Under the Blue Moon

[kagoo]

Read in today's Inquirer that Gene Gosfield, beloved owner of this beloved (and departed) Chestnut Hill restaurant, died. Short obituary; no details. I know many local Chowhounds mourn his passing.

[MEM]

Lobster Rangoon! Donald's Duck! Mocha Buttercrunch Pie! I loved the food, loved the atmosphere. Not only that, a dinner companion there told me the funniest dirty joke I ever heard.

Every time I pass the derelict building I get depressed.

[missclaudy]

The Gosfield's used the name International Home Cooking to describe their cooking style.My family are old friends of Phyllis and Gene, amazing folks who spawned 3 superlatively creative working musicians and a superb fine artist.They influenced us all (especially musically) and taught us all a lot about great food and life.Many of the finest musicians and cooks around here and nationally sat in the Gosfield's kitchen when they were coming up, learning about Django and Bix, and eating great food and laughing our heads off.

[sylviag]

We loved Under the Blue Moon. It was a very special place.

I remember that I always had to order the chicken with a sesame seed coating and a wonderful sauce. Somewhere, I have that recipe tucked away; maybe it was published in the newspaper.

It was a place way ahead of its time, and I'm sure it was an influence on many of the other small and outstanding restaurants that followed.

[kagoo]

For two years, we lived one block away from UtBM. (Then we moved about 5 blocks away!). Several times, when it was snowing hard, we'd walk in the white silence up to the Avenue, go into the warm, cozy restaurant -- we knew we wouldn't need a reservation -- and have a wonderful meal as the snow outside got deeper and deeper. It's a very sweet memory.

[chowinpa]

Thank you for this lovely post. I am Gene's great niece. I would love to hear people's memories about the Moon. I will share them with the rest of the family.

[chowinpa]

Article in today's paper: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/obitua...

[JanR]

I remember laughing the first time (and every time) I heard Gene singing Blue Moon on the answering machine. I remember him in the restaurant bouncing a tennis ball and chatting with us. We loved the place. The batik tablecloths, Donald's Duck... Deeply missed.

[seejanebake]

I was sad to read Gene's obituary this morning. I was the Moon's Pastry Chef for a couple years and it was an honor and a pleasure to be connected with that fine establishment and with Gene & Phyllis as well. I used to see Phyllis in the CH Farmer's Market on occasion and once recently where she was part of an improv troupe from Temple at a professional training I attended. She treats me like a long-lost friend every time. I posted some very complimentary thoughts on another blog about CH recently, but they've been deleted for some reason. Sorry you didn't get to read them. Hopefully this one will make it through. My sincere condolences to the Gosfield family.