Lots of people have been asking us what they should expect when Erin O’Shea hands the Marigold Kitchen keys over to Robert Halpern starting September 1. Meal Ticket touched base with the well-traveled chef to get the details on his plans for the 46-seat rowhome restaurant (501 S. 45th St.).

Halpern, a native of Philly, has worked everywhere — upstate New York, New Mexico, Maine, Vermont. His most intriguing CV bulletpoints, though, are his experience behind the lines of Alinea of Chicago, Binkley’s of Cave Creek, Arizona, and Hugo’s of Portland, Maine — all of which are known for cutting-edge cheffing. (Don’t worry, we won’t say “molecular gastronomy.”) That means he’ll showcase plenty of new-fangled preparations on his menu, which’ll consist of around seven starters and seven entrĂ©es.

As we’ve written about in the past, some Philadelphia diners aren’t exactly itching to embrace this style of cookery. Halpern stresses that the techniques are just that — techniques — and do not define his or any other chef’s personality. “With chefs that are doing modern food these days, it’s not like we have a problem with traditional food,” says Halpern, who’s getting ready to move into a residence above the restaurant in a few weeks. “It’s just another tool. I think what a lot of us are doing is just keeping up with the times.” (He doesn’t foresee any problems in putting out this style of cuisine in a BYOB, either.) The menu, which will change on a (roughly) monthly basis based on what’s freshest, will also feature the option of a five-course tasting or a multi-courser (no set number of plates) based on the chef’s whim.

“It’s more of a global approach, really, but I don’t like the word ‘fusion,’” adds Halpern of his food. “If I’m going to do something from France, it’s going to be authentic from France with a modern twist, not a bunch of flavors from different cultures in a big mosh pit of confusion.” Here are the food details that’ve been released so far:

Menu highlights include a late summer Cobb salad with bacon toffee and ice wine vinaigrette; sardines with apple salad and saffron-nutmeg vinaigrette; red grouper with butternut squash/short rib hash, brussel sprouts and aerated mustard; and a rib eye with herbed chimmichurri, feijoida beans, collard greens and garlic chips.

Many have asked if any traces of Marigold’s previous incarnations — modern American with opening chef Steven Cook and modern Israeli with Michael Solomonov, now at Zahav, and refined Southern with O’Shea, who’ll run the team’s forthcoming Percy Street Barbecue — will find their way onto Halpern’s menu as homage to those who came before him. The answer’s yes and no. “I’m just trying to keep the strong tradition going of a great little BYO in West Philly,” says Halpern. “In terms of specific nods … if there’s a dish that may have a Southern slant, it could be perceived as a nod to Erin. And if I want to try something Middle Eastern, the first person I’m going to call is Michael.”

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 16th, 2009 at 4:08 pm and is filed under Chef Salad, Openings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.