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Masano: Matt Levin's New NoLibs Restaurant
From Lacroix to NoLibs: a rock ’n’ roll chef’s daring next act
Matt Levin, the über-chef who revivified the staid Lacroix restaurant at the Rittenhouse Hotel with daring tasting menus and cutting-edge techniques, has been cooking up a new restaurant since he stepped down as Lacroix’s executive chef back in December. This week, he plans to sign a lease for a new spot in Northern Liberties with celeb partner and Philadelphia Eagle Big Jon Runyan.
Levin plans to name the new eatery Masano (the first two letters of his own first name and those of each of his sons — Sam and Noah). The food, says Levin, is Lacroix tasting menu meets gastropub: a high-low culinary mashup that will take the form of a year-round restaurant week — $35 for three plates. And with all bottles of wine priced under $50, the bar tab should also be easy to swallow.
The space itself will feel like an abandoned warehouse, says Levin. It’s an appropriate choice for this former warehouse district. He’s even bringing in local graffiti artists for some gritty wall art. It sure sounds like a better match for this tattooed rock-and-roll chef than the froufrou confines of Rittenhouse Square ever were. Look for Masano to open its doors in late summer.
Levin plans to name the new eatery Masano (the first two letters of his own first name and those of each of his sons — Sam and Noah). The food, says Levin, is Lacroix tasting menu meets gastropub: a high-low culinary mashup that will take the form of a year-round restaurant week — $35 for three plates. And with all bottles of wine priced under $50, the bar tab should also be easy to swallow.
The space itself will feel like an abandoned warehouse, says Levin. It’s an appropriate choice for this former warehouse district. He’s even bringing in local graffiti artists for some gritty wall art. It sure sounds like a better match for this tattooed rock-and-roll chef than the froufrou confines of Rittenhouse Square ever were. Look for Masano to open its doors in late summer.
Originally published on phillymag.com on February 9, 2009.
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