But simply knowing how to prepare good, delicious or even phenomenal cuisine does not a great establishment make.

In order for a place to succeed, the ambiance has to please, and the food must arrive on schedule.

Shola Olunloyo has designed Speck – his forthcoming New American in the Piazza at Schmidts — to achieve just that.

The kitchen is a focal point. The chefs are on display, visible from almost every seat in the house, behind the open counter that hosts a nightly tasting menu.

A carefully thought-out arrangement of interlocking counters, stoves, refrigerators and storage allows up to seven cooks to work the small space at once.  High-tech automatic ovens and circulator baths are tucked behind thick metal planchas and smooth induction burners.

Even the ventilation hood that keeps smoke away from patrons is a design element, gleaming in the center of the main work peninsula.

Clean lines are a theme here, one that carries out into the dining area.

Impeccable craftsmanship by Pappajohn Woodworking is the star of this minimalist show, from the wide-plank white oak flooring to the deeply-stained rift-cut white oak cabinetry and dark mahogany facade.

Rows of black walnut chairs and tables are flanked by a chocolate brown banquette, from which a soft glow emanates, highlighting hidden patterns in the understated silvery wallpaper.

A line of trim drop fixtures along the smooth wood-top bar lead the eye back towards the kitchen, where glimpses of neatly arrayed ceramic await plating.

The refined scenery and organized kitchen are waiting, too, excited to become a backdrop for the vibrant food and flavor designs that will complete the restaurant picture.

That said, it seems appropriate to finish up with some additional photos. We’re looking forward to the opening.

Yes,  PASTA architecture.

There are hundreds of different shapes and figures of noodles, dumplings and other dough designs.

The Geometry of Pasta is an intriguing and appealing exploration of this world.

Each chapter in the alphabetically organized cookbook describes a certain pasta, looking at the history of its contours, ingredients and etymology.

With a nod to function following form, co-author chef Jacob Kennedy provides recipes using types of sauces or accompaniments that best suit each pasta’s design.

In Italy, this pairing of shape and flavor is an essential component in construction of the perfect pasta dish.

That’s what gave graphic designer Caz Hildebrand, the other author, the idea for the book.

But it’s Hildebrand’s gorgeous black and white illustrations that really bring the pages to life, vividly showcasing the diversity of forms and figures.

Combined with snippets of old Italian wisdom (“He who looks at magnitude is often mistaken: A grain of pepper conquers lasagna with its strength.“), the bold graphics make this a book you won’t want to put down, even when it’s time to cook.

Who knew grayscale line drawings could make you so ravenous?

[Thanks to Eric Smith at Quirk Books for the review copy, and h/t Drew Lazor at Citypaper]

The common thread? Ceramics.

For the retail consumer, advanced ceramics offers ultra-sharp, precise kitchen knives.

Unlike metal, ceramic blades (usually made from zirconia) will never rust, and their edge will stay sharp up to ten times longer than steel.

Chemical inertness makes them impervious to smells and stains.

Additionally, ceramic weighs much less than metal, resulting in a knife that is easy to wield with precision.

On the other hand, some feel they are more trouble than they are worth.

Sharpening can only be accomplished with diamond-based sharpeners, and the blade is extremely brittle.

The knife will shatter like glass if dropped on a hard surface. Attempting to cut through bone or frozen materials can cause splintering. Using the knife in a twisting or prying motion can cause it to snap.

Black blades that have gone through an extra hot firing process are somewhat tougher (and very elegant).

Though more expensive than traditional knives, the accuracy of ceramic knives makes them downright fun to use.

And at only $25, there’s no excuse to skip the mandoline for easy homemade potato chips.

For the first time since the 1950′s the census will show an increase in the city’s population.

The city’s restaurant scene is exploding with tons of new spots, including our new Iron Chef star Jose Garces’ & Philly pioneer Stephen Starr’s recent openings with more on the way.

However, funding for public spaces is scarce. (See: threat of no holiday lighting in Rittenhouse Square; on a larger scale, major downsizing & possible closures of the entire Pennsylvania park system.)

Because of this, several neighborhoods are leaning on the restaurant boom: Cafe Cret opened on the Ben Franklin Parkway, and Franklin Square enjoyed great success bringing in SquareBurger.

South Street Headhouse District might be next.

A multi-step improvement plan is in the works. Philly Councilman Frank DiCicco secured money for the already-completed first phase. This past week saw the dedication of a new fountain at 2nd & Lombard.

The fountain, which had been in disrepair, now boasts a child-friendly, rubberized basin, colorful LED lighting and more seating. New, programmable water jets feature an ananemometer to measure wind speed and automatically adjust the height of the spray.

On one side of the fountain sit the Headhouse Shambles — home to one of Philly’s biggest & best farmers’ markets. On the other currently sits a mishmosh of parking spaces & asphalt.

Cope Linder Architects, who provided the design for Phase 1, have ready a preliminary design for this area which would reclaim much of the space from cars.

It involves an expanded, landscaped pedestrian walkway from the fountain up to the South Street end of the block, where a pavilion with a café will be built. Such a café might bring not only a steady stream of revenue from concession sales, but also encourage more pedestrian traffic for neighboring establishments.

Barry Essinger of Cope Linder even brought up the possibility of closing off the whole street on weekends or holidays, creating a vibrant. car-free mall like those in Buenos Aires or the new Times Square.

South Street is already morphing into a much nicer, more upscale tourist destination. This redevelopment would be a welcome bridge from South to historic Society Hill, and even all the way to Independence Mall and Old City.

Build it! (and they will come….)

Instead of neon or plastic, the metal frame of the sign surrounds hand-crafted steel sculpture.

An elegant rendering of the restaurant’s name in bronze- and silver-colored cut metal rests over a blue-burnished background.

At the top, the restaurant’s signature flower (Italian for sunflower = girasole) shines down like the sun.

The overlapping petals — appearing somehow delicate, yet strong — allow glimpses of the real sky to peep through and are different on each side of the sign.

It’s a wonderful example of the work coming out of Chora Leone Art & Design in Atlantic County, NJ.

Jose Chora and Judy Leone have been creating together for over 15 years, and last year opened a gallery in Somers Point, NJ.

I caught up with Judy via telephone and she was kind enough to send over some additional photos of their works.  He works with the metals and she does the mosaics.

Peep some of their other artworks below.

Only 12 reservations are available each day, and only for a few moments as the clock ticks over to 10 am Paris time.

You don’t get to pick your menu, nor your accompanying beverages.

But Art Home Paris might well be the most awesome restaurant in the world right now.

Designed by minimalist architect Pascal Grasso, the temporary structure sits atop the Palais de Tokyo museum, with a sweeping view of downtown Paris and the Eiffel Tower.

The dining space is called Nomiya, after a restaurant in Japan, seats 12, and is encased in floor to ceiling glass on three sides.

Chef Gilles Stassart’s open kitchen is protected by a metal skein, perforated in patterns reminiscent of the Aurora Borealis.

Meticulously prepared and plated with an eye for spatial design, the food is reportedly excellent.

Most online reviews are for lunch, instead of dinner, though. Reservations for dinner are simply too hard to score.

Guests can see the whole kitchen, and are invited to ask questions of the chef while he is plating.

Tours of the space are offered daily, as are workshops with the culinary director.

A garden sits on the roof level slightly below the restaurant, providing herbs and vegetables for the kitchen.

Though English words, the name of the restaurant is cleverer than it first appears: in French it is pronounced “arôme” (aroma).

Beautiful & delicious.

[via Shola & dezeen]

I like to be inspired by my clients.

One of the best things about running your own business is the relative luxury of choosing with whom you work.

While sometimes time constraints force compromises in design and code, the best case scenario is when there is opportunity to address details.

Aki and Alex have strong convictions and are extremely particular. Yet they are also avid explorers and open to new ideas.

This comes across in their food. Hopefully also in their new website.

www.ideasinfood.com

They have at least five completely different websites dedicated to the cafe-styled line of espresso based drinks, which is marketing 101 these days. The design of the sites is nice, but the content? A bit questionable:

mccafecoffee.com – Basic site, showing off what appear to be the cafe’s three offerings: latte, cappuccino and “mocha.”

mccafeicedcoffee.com — Interactive! “Skate” around an ice rink by controling a coffee bean with legs using the arrow keys on your keyboard.

wakeuptowhatsnew.com — More interactive! Make your own digital cappuccino art by pouring digital steamed milk into espresso.

mccafesnowflakes.com — even more interactive! make your own… um… digital coffee-ring snowflake??

mcdonalds.com/mccafe — With the ever so classy slogan “Give it up for the accent mark!” and a video-intensive game-show-movie-esque content

Who is the target audience for these websites, again?

As for the actual cafes, the interiors are full of wood and artwork, soft lighting, benches and spots for lounging. There have actually been McCafe’s in other countries around the world since the 1990′s, but it took the recession to convince Micky D’s that they could lure can’t-afford-it-every-day-anymore-ex-Starbucks drinkers through their stigma-ed arches.

Supposedly there are several in the Philadelphia area already. Can’t speak from experience, though. There doesn’t appear to be one yet in the Rittenhouse Square location, hidden between high-end fashion retailers on Walnut Street, though that restaurant (can you call it that? fast food joint?) does have some unique, non-chain-looking art hanging.

With the ubiquity of spell-checkers these days there are few excuses for misspellings in final published work, be it destined for print or online.

Some things get lost in translation, however. It’s certainly common to find grammer and spelling mistakes in equipment manuals translated to English from Japanese, for example. And it’s somewhat of a cliche amusement to check out Chinese restaurant menus translated to English.

One of my favorite Chinese food restaurants has had the same typos on the front cover of their menu for as long as I’ve been ordering from them, so at least 3 years.  The thing is, they’ve gone through several menu redesigns during that time. The current incarnation has nice graphics and even some photos.  But couldn’t anyone along the way point out the simple changes that would make me stop laughing whenever I see the menu?

Hey, maybe they want me to laugh. Who am I to argue with that. All I know is this: Mondy close. We delivery. Words to live by.

* where I cribbed the title for this post