Totos!

I've just recently had a wonderful evening at Toto's(the former DiLullo's) complete with getting a warm hug from Toto himself. I had never met him before and there he was at the door giving me, and my companion, such a friendly greeting!

The decor of the restaurant is wonderfully elegant and the food, I thought, was superb. The service was equally first rate. Our waiter was a young guy who was young enough that he was unaware of the days of Phila. being a no restaurant town. That fact amazed him. We told him about those brave people who ventured out in the early 70s and how the first restaurant renaissance began and how a few of those early places are still around like the Astral Plane. Fri, Sat, Sun., The Knave of Hearts and London Grill.

One of the things I have been thinking about is writing a book about those early restaurants and the people who made it all  happen like Steve Poses and the late Peter Van Starck. These people helped change Phila. forever. It's a story I don't think anyone has told. To me it's an amazing story when you consider that no one 30+ years thought that Phila. would turn into one of the best restaurant towns in the country. No one could have predicted that it would happen here but it did.