Monday, April 19, 2010

Stephen Starr

My inspiration isn’t exactly a Chef or a Baker. It is restauranteur, Stephen Starr, and his unique restaurants in and around the Philadelphia area. Stephen Starr is the owner of STARR Restaurants, a multi-concept restaurant company. He owns 21 restaurants, 16 in Philadelphia, 2 in New York, 2 in Atlantic City and 1 in Ft. Lauderdale.


My first experience with a Stephen Starr restaurant was in September of 2006. My husband’s job sent him to Philadelphia for a week and I went with him. A friend mentioned a restaurant I should go to so I looked it up online. I found the website for Starr Restaurants at: http://www.starr-restaurant.com/ and I couldn’t pull myself away from it. Each restaurant was a complete and unique environment based on it’s concept that I couldn’t wait to experience. I wanted to go to as many of them as I possibly could in one week.

I planned and packed outfits for certain restaurants. Stephen Starr says “dining out is like attending a theater production, where the players, props, backdrops, lighting and rapport are integral components of an overall dramatic effect.” And I appreciate that because I always take into consideration what kind of place I am going to when deciding what to wear. The cuisine is always edgy, artsy and delicious. The whole experience is “entertainment for all the senses.” He has such a passion for what he does and pays attention to the detail in the smallest of things. Dining at one of his restaurants is more than just going out to eat, it’s an experience that creates memories, and I will never forget that trip.

We made it to 4 Stephen Starr restaurants that week and each one was my favorite in it’s own way. All of the people who were working at each restaurant were very knowledgeable, happy & very helpful.












We went to Pod, which has Japanese-Asian cuisine. Famous designer, David Rockwell, was inspired by films “Sleeper” and “2001: A Space Odyssey” when he created Pod’s starship-like interior. Being there just made you feel cool.












There are pod areas to sit in where the lighting slowly rotates through a range of colors, pod-like batrooms and everywhere you look is something amazing. There's also a sushi bar that sends the sushi out on a conveyor belt and the food is to die for.











We went to El Vez, which is a contemporary Mexican restaurant with the best Mahi-Mahi tacos ever. The décor is so fun with a gold rotating bike in the center of a round bar, a black and white photo booth, a wall of Dia de la Muerta shrines and lots of velvet. We went one more time just for drinks and had a great time with the staff and other customers and the photo booth.




We went to The Continental Mid-Town which is a kitschy, vintage place with 3 levels, including a rooftop lounge. The 2nd floor has birdcage seats hanging from the ceiling & the rest was decorated with martini-like pop culture décor. The bathrooms are very interesting as well with two-way mirrors that if you have to wait in line, you can see if they wash their hands. I had one of the best Cosmo’s ever called a Mexico City Cosmo made with cuervo gold tequila, grand marnier, cranberry & lime.











Then we also had drinks at The Continental downtown, which serves tapas, vintage cocktails & martini’s. It used to be a vintage diner and it still has that vintage feel.
There are giant martini-olive lamps
hanging over the booths and they play great music.

We always say we want to go back to Philadelphia for a Stephen Starr restaurant tour. It is my goal to eventually go to all of his restaurants.

So that is what inspires me; unique concepts and amazing décor combined with hip, artsy, delicious menus which create memorable experiences. I’m still not sure what area I would like to go into, all I know is that I like being around that type of atmosphere.


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