The more things change elsewhere, the more they seem to stay the same in Philadelphia. So it should come as no surprise that the grand dining room at Le Bec-Fin, designed in 1983 to evoke the sumptuous Paris salons of the ancien regime, was given just the lightest of makeovers by its new owner for its much-anticipated reopening this week.
The forest of delicate, bone-white paneling remains in place on the walls, culminating at the ceiling in an intricate band of molding frosted with real gilt. The original glass chandeliers, voluminous as a mature hydrangea bush, have been cleaned and will continue to cast their magical glow on diners. While the royal blue carpet, laced with gold vines, may be new, its pile is as thick as a Reagan-era stock portfolio. Even Marie Antoinette's bust is back in its niche at the turn of the stairs, presiding without a hint of irony. Clearly, we are a long way from the world of Stephen Starr.
"Everything was so beautiful, we didn't see any reason to change," explained John Kelly, the Philadelphia interior designer who strategically tweaked the main salon, freshening things up with new fabrics in a rich slate blue but otherwise leaving the culinary shrine pretty much intact.
Le Bec-Fin loyalists will no doubt celebrate, but how will a new generation raised on casual dining respond to such mannered flourishes? It's a question being hotly debated in restaurant circles. Can Le Bec-Fin's old-school beauty — and it is beautiful — translate into fine-dining success in the era of small plates and big-name chefs?
For the man who now runs the house, Nicolas Fanucci, it is impossible to separate the storied culinary institution from its ornate French dining room. He served as general manager there from 2000 to 2002, during the last of its truly great years, before heading to California to oversee Thomas Keller's renowned French Laundry. From the moment he decided to buy Le Bec-Fin from its founder, Georges Perrier, Fanucci was determined to restore the restaurant to its Michelin-starred glory.
For him, that meant bringing back the integrity of the interior, which had suffered, like the food, through several unfortunate modernization efforts. Standards had fallen so far that the grand salon was eventually decked out, Fanucci said with a Gallic shudder, in earth tones. "Our goal," he said, "was to put back Le Bec-Fin's original beauty, from the time when it was successful."
Clark Wolf, another New York restaurant consultant, agrees that tradition is more valued in Philadelphia. This is the city, after all, where some longtime patrons of the Philadelphia Orchestra balked at leaving the ornate, 19th-century Academy of Music and refused to support the modern Kimmel Center.
After seeing snapshots of Le Bec-Fin's new interiors, Wolf declared himself impressed. "It's true that we have much less fine dining in the country now. So what," he said, rebutting Whiteman. "There will always be a place for something lovely and refined."
Full article here
Comments