Live at Buddakan

Stephen Starr says everything's better with Buddha.

Starr Time: Stephen and friend
photo: Jay Matsueda

It's a muggy dusk along Chestnut Street in Old City and Stephen Starr is looking for a boulder. If he finds the right one, he'll use it as a dramatic prop for the front of his latest venture, Buddakan. The building that houses this modern Asian restaubar at 325 Chestnut Street was once a post office.

"I've been trying to analyze myself as of late as to why I do this," says a deeply tanned Starr, referring to his portfolio, which includes the theatrical nightclub District (formerly The Bank) and the kitsch cocktail joint The Continental. "I think I'm trying to fulfill something I never did: produce and write for television and film. Instead I got caught up in the music business and then nightclubs."

He cites opening live music spots like Starz and Ripley in the '70s and producing Madonna's first concert in Philly in the '80s as earmarks in his music biz career, a career that veered into dance clubs before settling into quirky restaurants for over-30s at play.

"Without getting melodramatic, I think that's why I choose projects with this type of grandeur. I think I do restaurants to create the show I always wanted to film. Look at this place. Look at the lighting. It's theatrical, it's breathtaking, it's got energy. That's what people want, whether they're 24 or 40. If you're an accountant from Penn Valley, when you finally make it out from under your job you want to be transformed. You don't want to be in Philly. You want to be somewhere else—Miami, Paris. Somewhere different."

Somewhere different is a very big concept for Starr. He's not afraid to namedrop fave spots like the Delano, Peninsula and Nobu, very willing to suggest a refreshing "get out of Philly" spirit. The spacious, gracious Buddakan, though in the bustle of Old CIty, is set apart by its proximity to parks and the gorgeous light that streams down Chestnut Street from the waterfront on those perfect dusky evenings. But what sold Starr on the space was its drama.

"What I saw was an unfinished concrete shell. But it was dramatic all on its own, what with such height [24 feet] and width [80 feet]," he says. "Not to be corny or anything, but this is a theater. You could do a play here. All I had to do was light it."

The space is simple. Designed by Starr together with New York City's CMS Designs and Owen Kamihara, every detail is given a spiritual accent. Though both Kamihara and Starr call their working relationship "agonizing," "frustrating" and "exhausting," the struggle obviously paid off. You're guided by smooth black stone floors into a foyer that features a sheet of flowing water over smooth glass. The delicate curtains behind the main floor bar are highlighted by twinkling candelabra lights set to "flicker."

"Who I'm really building spaces for is myself. This is more than a public realtions ploy," waxes Stephen Starr

Two wide white circular booths are set at either end of the room. A long, 23-seat community table—an amber onyx lit from within—is the room's centerpiece. Buddakan is littered with dark brown, rounded, stiff-backed chairs; pale, high-back couches; and cushiony love seats—all designed by Phillipe Starck.

"[Starck's work] is clean and different," says Starr. But the most Starck-ly designed seats are those that cram the mahogany dining area—dozens of white cotton seats silkscreened with the faces of local notables stand out amidst Buddakan's peaceful stoicism.

Two Kamihara-designed takeoffs on traditional Buddhist prayer benches lure you closer to the room's center. Their purpose is, in Kamihara's words, "to promote tranquility." But they are also there to frame the 16-foot gold-painted mega-Buddha that absolutely rules the room.

Built by Eben and Miyo Kamihara, the Plexiglas Buddha is the eye of a centered storm. "It's not a happy Buddha with a big belly," says Starr. "He seriously promotes peace." The Buddha, backed by deep-set red lights, is obscured by the waterwall so the big god within the cavernous room is subtle, yet still intimidating.

The balcony space is more casual and breezy; its mix of cozy couches, mood lighting and smoked glass bar stools gives it a sense of cool intimacy.

The food is modern Asian: a mix of Japanese, light Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean and Thai—healthy family-style dishes (that offer, according to Starr, larger amounts of food for the purpose of sharing and value) created by Scott Swedersky of Miami's China Grille and New York's Le Cote Basque. Starr suggests the Panko crusted oysters with black vinegar sauce and the Angry Lobster entree several times, so I think I know what to order.

But let's face it, what's always first on a.d.'s menu is atmosphere (well, booze is actually first), then social utility; Buddakan offers that in divine fashion from every vantage point. And Starr is busy planning second acts, curtain calls and sequels. His Spring Garden Street nightspot District is not closing as reported in other papers last week. Starr says he's simply giving the spot a rest on weekends till school is back in session. Newer purchases like the Market Street Stanley Hardware Building and Race Street's Black Banana are also in the offing. The former could be done as early as October 1998, while the Banana—to be done as a European bistro or Cuban foodery with huge windows and a mezzanine—won't be ready for at least 10 months.

"I'm trying to measure the competition, not compete with myself. I'm looking at different audiences, different price points. But who I'm really building spaces for is myself," says Starr. "This is more than a public relations ploy."

Buddakan tentatively opens on Tuesday, Aug. 25.

SPACEJUNK

Busy vertically integrating the booking, promoting, venue-ing and ticketing bizzes, SFX Entertainment—the megaconcert company that's bought out scads of big-name concert promoters 'n' venues throughout the United States—has made its way to Philly. Check the ads. SFX has acquired a controlling interest in PACE (the folks who once had a piece of Camden's E-Centre) and is promoting Elton John's Sept. 23 gig at the First Union Center. That's right: the FUC. It's also rumored that SFX's looking to acquire dominant interest in the E-Centre. Stay tuned… After spinning their wheels for labels at ASCAP gigs in New York City, Dragstrip Courage're flying to L.A. to showcase for Madonna and her rinky-dink label Maverick… DJ Cosmo will be back behind the turntable on Mon., August 24 at Fluid. It's his first time deejaying since being hit by a drunken driver three months ago. Jazzy Jeff and Rich Medina will also be spinning. Bartendress Lady Dee Duffy holds a bubbly world champeen bar shift with b-day girl Miss Angie at Martini's Lounge Tuesday, Aug. 25… Happy birthday kiss to Eric Miller and Co. at Magnet magazine. The glossy alterna-rag is five years old, and a Pontiac celebration is planned for Aug. 22 with faves Azusa Plane, Lenola, Bardo Pond, Asteroid #4 and psychedelic godfather Tom Rapp. Magnet has become de rigueur for those who actually give a dern about music, not the pop fashion of it. With my b-day the same day, I found out happily 'n' surprisingly I'm Magnet's youngest writer. Miller told me Phil Sheridan is 62, Mitch Myers is 67, and Fred Mills, God love him, a young 73. Also deserving of a b-day kiss: photogirl Mariel Weiner 'n' aikido master Doug "I got yer dojo right here" Earnst.