Le Virtù

Let's get away...! (No, really. But...virtually.) Join us TONIGHT (Thu 1/28) with our friends Feast on History for a virtual trip to Abruzzo and the famed Transumanza sheep migration. Click to register: https://www.feastonhistory.com/virtual-eve//18/transumanza

Join us tomorrow night with Feast on History !

Just a quick arancini appreciation post. As January draws to a close, we are thinking about what’s next. (Yes, it will include outdoor dining. And in all likelihood, arancini.) Stay tuned...

...anybody else feel like celebrating?? It’s definitely still winter, but for the first time in a long time, it feels like spring might actually be coming. And we’ll be ready. Until then, stay safe and healthy, amici.

Finalmente. Buongiorno a tutti. Buongiorno al mondo.

Join me, Francis Cretarola, Abruzzese musician Antonello di Matteo, and Consulting Chef Massimo Conocchioli as we discuss Abruzzo, the transumanza (the annual migration of sheep and shepherds from the mountains in Abruzzo to the plains in Puglia), and its impacts on regional culture and food. Price? FREE! This event is close to an immersion as our current circumstances will allow. History, music, and food. It's the latest in an excellent series hosted by our friends Feast on History. On 1/28, let's escape to Abruzzo together.

We're your place for outdoor dining through the late fall and into winter: a discrete garden and patio- 75%t of it covered and safe from rain- removed from car and foot traffic, with potent, dedicated infrared heaters covering every reservable table. We appreciate your support and believe we can get through this together, as safely as possible. When you want to dine out- and experience the best Abruzzese cuisine west of the Apennines- we'll be here, keeping your seat warm.

A cozy heat lamp for every table. Because outdoor dining is safer, but we think it should be comfortable, too. Reservations are available on the patio and in the garden 7 nights a week and both Sat and Sun for brunch. (And if you think the heat lamps are a nice way to stay warm, wait til you check out our fall menu...and Freddie’s house-made digestivi...)

We Southern Italians were once the unwanted, the disparaged, the "problem." Described as having a "pagan" form of Catholicism, tendencies toward "criminality," resistance to assimilation, and "un-American values," we inspired xenophobic movements, racist legislation, and hate. You either remember or you don't. So, we cannot now turn our backs on injustices meted out against others. It's our duty to defend those who find themselves in situations that would be familiar to our ancestors. It is a matter of integrity, decency, and pride. We must be better than this. VOTE.

Anarchy Wines for Weird Times: an off-the-wall wine dinner. Thu 10/29. 6PM. $95/person + tax and gratuity. Savor a multi-course menu paired with wines from our pal Sean of Artisan’s Cellar, all served at a safe social distance in our outdoor dining area. We’ll provide the tents, heaters, food, and wine. You just come (with your mask, of course) and enjoy. Reservations are available now: call 215-271-5626. Full menu, plus other news and happenings, here: https://bit.ly/Anarchy102920

News from Le Virtu'

We've got you covered for Saturday and Sunday brunch, 11 am to 2 pm. Abruzzese and southern-Italian comfort foods, a full bar, and dedicated infrared heaters for every socially-distanced outdoor seat. For the menu: http://levirtu.com/saturday-sunday-brunch/

One. Perfect. Arancini. (Bet you can’t eat just one.) Available on the patio and in the garden, tucked cozily under our snazzy new heaters, 7 nights a week.

What road will we choose? What type of country do we aspire to be? When I was 6, my immigrant Abruzzese grandfather explained to me a photo from 1925 of the KKK marching in full regalia down Pennsylvania Ave in the shadow of the Capitol building. The image frightened and angered him. In addition to their murderous terror campaign against black Americans, the Klan also hated immigrants they deemed un-American, and those included Italians. The year before the parade pictured,... Congress had passed an immigration law targeting southern and eastern Europeans. The parade reflected a national mood, one my grandfather had lived through, felt, and never forgot. He loved his adopted country, embraced its purported mission, but also knew that it had not achieved its stated goals, and could betray them. My mother-in-law, born in Shanghai, whose faith made this restaurant possible, arrived here 7 years after the expiration of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, which banned Chinese immigrants and prevented those already in the US from naturalizing. The law was only loosened in 1943 when we deemed Chinese worthy enough to allow 105 to enter per year. We’ve too often codified hatred into law. The Civil Rights Act passed the year after my birth, and the Voting Rights Act the year after that. But I’ve never lived in a country that extended equal rights, opportunity, and privileges to my black neighbors. We watched this summer as four centuries of sadness, frustration, and systematic repression spilled out in our streets in an appeal for us to honor our promises, to be touched by the better angels of our nature. It’s time that we were. Cathy and I were married by an Episcopalian pastor who, with his partner, sued the state of NJ for the right to marry. They were the first couple in the state to do so. That these two amazing men, both dedicated pastors and in a long-term relationship, were denied the joyful right Cathy and I were celebrating cast the only shadow on that day. In 2015, that injustice was finally remedied across this country. We’ve had the privilege to work with and serve many members of the LGBTQ community. That they deserve every single right enjoyed by heterosexuals is not open to question. We refuse to go back. We believe in this country’s mission. We believe in this diverse, gritty, beautiful, but imperfect city. And we are not giving up. We believe it’s our duty to make sure that an event, like the one pictured here, never occurs again. Vote.

BRUNCH MENU Cocktail e Bevande Mimosa orange juice, prosecco 12... BELLINI peach schnapps, prosecco 12 Spritz aperol or campari 12 Maria Sanguinosa house bloody mary mix, chile, vodka or tequila 12 Greyhound grapefruit juice, gin or vodka 12 ESPRESSO MARTINI espresso, vodka, frangelico 14 Italian Soda 5 Espresso 4 Cappuccino 5.5 Coffee 3 Piatti Palott Cac'e Ova egg and pecorino croquettes, tomato, basil 12 Burrata Panzanella cucumber, red onion, breadcrumbs, basil, tomato 14 Potato Frittata potatoes, roasted peppers, piccolo side salad 13 Trota sauteed trout, potatoes, spinach 16 Salsiccia Skillet sausage, peppers, egg, tomato, grilled bread 16 Ciambotta Skillet egg, squash, bell peppers zucchini, hot peppers, eggplant, onions, tomato, anchovy, grilled bread 15 Panino Vegetariano broccoli rabe, roasted peppers, pesto, burrta, long hots , patatine fritte 16 Panino Salsicce grilled sausage, broccoli rabe, patatine fritte 16 Patatine Fritte shoestring fries 7 Salsiccia grilled sausage 4 each Dolci Brioche with gelato 14 Brioche with nutella 14 Brioche with panna and nutella 14

This rain lifts tomorrow... just in time for our Italian/Abruzzese brunch. From house-made Abruzzese sausage and eggs to gelato-stuffed brioche, we're the place to start the day. Join us every Sat and Sun, from 11 am till 2 pm, for socially-distanced brunch in our Campo Garden.

Our fall menu has arrived. (And if snacking on fried stuffed olives and slurping wine on the patio is wrong, we don’t wanna be right.) Reservations are available nightly + Sat/Sun brunch. See you soon, amici!

We’ll come to you! Don’t feel like going out tonight? Order delivery, and let us bring Abruzzo to your door. Click to order: https://www.trycaviar.com//le-virtu-philadelphia-991/en-US

We don't honor the Genovese slaver/tyrant. He's nothing to do with our culture. Today (like most days), we remember those who came here unwanted, disparaged, and - for a long part of our history - actively persecuted: the common "Terroni" - the mostly Southern-Italian diaspora fleeing poverty, prejudice, and deprivation - who managed to survive and, eventually, thrive despite xenophobic panic and hatred. And we also think about our duties as descendants of those who so ter...rified the gate keepers that these self-defined "True Americans" passed racist/ethnocentric legislation to close the golden door to Terroni (a term of disparagement that we'd like to see adopted as one of pride), redlined their neighborhoods, vilified and persecuted them, and barred their entry to society. And the biggest part of this is acknowledging our responsibility to stand with those who've fared much worse in the American meat grinder, those still in the crosshairs, excluded, persecuted, and all too often murdered with impunity. So, today we say: Forza Alfonso Cretarola and all those other terroni. And we also demand justice. Black Lives Matter.