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Dear Friend,
We announce the arrival of Executive Chef Damon Menapace, invite you to East Passyunk Restaurant Week, and introduce you to one of our friends studying and writing about southern Italy.
Sincerely,
Francis Cratil
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Le Virtù and Brigantessa
: Welcoming Executive Chef Damon Menapace
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The mission always comes first at Le Virtù. No matter who helms our kitchen, Abruzzo and its rustic traditions are the stars. But it takes the right person in the kitchen, the right leader and staff to honor those traditions and bring something vibrant and essential to our neighborhood, the city and its dining scene. We are both fortunate and excited to welcome Chef Damon Menapace to Le Virtù. Damon will be the Executive Chef at both Le Virtù and Brigantessa.
Damon comes to us after opening and running Fishtown's Kensington Quarters for the past three years. There, he established a citywide reputation for eclectic, fun, and above all delicious menus with broad appeal and no pretense. His butchering skills, which informed an integral part of KQ's identity, are known throughout Philly and will allow us to expand our menu and commitment to sustainable and locally raised meats. And his meat-curing skills will be a major focus. Damon made his bones in the Vetri family, working as a Sous Chef at Osteria and then opening Alla Spina as its original head chef. Damon's roots are in rustic Italian cooking (and his familial line traces to "the boot" as well). His arrival at Le Virtù represents his desire to fully explore his passion for the simple, ingredient-driven cuisine of rural Italy.
We've long been a fan of Damon's work. His direct, unpretentious approach fits well with the region we try to honor. His imagination, openness, and enthusiasm for our mission also promises a fresh, vibrant, and fun direction. Restaurants should be fun. We look forward to exploring Abruzzese cuisine through his perspective, events featuring wine makers and other purveyors from Abruzzo, and collaborations with Damon's friends in the city's varied kitchens. He will also be working with Brigantessa Chef de Cuisine Adam Taylor to bring new southern Italian flavors to our diners there.
Damon takes the wheel this coming week.
We also wish Chef Joseph Voller the best: Joseph helped us turn a corner, move forward and grow, and we were proud to proffer his cuisine. He planned and prepared a very memorable Panarda. Joseph will refocus his efforts in the Princeton area, where he can spend more quality time with his growing family.
1927 E. Passyunk Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19148
215.271.5626
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Le Virtù and Brigantessa
: East Passyunk Avenue Restaurant Week
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(Maccheroni alla chitarra, lamb ragu' from Le Virtu'; photo by Kateri Likoudis)
East Passyunk Avenue (EPA) is celebrating its sixth annual
Restaurant Week. So much has changed since we opened Le Virtù in October 2007 to the sound of one hand clapping! EPA is now not only one of the city's most vibrant restaurant corridors, it's attained national attention and boasts an unrivaled mix of regional and international cuisines. We are very proud to proffer cuisines based on the provenence of some of this neighborhood's earliest inhabitants, the regions that comprised historical southern Italy. So please come to Le Virtù and Brigantessa to taste the flavors of the diaspora that formed the foundation of EPA.
(NOTE: we are not participating on Friday/Saturday and, as always, our regular a la carte menus will be available during Restaurant Week.)
(Gnocchi Calabresi from Brigantessa; photo by Kateri Likoudis)
For menus, schedules and to reserve for EPA Restaurant Week:
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Le Virtù and Brigantessa
: Writings on Southern Italy
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It's our opinion that a restaurant inspired by the cultures of a specific place and people needs to maintain meaningful contact with both. That's why it's our practice to travel when we can to the places that inspire us, from Abruzzo to Calabria, and to bring along staff members whenever possible. Seeing a place, tasting its food, and meeting its people can be a transformative experience, and we think it translates in the kitchen and dining room.
But our restaurants have also allowed us the opportunity to meet some extraordinary people who are also inspired by, connected to, and informed about southern Italy. Learning from our guests is a serendipitous perk to operating the restaurants. When we can, we'll be sharing their stories and projects with you. These won't always be stories about food, but you can't separate food from culture.
Lace-making Maestra Melina and her niece
Joan Saverino is a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania and a historian with familial roots in Calabria and Sicilia. Her upbringing in West Virginia as well as her ties to southern Italy strongly inform her perspective and work. Joan sent us this rather moving piece from her blog a few weeks ago. About a 100-year-old lace maker in Calabria, it touches on one of the traditions that have sustained and informed southern-Italian culture for centuries, have miraculously persisted, but which seem endangered. It speaks to the creativity, intelligence, and perseverence of one woman, but also to traits common among women in the South. And it also illuminates the sorts of connections and meaningful exchanges the South seems to engender. Enjoy:
http://bloggers.iitaly.org/bloggers/41635/maestra-melina-100-lace-maker-calabria-italy
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