Despite taking home the top prize on season 7 of Top Chef and opening two successful restaurants—Sbraga and The Fat Ham—in under four years, chef Kevin Sbraga still manages to find time to support the growing food scene in the City of Brotherly Love.
Sbraga sits on the board of Rittenhouse Row, a nonprofit destination marketing membership organization that works to enhance and promote businesses located within the Rittenhouse Square area of Philadelphia.
This year, Sbraga and nearly 20 other local restaurants, including a. kitchen, Alma de Cuba, Bar Volver, Rouge, Russet and The Crow and the Pitcher, are collaborating for the first ever Rittenhouse Row Culinary Collective, a “four-day collection of extraordinary epicurean experiences from Rittenhouse Row’s best chefs.” From August 4–8, each participating restaurant will offer a unique menu that highlights their chefs’ passion for cooking.
Sbraga recently hosted a kickoff event for the Collective at his eponymous restaurant (440 S. Broad). The night included several of Philadelphia’s top culinary talents, none more recognizable than legendary Le Bec Fin chef Georges Perrier, who is often described as the forefather of Philadelphia’s restaurant resurgence.
The evening’s food offerings consisted of a spicy foie gras soup, perfectly portioned bites of steak tartare and aromatic arancini rice balls. Cocktails made with Golia vodka and ginger beer topped off the menu.
If Sbraga’s kickoff party menu was any indication of what restaurants taking part in the Rittenhouse Row Culinary Collective will offer over the next few days, it is definitely not an event to be missed.
Find out more about Rittenhouse Row’s mission on their site or visit them on Facebook.
- Photography: Laura Hibbs McKenzie
