And now for something completely different.
Philadelphia Magazine has a piece this month praising Stephen Starr, the love him or hate him man that created an empire of 20+ bars and restaurants in Philly. It’s a bit of a staple in the Philly foodie scene to hate on Starr, but Philly Mag is right in the arguments it makes.
Of course, that doesn’t matter, because of the argument it doesn’t make. They talk about Starr’s vision, his brilliance for putting the right restaurant in the right spot, his real-estate prowess, his business acumen, etc. And they are right on all counts. So what’s missing?
The food.
They don’t mention the food. And for good reason: it’s not all that great. Is it good? You bet. But it’s overpriced. Drinks? Ditto. When you go to a Starr establishment, you are paying for hot waitresses, a “cool vibe”, a brilliant designer, and mediocre food. All of those are important, and maybe I’m just not cool enough to get it, but the food is the single most important aspect. You can find much better restaurants in Philadelphia, serving much better food, at a lower price point. Philly Mag’s write-up is actually perfectly analogous to Starr’s empire, its all spot on, but the food is an afterthought.
Don’t get me wrong, these are certainly not chain places (don’t even think about going to a chain in Philly, its… insulting), and there are some that I like. I’m not knocking Starr, I’m grateful to him because he really has done a lot to expand Philly’s restaurant scene which is so critical to the city. If he would focus as much energy on his food as he does on the graphic design of the menu and the interior decorating, his restaurants would be fantastic. But he doesn’t and so, whatever type of food your favorite Starr joint serves, you can find a superior rendition of it elsewhere, and probably save a few bucks in the process.
And if you absolutely must go to a Starr restaurant, go to Frankford Hall. As a friend of mine put it, its the only Starr restaurant where you don’t feel like Starr is sucking out your soul.
520 Chestnut 
[…] of Foobooz, wrote an interesting piece lamenting this change. It’s a problem I’ve written about before, in fact. Here’s hoping she intends to fix […]