Tale of the Tape: Amis
Posted by Foobooz on January 14th, 2010
Marc Vetri’s third restaurant, Amís opens today at 13th and Waverly in Center City. We’ve got all the details on the Roman-style trattoria.
The Name and Concept
- Amís – ah-MEES
- Bergamascan dialect for “amici” (friends)
- Inspired by a Marc Vetri trip to Rome where Vetri visited many neighborhood trattorias
The Space
- Designed by Michael Gruber
- 70+ seats
- Outdoor seating to come
- Exposed beams
- Concrete walls
- 14-seat Zinc bar spans 13th Street side of restaurant
- Church-pew banquettes
- Each table is unique, made from eleven types of wood
- Light fixtures made from Campari bottles
- Open kitchen
- Unreserved seating available at kitchen bar
- Open nightly now. Lunch starts March 1st and brunch is planned.
- Late night in-the-biz night planned with free bites, pay as you go drinks.
The Food
- Chef is Brad Spence
- Comes from Vetri’s kitchen
- Checks to average in the low $40s
- $16-$26 for entrees
- Menu Highlights
- Housemade salumi ($8)
- Fish and meat antipasti ($6-$10)
- fritto misto with anchovies and zuchini waffle chips and lemon
- carpaccio of beef filet with gorgonzola sauce
- fried lambs tongue with salsa rossa
- Housemade pastas ($14)
- tonnarelli “cacio e pepe” with pecorino and black pepper
- gnocchi alla romana with oxtail ragu
- Meat ($16-$26)
- pork and fennel pollen sausage with peperonata
- tagliata di manzo (grilled ribeye)over arugula salad 26
- Fish ($16-$22)
- halibut with tomatoes, raisins and pinenuts
- tagliata di tonno (grilled tuna steak) with celery root salad
- Doci ($6 to $10)
- olive oil torta with whipped cream and marmelatta
- waffles amis: warm belgian style waffles with nutella and semifreddo
The Drink
- Sommelier is co-owner Jeff Benjamin
- Dozen whites
- Dozen Reds
- House wines will be available by glass or half-carafe
- All wines are available by the glass
- Bottles top out at $65
- Local Beers on draft
- Yards Olde Bartholomew Barleywine
- Brooklyn Backbreaker Ale
- 18 beers by bottle
- Schneider Aventinus
- Birreria Le Baladin’s Super Tripel
Amis
412 S 13th St
Philadelphia, PA
215-732-2647
More on Amis
Table Talk: Marc Vetri’s Roman-style trattoria opens tonight [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Vetri Vidi Vici [Thrillist]
A Sneak Peek at Marc Vetri’s Amis [McDuff's Food & Wine Trail]
Menu for Amis [Meal Ticket]
A Look Inside Amis [Grub Street]
The early word on Amis [Meal Ticket]
412 S 13th St, Philadelphia, PA
Related Tags: Amis, Center-City-East, Italian, Marc Vetri, Midtown-Village, Tale of the Tape
January 14th, 2010 at 10:40 am
i have to say, im excited for this.
January 14th, 2010 at 10:12 pm
Thanks so much for the heads up! Went there tonight for the debut and sat at the chef’s table! Illuminary Chef Vetri right there with his crew serving incredible, down to earth meals. Well executed, wonderful flavors…
January 14th, 2010 at 10:16 pm
Just came from opening night. For a first night, the s+ervice was excellent!! Staff were friendly and helpful. We had reservations for 8:00 pm and we were seated within 15 minutes of the reservations.
Food
Vetri and company describe Amis as inspired from Roman trattoria cooking. You can’t say that about the pasta. It was sweet, understated, and unRomanlike. Alla Gricia had pancetta with little pork flavor. Vetri should visit Il Pomodoro in the San Lorenzo neighborhood to taste it done right. nterestingly, the gnocchi were delicious–the oxtail ragu had a deep flavor that satisfies.. Meats were hit or miss. The lamb was salty and parts were overcooked but the steak was done perfectly. Finally, the pear bread pudding was delicious.
For opening night, the overall grade is a Bt. I’ve lived in Italy and was hoping for more Roman flavor…ideally with a Carbonara.
January 19th, 2010 at 11:18 pm
Went there last Saturday night and sat at the bar. Wonderful buzz and ambiance. Chef Vetri was everywhere, greeting people and listening to comments. We shared four appetizers and all were good to very good with the exception of the octopus and potato dish which was bland and under-dressed. We mentioned this and a second serving was brought, this time beautifully prepared. Our only complaint was the near-frantic service at the bar….once the bartender (one of three and even at times four) noticed us. We were ignored for long periods of time and even when served the ‘attitude” was palpable.