil’s also an accomplished opera singer who holds forth from time to time at the High Note Cafe.  Judging from a brief impromptu aria, that’ll be worth checking out at some point.

For our second-to-last course, we shambled on down to the stunning Le Virtu at 1927 E. Passyunk Ave.  Occupying something like four lots, the grounds include a grassy picnic area, an expansive terrace, and two separate dining rooms inside.  Absolutely lovely.  Chef Luciano Spurio specializes in cuisine from the Abruzzi region of Italy which last night included fried meat-stuffed olives (chicken, beef AND pork) and a light timbali similar to a lasagna but made with crepes instead of pasta.  As a special treat, the band Discanto (on tour from Abruzzi!) serenaded the assembled tour.

And finally, we moved on to the last stop of the evening at the beautiful and newly expanded home of Philadelphia Scooters!  Running the gauntlet of scooters outside the new spot at 1735 E. Passyunk made it feel like we were ending up at a great little Italian sidewalk cafe, and the coffee and mini canoli completed the effect.  If you thought Vespa was the only scooter in the game, you have to check out the variety they’ve got here, in some pretty cool colors.  Apparently, the shelving and decorations will go up today, so swing by soon to get the full picture, and you can keep up with them on their blog!

Thanks to everyone who came out for Edible World: East Passyunk!  If you’d like to reproduce the experience yourself, here’s Rick Nichols’ crudely drawn map of our travels, replete with gravy stain:

Tonight, the First Person Festival moves to the Painted Bride at 230 Vine Street.  Online ticketing is closed for tonight’s events, but tickets will be available at the door:

The Complaint Choir performs at 6pm FREE

Best Impressions showcases our national memoir, documentary and photo competition winners at 7pm ($10)

Actors perform the stories of undocumented workers in Underground America at 8:30pm ($15) followed by a discussion with writer Peter Orner and a panel of experts.