Vetri - The Best Italian Restaurant in the Country

Having recently reread Alan Richman’s article “Is This the Best Italian Restaurant in America?” in September issue of Bon Appetit, I felt compelled to comment. Reading this article brought a smile to face since Vetri is my favorite restaurant in Philadelphia (for those of you who haven’t yet heard me sing its praises). I could not agree more with Richman’s conclusion although he fails to make a completely explicit case.

So the question is why is Vetri my favorite restaurant and the best Italian restaurant in the country? What makes it so special that it warrants so much attention? Is it really worth the high price of admission? And why is it my favorite restaurant when Italian food ranks so low on list of preferred cuisines?

Here’s why:

• Menu Uniqueness – Nowhere else will you see dishes such as “stuffed squid with sweet English pea ragu”, handmade “almond tortellini with white truffle sauce”, and their signature dessert “gelato with chocolate shell and warm olive oil”. The stuffed squid consists of rolled calamari steaks stuffed with purred calamari and topped with an English pea ragu. The almond tortellini is simultaneously sweet and savory and exhibits a perfect balance between almonds, pasta, and truffle sauce. The gelato is presented in a cup with a thin layer of chocolate covering the top. The hot olive oil is then poured on top thus melting the chocolate and encasing the gelato. It’s quite a site to behold if you have never seen it.
  

• Best Seamless Small Dining Room Experience – Vetri’s setting is intimate and very romantic. Moreover the service is seamless. You are always perfectly taken care yet you never once feel as if you are being waited on. Dishes appear and empty plates disappear. Guidance through the menu is always informative and helpful. You feel completely at home despite the fact that you are out at a restaurant in downtown Philadelphia. Every restaurant should take lessons from the service at Vetri since it is the very definition of perfectly attentive service that is neither overbearing nor stuffy in any way. Craig LaBan of the Philadelphia Inquirer has made similar comments before and he is completely correct.
  

• Consistency and Food Quality – The ingredients, food preparation, and service are always perfect. Period.
  

• Charm / History – What better place for an intimate, romantic Italian restaurant than the brownstone that gave rise to the world famous Le Bec-Fin. Just a few blocks away from Broad Street, Vetri is located right in Philadelphia’s cultural and culinary center.
  

• Marc Vetri – His creativity, technical precision, and attention to detail are a gift to the culinary world.