TREDICI IS CHIC

One of the things about working at the location I do now, is that I'm a hop, skip, and jump from downtown Philadelphia. I find myself able to go and meet friends who livei n the city more frequently now. During the week, I mostly cook at home, but I'll allow myself one night to eat out and enjoy a happy hour or three. Last night after work, I met a reader of mine Cello Josh. We met three times before at concerts for Well Strung, but this was a spur of the moment get together and I was dying to hear all about his symphony trip he had the pleasure to go. Our symphony here is extremely talented, and they just went on tour to Paris, Hamburg, Vienna, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. With Philly also having a ton of new restaurants opening like crazy, it was like where to go. Philly is a huge foodie's heaven. The number of dinning establishments is getting staggering. But I suggested Tredici. Boy...mama is here to tell you, we were not disappointed. And it was right in the gayborhood. Note the pride flag on the street signs above. Cool right?

While Zavino might be the darling of 13th and Sansom, her little sister  showed up in town, and you should really meet her. From the outside, the light spilling from Tredici’s windows was cool and white, and the glass appeared to be sweating. We could see the crowd—at the bar, clustering around the host’s stand. Inside, it was a wall of noise, like stepping into the middle of a party that’s been going on without you for a good long time. We were lucky. We snagged the only open table on the floor.

Tredici might pitch itself as an Italian restaurant, but that’s just style. That’s just putting on a fancy scarf, smoking Gauloises and calling yourself French even though you were born and raised in Kalamazoo. Most of the best things about Tredici aren’t Italian at all. That five-dollar half-pour of Terrapura sauvignon blanc? It’s from Chile.  Half-glass pours are genius. They’re not rare or anything. There are plenty of restaurants out there who do them. But at Tredici—with its globe-trotting menu and broad spectrum of influences—the half-glass thing makes a particular kind of sense. First, they’re cheap. The highest price for a half-glass is $10—and that’s for a half-pour of 2004 Dom Perignon. Most of the prices hover closer to the $5-to-$6 range. And Tredici isn’t pouring light...my kind of place dears.

And the food was amazing!!!!! We basically got the same thing.

Mediterranean board

Roasted Cauliflower

Pana Cotta

The best coffee I've had in ages.

And the bartenders are phenomenal. I sank about four of these before dinner. A Gin and Elderflower with a splash of juice, hint of cucumber, and garnished with little flowers!

I'm pretty sure this will be my new favorite place in Philly. At least from what I remember. The interior was cool and chic, good vibes all over, and excellent food and service. And Josh the only I problem was with the table legs and their position? He said he kept grabbing the leg because it was in the way. I said hon, that 's not the table leg. 

Or maybe I was just drunk?