Stephen Starr's Pizzeria Stella Review

The long awaited Pizzeria Stella review is finally here. Pizzeria Stella is another fine creation by Philadelphia restaurant genius Stephen Starr. Located at 420 North 2nd Street (2nd and Lombard Street), Philadelphia, PA 19106, this pizzeria is open seven days a week.

Before I provide my review I would like to include a short profile of Stephan Starr from his website. I think this is in order as this new Philadelphia pizzeria (opened at the end of September 2009) has drawn national headlines.

Stephen Starr, owner of Starr Restaurants, began working in the restaurant
industry at the age of 21 when he opened his first club in an Old City diner,
Grand Mom Minnie's, which served food during the day and comedy at night. Next
he opened Stars, a cabaret/restaurant that featured acts who were just starting
out such as Jerry Seinfeld, Richard Belzer and Pat
Benatar.

Continuing to promote live entertainment, Starr opened a larger venue,
the Ripley Music Hall, which showcased new talent such as U2, The Eurythmics,
Cyndi Lauper and Bruce Springsteen, who were still very small at the time.
Eventually he began The Concert Company to bring large-scale stadium acts to
Philadelphia. Starr was responsible for memorable shows including: Madonna,
Lionel Ritchie, George Michael and others. In 1990, when Electric Factory
Concerts bought him out, he used the profit to open several new venues
including: Shake, Burger and Roll, a kitschy diner; The Bank, a trendy dance
club which later became District Nightclub; and Cafe Republic, a Russian-themed
caviar and vodka bar.

Founded in 1995, STARR Restaurants is now one of the fastest growing
multi-concept restaurant companies in the country. STARR Restaurants
include Buddakan, Morimoto, The Continental, Barclay Prime, Continental
Mid-Town, El Vez, Jones, Alma de Cuba, Pod, Tangerine, Parc and Butcher and
Singer in Philadelphia and Morimoto and Buddakan in New York City's thriving
Meatpacking District.

STARR Restaurants expanded to Atlantic City, NJ, with Buddakan and
Continental at The Pier at Caesar in 2006, and Teplitzky and Chelsea Prime at
the Chelsea Hotel in 2008. Most recently opened is Steak 954 at the new W Hotel
in Ft. Lauderdale. With more than 20 years in the hospitality and
entertainment industries, Starr likens the experience of dining out to that of
attending a theater production, where the players, props, backdrops, lighting
and rapport are integral components of an overall dramatic effect. When this
atmospheric drama is paired with edgy, delicious cuisine, dining out at an STARR
Restaurant becomes entertainment for all of the senses.

Pizzeria Stella has been a long awaited Philadelphia pizzeria. From my understanding, Stephen Starr has circled the globe to make this place perfect. He has scaled every major New York and Napoli pizza joint and has studied every aspect of pizza beginning with its Italian roots. Starr obviously wanted so deeply for this place to be a success that he has given it his name in Italian (Stella translates to Starr).

The ambience at Pizzeria Stella is amazing. When you first walk into the door you are greeted by a beautiful big wood burning oven where the pizza chefs are at work. You can watch the pizza makers need, toss, and cook the pizza from any seat in the house. The pizzeria is not extremely large but it can serve around 75 to 100 people if necessary. Everything in Starr’s place is new and well thought out from the shiny decorative tile to the lighting.

The hospitality at Pizzeria Stella was superb. The waitresses catered to me on hand and foot. Their actions make you realize what gourmet pizza is all about and why you need a place like this to serve it. Pizza is a food that many people fail to realize that can be served at all scales of the restaurant industry. At Pizzeria Stella you can understand how pizza can be promoted to an upscale level of food. Forget about street pizza or your local neighborhood pizza.

Pizzeria Stella brings back the definition of high class pizza. Yes you will spend more money but you are getting the best pizza. Many people have a hard time spending around $15 for a ten inch thin crust pizza, especially when they are used to getting 2 giant 16 inch pizzas for less than the price for one gourmet pizza. That is because these types of people have never experienced the pleasure of real gourmet pizza. Gourmet pizza is totally worth the price if it is made correctly and the atmosphere is amazing. To these doubters, I say eat at Pizzeria Stella and then let me know if it is not worth it!

Pizzeria Stella had some negative feedback the first few weeks of opening and this is understandable as it has to correct any initial problems. This is why I waited a few weeks before eating there. I am more than impressed with what Starr has done. Below is a sample of Pizzeria Stella’s wood oven pizzas and their prices:

1. Margherita: san marzano tomato, buffalo mozzarella, basil .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2. Marinara: san marzano tomato, oregano, garlic .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3. Finocchio: black olive, caramelized fennel, mozzarella, tomato .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
4. Sausage: wood roasted sausage, hot pepper, tomato, basil, mozzarella .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
5. Pepperoni: abbruzze pepperoni, oregano, mozzarella, tomato . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
6. Tartufo: black truffle, fontina, egg, parmesan .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
7 . San Daniele: smoked mozzarella, prosciutto, baby arugula .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
8. Pistachio: red onion, pistachio, fontina, extra virgin olive oil .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
9 . Piccante: capicola, aged provolone, crushed red pepper, tomato . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
10. Vongole: clams, garlic, parsley, scamorza .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
11. Spinach: baby spinach, sun dried tomato, garlic, pine nuts .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
12. Quattro Formaggi: tomato, mozzarella, fontina, scamorza, taleggio .. . . . 14

I sampled the Margherita and the Tartufo pizza and was impressed with both. The pizzas are ten inches long served in 6 slices. The crust is thin crust slightly charred on the edges and on the bottom of the crust. The way the crust was prepared demonstrated to me that Starr really took the time to study his market. The reason I say this is because if you analyze the crust on this pizza you can tell the pizza was carefully made to meet the best New York critics’ tastes. The way the crust is charred is patterned to perfection with various patches of char sporadically placed on the crust.

The crust was strategically planned. If you think that this sounds crazy it just may be. The crust was identical from pizza to pizza and it was made almost as if the chefs were given specific orders to follow to create consistency. There were no signs of over burning or undercooking, just pizza made right. The charred spots demonstrated that each pizza walked the fine edge of being cooked too much but yet this edge made it just right (as the edge of overcooking never occurred).

The basil used on the margherita pie was large fresh green leaves placed on each slice. This is a sign of a good pizza. I hate when Margherita pizzas are served with shriveled up black basil leaves. Basil should be green on a Margherita pizza and not any other color. If you view the history of pizza you will find that the creation of this pizza was supposed to contain the colors of the Italian flag: red, white, and green (not burnt shriveled black).

The Fresh Mozzarella cheese was truly fresh tasting as you bit right into it. There was a proper amount of cheese on the pie too in relationship to the sauce (about 50/50). The tomato sauce was a nice sweet tangy tomato flavor that carried well with the rest of the pie.

The tartufo pie was very interesting. This was made from black truffles (a type of mushroom). The truffles were very fresh and plentiful on the pizza. The highlight of the tartufo pizza was the cooked egg on top (sunny side up). The waitress came over to the table once served and poked the egg on top and then spread the yolk with a spoon all over the pizza. Weird but really good! The tartufo also had parmesan cheese and fontina on top.

Another difference observed in Pizzeria Stella’s pie was that a slight glaze of olive oil was circled on top of the pie when served. It was so slight that it was hardly detected. This is not a problem as many famous pizza places choose to do this to their pizzas. I am fine either way. However, I don’t like when anything more than a little oil is placed on top. One particular example is a pizzeria in Philly called Mack’s Boardwalk pizza that drowns their pie with oil.

After you eat their excellent pizzas, you can have a sample of their dessert gelato ice cream and coffee. Also, I forgot to mention that you can eat your pizza with a glass of red wine from Stella’s wine list. This helps solidify the fact that you are eating real gourmet food. What is fancy food without wine?

The only critical thing that I can say is about Pizzeria Stella and Stephen Starr is to be more proud that you are serving Philadelphia pizza. I understand that you have traveled all over the world and New York for best pizza ideas but now you are making pizza in Philly. Thus, promote your pizza as authentic Philly pizza. Italian pizza will always be Italian pizza but the location where it is served is equally important. Your pizza is now a product of Philadelphia as this is where you are serving it. I also want to say that I hope that you incorporated Philadelphia pizza in your world pizza adventures. If you haven’t then you may want to review some of the Philly pizza reviews on this website because Philly has a distinct character in its pizza that deserves recognition. Lack of knowledge of true Philly pizza and its history may be a serious undermine to your business (especially as this is the main audience that you are catering to).

Stephen Starr’s Pizzeria Stella – welcome to the Best Philadelphia Pizza Club! Your pizzeria is one of the best pizzas in Philly and one day when I create an elite Best of the Best Philly Pizza Clubs, I am sure that you may find yourself on there.

Osteria Philadelphia Pizza Review

Osteria Philadelphia Pizza Review

Currently, one of the most famous pizza places in Philadelphia is Osteria. According to Alan Richman of GQ magazine, Osteria was one of the top 25 best American pizza places in the country out of the top ten cities. Actually, there was only one other pizza place from Philadelphia on this list, Tacconelli’s. Today I would like to express my opinions for the record. Hopefully my review will provide an insight on how not to take a top 25 list too serious by any food critic.

What is the best pizza?A best pizza place is a place that was recognized by an individual or individuals as to be great. It was just their opinion. You can’t weigh greatness or state a restaurant’s greatness as a fact. It is just an opinion usually derived from some food critic’s review.

Why am I starting this review philosophically? This review is more than just about Osteria. It is about how certain people with significant influence in the food world can say that a place is “Great” and all of a sudden every food lover (particularly in that region) is booking reservations. When a person as popular as Richman states that a pizza place is one of the top 25 best pizza joints in the United States, this becomes my example. Is this fair? No but this is the way the food review system works.

I think by my introduction you can tell where I will be going with this review. I have recently went to Osteria after a long await. I have been planning on going there for almost a year now, even more so when the GQ top 25 came out. Before I go into depth of my pizza review, first let me provide a profile of Osteria.

Osteria officially opened February 15, 2007 and is located at 640 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19130 (North of City Hall on the West Side of Broad Street). The three owners of Osteria all are very actively involved in the Philadelphia cuisine community in some way. Marc Vetri and Jeff Michaud are two very prominent chefs in Philly. The third owner, Jeff Benjamin, is a business man slash wine enthusiast. All three owners together are an excellent recipe for a successful restaurant in Philly. This may be a large contributing factor for their popularity. Osteria has been recognized by the New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Magazine, Philadelphia Weekly, Bon Appétit, and many other famous media giants as a top rated Philly restaurant.

The name “osteria” is an Italian word that can be translated to mean something similar to a pub. However, the reality is that an osteria is a place for people to drink wine and chat while having various options of food that can be ordered. The key focus of an osteria is the wine (not too many Italians drink beer). This is in contrast to a ristorante (or restaurant) which is more formalized. I wanted to state this explanation of an osteria so that I can elaborate on how Osteria is nothing like what its name translates to in Italian.

Osteria is an extremely high class restaurant with a high class atmosphere and a high class price tag. This is in contrast with a typical Italian osteria which is more of a casual nature. Osterias in Italy are more of a place for friends to come, sit, and drink wine together while having the option of food.

To start this review I would like to talk about what I do like about Osteria. First, the place is absolutely beautiful for a restaurant. Detail has been paid attention to in almost every physical category. They have a beautiful bar, oven, and a special aesthetic appeal due to proper interior design planning. Second, the place has popularity. For some, food is not important. They would much prefer to go to places with high prestige so that they can brag to their friends that this is the kind of restaurants that they fancy. If you are one of these people then you would fit right in here. Third, the wine selection is very thorough. If you are a wine connoisseur then this may also be a place for you to try at least once. It appears that the owners have a good eye for wine. To write this previous paragraph of things that I like has taken me over twenty five minutes to think of so I have to stop and continue onto a subject that will flow more freely for me.

What I didn’t like about Osteria: To start, I would like to quote my friend that went with me: “The place was really nice but the food sucks.” This was sort of my attitude too for several reasons. First, the staff was very impolite. This is a high class place…the waiters should ask how high if I asked them to jump. Instead, you are dealing with staff that makes you feel like they are rushing you out the door. Just because their shift is coming to an end shouldn’t be a reason that you should have to feel hurried. This is one of the things that bother me the most when dining out. I cannot stand when I am not treated properly as a valued customer. If I sense improper treatment from the time I walk in then I already know that the meal will never reach its fullest potential even if it does have the qualities of great food.

Another thing that I did not like about Osteria is the seating arrangement. The tables are all aligned perfectly to fit the maximum amount of people that this restaurant can accommodate. This makes me feel like cattle. The herds of people sit right on top of each other as we all eat together. If you want to have a discussion with the people in your party than this is equivalent to you making an announcement to the whole place. Everyone can hear what you are saying even if they are not trying. To me, I need my space when eating especially if I am paying big money to do so. I don’t even mean a lot of space just enough. The tables are about 4 inches from one another – this does not work for me.

By the way, if you plan on coming here, be very familiar with off street parking as this will be necessary. This building is on a big street (Broad Street) without a parking lot (so good luck with that).

Off to my pizza review…I ordered the Margherita pizza here as usual. My overall review of their pizza with every other problem above excluded is good. The problem is that it is not great. This is the Best Philadelphia Pizza Blog here and thus, the goal of this blog is to find the best Philadelphia pizza. I cannot consider Osteria as having the best Philadelphia pizza. There are many more pizza places that stand well above this high class joint in a gourmet pizza contest.

The Margherita pizza is a personal 10 inch pie that is cut in four slices. There was exactly one leaf of basil on each slice, which is much fewer than most other gourmet Margherita pizzas.

The crust was good as it was a little blackened (New York pizza lovers’ style). The thin crust pizza at Osteria was also very easily foldable without cracking. This is a good sign for gourmet pizza.

The sauce was very red indicating a very bland sauce (pure tomato puree and crushed tomatoes without cheese etc.). The more orange a sauce is the more cheese that has been added. This sauce was a bright red and sweet but not too distinct that would knock me off my chair (or even notice it if I wasn’t writing a review about it).

The mozzarella cheese was slightly patched throughout the pizza and I didn’t have any problems with its consistency.

From reading my pizza review of Osteria you will see that I didn’t have anything bad to say about their pizza. This is true but that is the problem. I don’t have anything great to say about it either. The pizza was priced at $15. The cost in relationship to my happiness level was not properly balanced. Osteria pizza does not have the qualities of great Philadelphia pizza that the media has hyped it up to have. This is not on my list of best Philadelphia pizzas as I give it a yellow light (proceed with caution).

Philadelphia pizza has so many better pizza places for your dollar and energy level. I was actually very disappointed when I left Osteria, thus, my energy level went down. I think Alan Richman needs to start reading my blogs a little more. If you want to post a pizza review in Philadelphia, than you better leave that up to someone who actually knows the place very well. Although Osteria may have other foods that could taste good, I am not concerned with that as my focus is on the best pizza…and they don’t have it! Stay tuned though I as will truly discover who exactly does have the best Philadelphia Pizza.