Wednesday, May 22, 7:00 P.M.
Members $95, guests $120

Marc Vetri's cooking has been described as "a rare Italian symphony," an interesting word choice by Patricia Wells, considering that Vetri once planned on a music career. The aspiring musician wasn't a stranger to the restaurant world, though—he worked as a line cook at The Mosholu and The White Dog in Philadelphia while earning a degree from Drexel University. But music made his heart sing, so following his bliss, he enrolled at the Musician's Institute in Los Angeles. A job at Wolfgang Puck's Granita helped pay the bills, but that gig turned out to be detrimental to his music studies. Within a year, Vetri dropped out of school, and taking the advice of Granita's chef, Joseph Manzare, spent a year in Italy learning the craft of Italian cooking. Back in the States, Vetri opened an Italian restaurant in Juneau, Alaska, and then opted to move to a somewhat more crowded place—Manhattan. New Yorkers may remember him from his post at the beloved neighbor-hood spot Bella Blu, which received an Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator during his tenure. But Philly was home, and that's where he decided to open Vetri. There, his "gutsy and gloriously decadent cooking" prompted Food & Wine to count him among their Best New Chefs in America in 1999.

Indeed, Vetri learned his lessons well in Italy, especially the one that stresses a respect for simple ingredients and the value of balance and restraint—skills that seamlessly come together in his "delicious" pasta dumplings. In the International Herald Tribune, Wells told us that "he understands exactly how much sage (an herb that can kill a dish with its pungency) and how much pancetta will create a perfect balance, [and] pure, warm, ethereal pleasure." But Vetri's no slouch when it comes to more complex dishes, either. "His chestnut fettuccine with wild boar ragù and cocoa epitomized the incredible depth and elegance of country flavors," The Philadelphia Inquirer's Craig LaBan wrote. His four-star review—peppered with words such as magical, decadent, inventive, and sublime—touts Vetri as "Philadelphia's best Italian restaurant" and puts it in the same league as Philly's other four-star tables; perhaps you've heard of them?—Le Bec-Fin and Susanna Foo.

"As I sat feasting at Vetri," Wells confessed, "I could have closed my eyes and believed I was in Italy." We know we're in for a real treat. Let the symphony begin!