Townsend
Rittenhouse Square
2121 Walnut Street
(267) 639-3203
© NEAL SANTOS
In the 1990s, the three-story building at 1623 East Passyunk was home to Rose Lena’s, a European-style cafe where wannabe Rosses and Rachels could sip mochas and Italian sodas on puffy armchairs. In 2009, as the kindling of a revitalization on Passyunk began to catch fire, the space became Michael’s Cafe, a breakfast-and-lunch joint straddling the old neighborhood and the new, followed by Salt & Pepper and Sophia in quick succession. By the time Sophia closed, those early flames were a full-blown interno of activity on the Avenue, and a biochemist-turned-chef named Townsend “Tod” Wentz wanted in.
“I first took interest in East Passyunk when Lee Styer moved Fond from its original location and Joncarl Lachman was opening Noord. While I was looking for space, Chris Kearse signed the Will location and Nick Elmi opened Laurel in Fond’s original spot,” says Wentz. “With that many talented chefs joining the restaurants already on the Avenue, we felt it was a great community to be a part of.” Coming from Cherry Street Tavern in Center City, Wentz signed a lease for the Sophia space, renovated the whole building (much of it himself), and opened his first restaurant, Townsend, with white-clothed dining rooms on two floors and bar in front that would become an incubator of local cocktail culture as well as a late-night industry magnet.
In the following years, Wentz has grown into a full-fledged restaurant group, with A Mano in Fairmount, Oloroso in Center City, and more projects in the works. (Wentz is allergic to sitting still.) But Townsend remains the home base—albeit in a new home in Rittenhouse Square where he continues to weave together a mastery of French technique, an eye for contemporary presentation, and just the right amount of borrowing from the global pantry. His sauces deserve their own cookbook: tarragon veal jus, curry vermouth cream, Pernod creme anglaise. You want to drink them from a Champagne coupe. “This is the food I was trained in while working with Jean-Marie Lacroix [at Lacroix at the Rittenhouse hotel]: unabashedly French, elegant, just ‘so,’ yet still comfortable and without pretense.”
COTE DE BOEUF FOR TWO WITH BASQUAISE PANZANELLA
At Townsend, chef-owner Tod Wentz shows a deft touch with delicate creatures like rabbits, scallops and snails, but when he decided to put on a steak on the menu, he went big. “I thought to myself, if I’m going to do beef, it’s got to be côte de boeuf,” Wentz says. “For the French, it’s classic.” At 32 ounces, this bone-in rib steak serves two or more, but it’s so delicious you might want to keep it all to yourself.
For the Madeira jus:
2 pounds beef shanks
1 yellow onion, thickly sliced
2 carrots, roughly chopped
2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
2 pounds tomatoes, cored and roughly chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
¼ cup sherry vinegar
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon Madeira, divided
1 quart veal stock
3 sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
For the panzanella:
½ loaf sourdough bread, cubed
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
Kosher salt
Black pepper
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1 tablespoon Espelette pepper, plus more finishing
¼ cup Oloroso sherry
¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
4 roasted red bell peppers, peeled, seeded, and sliced into strips
3 sprigs thyme
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 English cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
½ red onion, diced
Maldon salt
For the steak:
1 (2)-pound dry-aged, bone-in rib-eye, trimmed and tied, at room temperature
Maldon salt
Kosher salt
Black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, smashed
3 sprigs thyme
3 ounces unsalted butter
To prepare the jus: Set a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and sear the beef shanks on both sides until browned, about 10−14 minutes. Add the vegetables and cook until slightly caramelized, about 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste and mustard cook until caramelized onto bottom of the pan, about 4 minutes. Deglaze with the vinegar and cook until evaporated. Add ½ cup of the Madeira and reduce by half. Add the thyme, bay leaf, and peppercorns and return the beef shanks to the pan. Add the veal stock, cover, and cook until shanks are fork-tender, about 2½ hours. Strain off the jus and reserve at room temperature until serving.
To prepare the panzanella: While the shanks are cooking, make the croutons for the panzanella. Set a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the bread cubes and half the olive oil and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden-brown all over, about 12 minutes. Remove from pan, season with salt and pepper, and reserve.
Make the peppers for the panzanella. Set a medium pan over medium heat and add the remaining olive oil and onions. Cook until the onions are translucent, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Add both paprika and Espelette pepper. Reduce the heat to low and cook until they begin sticking to the bottom of the pan. Deglaze with the sherry and cook until evaporated. Add ¼ cup of the vinegar and cook until evaporated. Add the roasted peppers and thyme. Season with salt to taste and continue to cook until until the onions and peppers are soft. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.
To prepare the steak: Preheat the oven to 425°F. Liberally season the steak with both salts and pepper. Set a cast-iron skillet over high heat and allow it to preheat for 3 minutes. Add the vegetable oil and continue to preheat for 2 more minutes. Sear the steak on one side for 7 minutes, then flip and transfer the skillet to the oven. Roast until the steak interior registers 122°F on an instant-read thermometer, about 12 minutes. Remove the skillet from the oven and set it over low heat on the stove. Add the garlic, thyme, and butter to the skillet and baste the steak until aromatic, about 3 minutes. Transfer the steak to a cooling rack and allow to rest for 8 minutes.
While the steak is resting, bring ½ cup of the reserved jus up to a simmer over medium heat. Add the Madeira and whisk in the butter off the heat. Reserve warm for serving. Meanwhile, finish the panzanella. Combine the reserved Basquaise peppers in a large mixing bowl with the reserved croutons, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, and the remaining sherry vinegar. Season with Espelette and salt to taste and toss to combine.
Carve the rested steak into thick slices and arrange on a serving platter with the panzanella. Drizzle the warm Madeira jus over the steak and serve immediately.
CRAVINGS: PIZZA
Philly wasn’t always a great pizza town. There was a time, pre-2010, that our dearth of quality pies was a favorite citizen gripe right up there with dearth of quality parking. The first wave of solid pizzas landed shortly before this book was first published: Stella, Barbuzzo (page 9), Zavino, Osteria (page 82), et. al. following the Neapolitan-ish trend trickling down from New York (via Naples). The city’s pizza scene (and pizza eaters) have undergone a long fermentation, if you will, and collectively we’ve come out that aging more opinionated about and more obsessed with hydration percentages, wheat sourcing and milling, and oven style. These are the pizzerias to visit now.
Pizzeria Beddiaby
1313 North Lee Street, Philadelphia, PA 19122 (267) 928-2256
Pizzaiolo: Joe Beddia
Neighborhood: Fishtown
Credentials: Joe Beddia’s tiny and quirky original pizzeria was named the best in the country by Bon Appétit and closed in 2018; after a gap year he reopened with the Suraya (page 159) team as partners in a huge new space, expanded menu, and smart natural wine program.
Style: Round neo-New York
Pie to Try: #1 (tomatoes, mozzarella, Royer Mountain cheese) with pickled chiles
© GETTY IMAGES
Angelo’s Pizzeria
736 S 9th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147 angelospizzeriasouthphiladelphia.com
Pizzaiolo: Danny DiGiampietro
Neighborhood: Bella Vista
Credentials: After operating an outstanding pizzeria of the same name in Haddonfield, New Jersey in relative obscurity, Danny DiGiampietro (an in-law to the famous Sarcone baking dynasty) relocated the shop to his native South Philly.
Style: New York round as default, with cameos by grandma and Sicilian pan
Pie to Try: Upside Down Jawn
Circles + Squares
2513 Tulip Street, Philadelpia, PA 19125 (215) 309-3342
Pizzaiolo: Daniel Gutter
Neighborhood: Kensington
Credentials: Daniel Gutter so enraptured the city’s right-angle aficionados with his Pizza Gutt pop-up, it was only a matter of time before he spun-off into a permanent brick-and-mortar pizzeria.
Style: Originally crusty-edged Detroit, with recent additions of New York rounds
Pie to Try: Pepperoni
Square Pie
801 East Passyunk Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19147
(215) 238-0615
Pizzaiolo: Gene Giuffi
Neighborhood: Bella Vista
Credentials: Philly fell in love with former New Yorker Gene Giuffi at his pork-centric BYOB, Cochon, but when the restaurant got lost in the shuffle of newer, shinier, more ambitious places, he turned it into a family-friendly, sit-down pizzeria that’s become essential to the Bella Vista and Queen Village neighborhoods.
Style: Sicilian square
Pie to Try: Pancetta, rosemary potatoes leeks, and cream
Stina Pizzeria
1705 Synder Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19145 (215) 337-2455
Pizzaiolo: Bobby Saritsoglou
Neighborhood: Newbold
Credentials: Bobby Saritsoglou was the reason the early squares (and rest of the menu) at Santucci’s in Bella Vista were so excellent. Now, finally, he has his own place to show off those skills, along with a whole Mediterannean/Middle Eastern menu.
Style: Wood-fired round
Pie to Try: Eggplant, kale, roasted garlic, za’atar, and brined cheese