Starr Report--are any of his restaurants worth going to?

[jp]

I'd love to know. Thanks!

[brynn]

we love el vez and morimoto. continental and tangerine were OK. next on the list to try are alma de cuba and pod.

[kevin]

no, not really.

ok ok, to be fair, i've had so-so to decent meals at every starr restaurant. but they're overpriced and underserviced for the most part... the atmosphere/decor isn't bad though, on the whole.

if you're looking for simply good, honest food, chowhound, i'd opt for somewhere else.

[Patiod]

First hand, El Vez is fun. Stick with the appetizers (vs. the entrees), and be sure to get the guacamole, which is made tableside.

Second hand: my best friend & her husband treated themselves to Morimoto last weekend, and were stunned. She has never tried sushi (she's otherwise an adventurous eater, who gets taken to all the big restaurants in town by her suppliers - she used to go to Striped Bass more than most people go to McDonald'a) She agreed to try the "Chef's Tasting Menu", and was floored. She strongly reccommends the fixed price Tasting Menu vs. the ala carte menu.

[DH]

My two cents on the Starr places I've been to:

If you're on an expense account, Striped Bass and Barclay Prime are worth a try. So is the omakase at Morimoto.

I like Tangerine's decor; it's beautiful inside (lots of candles and fabrics and dark blue walls). The food is pretty good too, but again, I usually go on an expense account.

Pod was fun when I was an undergrad, so take that for what it's worth. Good food and fun drinks, but I wouldn't call it a must-see for anyone just visiting Philadelphia.

El Vez is fine, but for the price, I'd rather go to Lolita (across the street).

Everyone I know seems to adore Buddakan, but I thought it was overrated (too many cliche "Asian fusion" dishes) -- granted, I've only been there once, so it could have been an off night.

Both Continentals are much more about checking out the beautiful people and drinking than about food.

Angelina is closed -- not surprising. Too many other good Italian places in town.

Haven't made it to Jones or Alma de Cuba yet. I wish I could have gotten to Blue Angel before it closed... Shola worked there!

Bottom line for me is, I sincerely appreciate what Mr. Starr has done for the Philadelphia dining scene, but 90% of the time, when I go out for dinner, I'm headed someplace else.

[Beulah]

Basically we like all his restaurants except the 2 Continentals (we've never tried the new one). We always enjoy Buddakan, Barclay Prime was great (but we're not steak eaters), we like El Vez and Alma de Cuba, Pod is fun, Striped Bass is excellent, as is Morimoto, and we enjoy Tangerine on occasion. We're not big on mac'n cheese or chicken and waffles so we've only eaten once at Jones. We think he's contributed a lot to the Philly dining scene.

[leash]

Morimoto - the others suck, particularly Tangerine.

[spyturtle008]

I second (third? fourth?) those who've mentioned Morimoto. Truthfully that's the only Starr restaurant I've tried -- I'm vegetarian and so if I'm going to do fine-dining I'll try a spot with at least a few creative veg'n choices. To my knowledge, none of the Starr spots are very good on that front, but if I'm wrong I hope someone will correct me. At any rate, a friend who's a newly-minted chef was in town and this was at the top of his 'must-try' list. The entrees were good, but I'm probably the last person to go to for recommendations on that front since the veg'n selections are a miniscule portion of what's on the menu. The tofu made tableside was a standout -- great concept and a very pure, delicious result. Great for an appetizer, entertaining presentation. The veg entrees were okay, but not very memorable. Two were ordered and they were barely distinguishable one from the other. The true standout, though, were the desserts... All sounded wonderful so I deferred to the waitresses favorite: the mango shiso mille feuille. It's a white chocolate mousse with fresh pieces of mango and coconut tapioca. I still dream about it. One of our party ordered the chocolate pot de creme, which was incredibly rich and large enough to share between several people.

I thought the decor was original without being obnoxious or gimmicky. The tables change color very slowly and very subtly (think of a jukebox on super slow speed) -- it took us awhile to notice that, hey, wasn't it blue when we sat down? It's orange now... Kinda fun, sort of soothing. The servers were very accomodating and took plenty of time to describe dishes and answer questions.