Chris Painter

Serpico On Serpico: Some News On His Forthcoming Restaurant

Posted by Jason Sheehan on February 22nd, 2013

Hey, check it out! Some asshole New York writer made the long trek to the wilds of Philadelphia to check out the Peter Serpico/Chris Painter collaboration dinner at Il Pittore and get an interview with Serpico–in which he behaved like an asshole New Yorker.

If you can get past all the references to us being a bunch of dimwitted, white bread, big-box-restaurant-loving yokels with our mouths stuffed full of Buddakan potstickers, there’s actually some interesting stuff in there about what Serpico has planned for the new restaurant.

Read on…

Serpico’s Second Act [Bon Appetit]

Peter Serpico at Il Pittore

Posted by Jason Sheehan on February 21st, 2013

We dispatched photographer Kate Van Vleck to Il Pittore on Tuesday night to snap some shots of the Peter Serpico, Chris Painter collaboration dinner at Il Pittore. For those of you who don’t recall the hysteria that attended the announcement in September that Stephen Starr had apparently sold another piece of his soul to the devil in order to woo David Chang’s right-hand-man, Peter Serpico, away from his position in the Momofuku empire, let me assure you that it was a very big deal. Funny thing is, September was a long time ago, and since the announcement Serpico hasn’t really done…anything. Or at least nothing that really had his name attached to it.

This Painter/Serpico mashup at Il Pittore was really Serpico’s first public appearance in Philly. His coming out party, as it were. And from the looks of things, it went pretty well.

Check out the photos »

Painter and Serpico, Together for One Night at Il Pittore

Posted by Alex Tewfik on January 22nd, 2013

The similarities between the two chefs count little to none. Chef Chris Painter, a Pottsville, PA native, stands on eurocentric culinary grounds, masterfully crafting creative takes on modern Northern Italian cuisine at his namesake restaurant on Sansom Street. This, of course, being a relatively new venture after stepping away from his post as culinary director of Starr Restaurant Group.

Peter Serpico, on the other hand, was the culinary director for a different empire. He was the taste buds and visionary for the asian-inspired, edgy-yet-sophisticated menus spewing from David Chang’s Momofoku empire—an empire that has dotted the culinary map of New York, Sydney, and Toronto. So what do they have in common besides once being culinary directors for successful restaurant groups?

Tasting Menu Launches at Il Pittore

Posted by Alex Tewfik on November 14th, 2012

Chef Chris Painter has put together a six-course tasting menu option for his Sansom Street restaurant, Il Pittore. Although the regular menu is designed in a way that you can “create your own tasting menu”, the six-course option will feature seasonally inspired ingredients and dishes. The menu is $100 and the chef asks that all members of the table participate in the tasting.

The full menu after the jump »

Three Stars for Il Pittore

Posted by Foobooz on January 31st, 2012

Trey Popp’s second review in this months Philadelphia magazine has praise for Chris Painter, who lays it on the line at Il Pittore.

Painter’s slow-cooked meats are all the silkiness you need. There are veal cheeks here with buttered beef marrow, blood-orange marmalade melting into them in a dance of citric tang and sweetness—the best I’ve ever had. So, too, the four-day suckling pig: cured, basted, boned, pressed flat under weights, and finally coaxed to a crisp-skinned perfection. No two ways about it: The guy has a way with baby mammals.

Three Stars – Excellent

Il Pittore – The Hard Sell [Philadelphia magazine]
Il Pittore [Official Site]

Three Bells for Il Pittore

Posted by Foobooz on January 23rd, 2012

Chris Painter finally has a stage to call his own and Craig LaBan likes what he sees at Il Pittore.

The octopus was both tender and delicately crisped over arugula puree and the zesty pickle of baby peppers. The meaty orata fillet with minced olives and fregola sarda was like tasting the Mediterranean. The rosemary-scented lamb shank came over mashed potatoes tweaked with subtle hazelnut warmth. But the other braised meats were the real showstoppers: amazingly tender veal cheeks over earthy buckwheat polenta topped with marrow butter and blood-orange marmalade; and a slow-cooked suckling pig and Tuscan kale and pear mostarda, the meat practically melting beneath its cracker-crisp skin and eliciting an actual “wow.”

Three Bells – Excellent

Il Pittore [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Il Pittore [Official Site]

Food Struggles to Justify the Tally at Il Pittore

Posted by Foobooz on December 22nd, 2011

Adam Erace visits Il Pittore to try Chris Painter’s food at his own restaurant (the Starr director of menu development finally has a place of his own). Erace laments the slip-ups and the lack of value.

Painter gives octopus-and-potato salad, the classic found in Italian port cities, an inspired twist. Tentacles get simmered in white wine, cooked sous-vide for 10 hours and crisped in a blazing cast-iron pan before rendezvousing with buttery poached fingerlings and pickled bell peppers in a column that rises from a pool of zippy arugula purée. Crunchy and soft, smoky and bright, rich and austere, this antipasto packs multiple flavor and texture contradictions, and I loved it.

I also loved the savory spin on the classic Christmas cookies, pizzelles. Speckled with rosemary, parsley and thyme, the thin, emerald-tinted waffle crisps were effective crostini for Painter’s custardy foie gras mousse served with spice-warmed lambrusco and apple-Prosecco jellies.

A Fresh Coat [City Paper]
Il Pittore [Official Site]

Noble Closes, Replaced By Starr’s Il Pittore

Posted by Foobooz on August 15th, 2011

Yesterday Noble American Cookery owner Todd Rodgers sent out an email stating Noble was closing immediately and the business was being sold to Stephen Starr. Rodgers and co-owner Bruno Pouget had seen a sizable uptick in business but not without adding additional personal funds to the endeavor.

Within the last few weeks an offer was made by the Starr Restaurant Organization (SRO) to lease the building for a Fall restaurant opening. Michael Klein reports it will be Chris Painter’s Italian Il Pittore.Painter is currently Starr’s Corporate Chef assisting in numerous SRO openings from Angelina to more recently Pizzeria Stella and Frankford Hall.

Rodgers and Pouget own the building and will continue to do so. Rodgers says he’s “worked very hard with Starr Management to ensure that our staff be strongly considered for positions within their company.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Marc Vetri Says To Ditch The Olive Oil, Plus More Grilling Tips From Philly’s Top Chefs

Posted by Victor Fiorillo on July 1st, 2011

Burnt chicken. Overcooked steaks. Singed eyebrows. Grilling can be a real pain, and it’s a lot of work. Plus, you know that if Uncle Harry’s rib eye isn’t perfect, he’s going to be kvetching about it until Labor Day. To give you a fighting chance, we checked in with some of the city’s best chefs to find out what to do — and what not to do — to make your cookout killer. Happy 4th!

Read the rest of this entry »

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