Where Colin Ate: Torrisi + Philly For The Day
In which our columnist finds what might be his new favorite cheesesteak spot
Colin Camac (aka @resyguynyc) is officially Blackbird’s “Strategic Sales Lead,” and unofficially is our resident insider’s insider. He is out, on the town seven nights a week, sniffing out the city’s best joints, skateboard in one hand, martini in the other.
Last week was packed to the gills with great restaurants, and it was spread out over three—three!—cities. So I’m going to do things a little differently this week. Below, you’ll find my report from a belated birthday meal here in NYC, plus the highlights from a day trip to Philly. The rest of my report comes from a few days spent in Charleston, SC, which is truly an elite—not to mention a personal favorite—restaurant town. I’ll save that report for a Sunday long read as it goes DEEP. So make sure to check your inboxes this weekend for a bonus addition.
Colin
Torrisi
📍Soho
🍽️ Italian-American
As hard as it is to get into, and it is a pain, Torrisi is one of the best meals in NYC. If you can’t score a dinner reservation, then fancy lunch here is definitely the cheat code with a very similar menu. Fortunately, on this particular night, I was able to pull every string I had so that my mother could take me to a three-month belated birthday dinner. I know people have strong opinions on Major Food Group, but for me as someone who has been in and around the business for as long as I have, I marvel at how well they have scaled. You go anywhere they are located and you are going to get a high quality meal and usually a great experience. Torrisi seems to be the one outlier in their portfolio that isn’t meant for scale though — it is a perfect restaurant for a very specific place and time. Torrisi is how the empire started. Before there was Carbone, and even MFG for that matter, there were two guys trying to do something special in Soho as a fully Italian-American restaurant with all domestic ingredients. Prix fixe menu only for an affordable price (I believe the original menu was a three or four-course for $45). The restaurant was walk-in only when it opened and was a dual concept of full service at night and a quick serve Italian sandwich shop during the day. The sandwich shop eventually turned into what is now the Parm empire, and Torrisi as it was closed. After many years and many restaurants opened, the team decided to revamp the old Chef’s Club space just one block north of their original location and make a whole new version of Torrisi. History of the brand aside, this has been consistently one of my favorite restaurants since it opened. The menu stays fairly consistent year round, which gives you the opportunity to have non-negotiable favorites, but the specials board usually has a few gems worth ordering. On this night we ordered a scungilli pasta from the specials board — rich with garlic and the added texture of the scungilli was more than welcome. I order pretty consistently here with slight variations based on who I am dining with. Mom and I started with the ham and zeppoles (a must) and went onto the endive salad, both of which are standout dishes for me. For pasta we had the previously mentioned scungilli as well as the linguini with pink clam sauce that is always a winner. Last but not least, another must order, the tortellini pomodoro, which I think is one of the most deceptively simple dishes that never quite tastes as good anywhere else. For main portions we went with the chicken (it really is a great chicken) as well as the Dover Sole Francese, which is a fun play on the normal “insert protein” Francese that you can get at any number of Italian restaurants around town. To finish, we ordered the affogato sunday, which comes with an ice cream then hot fudge layer and is topped with frozen coffee granita. Though a bit of a sleeper, my personal favorite has to be their fantastic frozen yogurt.
Day Trip to Philly …
Del Rossi’s Cheesesteak & Pizza Co.
📍Northern Liberties
🍽️ Italian-American
I was in Philly for a day trip last Monday to go to the Philly Chef Conference, which is a great industry event that goes all weekend long and usually has a great turnout. On Monday the event had around five sessions with a few seminars and Q&As from chefs and food personalities alike. During the lunch portion (which is catered and better than it has to be) a friend and I decided to forgo the crazy lines and crush of people in the main area and instead opted to grab a car to check out Del Rossi’s, one of the cheesesteak spots in town that has recently been getting a ton of buzz. The first choice and reigning champ in my book is always Angelo’s, but I’ve been before, they are always insanely busy, and also closed on Mondays, so it was a perfect time to try something new from my list. We walked into a very tech-forward looking shop with a touch screen for self-serve ordering as well as three to four registers for days when there are crowds. They also have a small dining area in the back so you can dine in as well, which is pretty rare from my experience. To our surprise and luck there was absolutely no line at all and we were able to order immediately and had a cheesesteak delivered to our table within about ten minutes. We ordered the long hot steak “wit” onions that adds chopped long hot peppers in with the steak to give it an extra hit of spice. By default the steak comes with the current king of steak cheeses: cooper sharp, which is essentially a better white American cheese that melts perfectly. The sandwich was about as close to perfect as you can get. My only gripe would be that I would have preferred a bit more heat from the long hot, but I did really enjoy how it was chopped into the sandwich. The highlight was possibly the best sandwich bread I have ever had, sesame seeded, brown and crispy on the outside with the perfect chew on the inside. The bread really set this one apart for me. Next time I am in town, I would love to do a side by side with Angelo’s as this is a real contender.
My Loup
📍Rittenhouse Square
🍽️ French
An old colleague of mine was also at the conference and invited me to join his reservation at My Loup, which is the sister restaurant of Her Place Supper Club and comes from the husband and wife team of Alex Kemp and Amanda Shulman. The pair came to Philly after working in Montreal with some of my favorite people at the Joe Beef/Mon Lapin restaurants. I must admit I hadn’t done much research on the restaurant before dining there, but everyone I spoke to had only the best things to say. Immediately after entering the restaurant I knew it was going to be a place that I enjoyed. The room felt comfortable and confident with little nods to the feel of Joe Beef, like the wallpaper and pictures and books along the walls. The look of the place is hard to replicate in a place like NYC where most restaurant spaces are part of larger buildings and a bit cookie cutter. The restaurant had a real feel and character, which I loved. I met Chef Alex when he came into the dining room to greet a few tables and he stopped by and chatted with us a bit before the big rush (we had a 5 p.m. res before the train), which is always a nice touch. I ordered the house 50/50 which I highly recommend and ended up being a perfect pair for the caviar with scallion cream cheese on a house English muffin that they sent out to get us started. Other highlights of the meal for me were the razor clams with cucumber yogurt and dill, the chicories (always) with cheddar and apple, and the chicken with boudin blanc stuffed morels. My favorite dish of the night, though, was a boudin noir apple pie with calvados that rode the line of sweet and savory in a beautiful way. For dessert we ordered the Banoffee Sundae which was delicious, but we were also lucky enough to be sent out the rhubarb frangipane tart with a nice dollop of sour cream that sent it over the top. A great meal to end the quick trip out of town.