A few weeks ago I went to dinner at Amis in Philadelphia. As I said before, the Chef/Owner, Marc Vetri, has two other restaurants in Philadelphia, Vetri (his first and most expensive) & Osteria (his second restaurant–still expensive, but not as much as Vetri). I have been to Osteria quite a few times and it is definitely my favorite restaurant in Philadelphia. For my birthday, Todd took me out to dinner at Vetri! This was the first time either of us have ever eaten here and we had nothing but good things to say about it. In fact, some have claimed Vetri to be the ‘best Italian restaurant in America’. The only problem is that Vetri is very expensive, so this is not a restaurant to visit on a regular basis…unless, of course, you are loaded.
Vetri is a very small restaurant. It probably only seats about 13 tables.
When we first got there, we were taken to our seats and each offered a glass of Prosecco (in case you don’t know, Prosecco is a dry sparkling Italian wine made from a variety of white grapes).
Todd checking out the wine list & our glasses of Prosecco.
I thought the menus were pretty cool.
Shortly after, our waitress offered us a choice of bread, Focaccia or Tuscan White. The first time around I went with the Focaccia and the second time around I chose the Tuscan White. Both were delicious but I enjoyed the Focaccia more. The bread was served with olive oil & olives that were soaking in the olive oil.
The Sommelier of Vetri came to our table to see what we wanted to drink with dinner. Todd went with an Italian beer and I ultimately went with the sommelier’s suggestion based on what wine paired best with the food I ordered–which was a Lambrusco. I don’t know much about wine, but I would describe it as a slightly bubbly, dry Italian red wine. This wine had a very light taste to it and I ended up really enjoying it. I don’t think I would have ever ordered it if it had not been suggested to me.
(I’m apologizing ahead of time–the pictures are not that great because the lighting was pretty bad and I am not a great photographer)
To start, Todd & I ordered two dishes to share…
Vetri's famous Spinach Gnocchi with Shaved Ricotta and Brown Butter.
These were so, so good. They were so light and very spianchy. Loved them. This an item that is always on the menu.
The other starter we ordered was…
Artichoke salad with arugula and parmesan.
This picture is really terrible…you can thank Todd. Thankfully, it tasted one hundred times better than it looks here. This item is not always on their menu…it will change seasonally. This was really, really delicious. I am a huge fan of artichokes so I loved this. I would really love to recreate this at home.
For the main part of my meal, I ordered two half plates of pasta. I couldn’t decide between these two pastas and I thought it was a good idea to order half portions of each so I was able to taste more on the menu!
My two half portions of two different Pasta dishes.
My favorite of the two was the one on the right…Fettuccine with Morels. This dish was supposed to come with Roasted Sweetbreads (no these are not a type of bread, these are glands of animals), but I opted to leave them out.
Fettuccine with Morels.
Once again, I am sorry about the TERRIBLE quality of the photo. Oh well. In case you didn’t know, Morels are Wild Mushrooms…and according to Todd are only available for a very limited amount of time throughout the year. I absolutely loved this dish. There’s just something great about pasta and mushrooms…particularly homemade, fresh pasta.
The other half dish of pasta I ordered was the Spaghetti with dungeness crab and favas.
This dish was more light and refreshing in comparison to the Fettuccine with Morels. While this dish was still delicious, I did enjoy the other pasta better.
Todd ordered the Guinea Hen Breast stuffed with prosciutto served with Mushrooms…
I did not taste this, but Todd looked like he was in heaven eating it.
Another entree that looked really delicious was the Salt Crusted Whole Roasted Branzino with truffle sauce and brussels sprouts. This dish is created for a minimum of 2 people. Maybe if I ever go back I will order this!
We ended the night with two delicious desserts. Todd also ordered Espresso and I ordered Tea.
I ordered the Chocolate Polenta Souffle with Vanilla Gelato.
This was warm with a gooey center. Very, very delicious. Enjoyed every bite.
Todd ordered a dessert that I unfortunately can’t remember the name of. It was called Blueberry….something with an “S”. I believe it was warm and it was served with a yogurt panna cotta.
Once again, terrible picture. Todd’s dessert was really, really good. I loved the yogurt panna cotta.
Well…the food was outstanding. All of our plates tonight resembled this one…
Yum. Thanks so much Todd for taking me to Vetri. I had an amazing time.
Todd looking like he is having a blast.
Can't keep my eyes open.
If you live in the Philadelphia area or are ever in town, I would highly recommend visiting one of Marc Vetri’s three restaurants.
Thursday night I am actually going out with my family to his other restaurant, Osteria. Both my Mom and Todd made reservations at two of Marc Vetri’s restaurants to celebrate my birthday…how lucky am I?
food, fit & fun 