The search for the right location took about six months, Gesek settling on the Point Breeze corner because she liked the neighborhood as well as the size of the venue. ‘Cute and small’ can still be a challenge Gesek moved back to Pennsylvania, running Bryn Mawr catering company Blush before working as executive chef at Isabella’s in Conshohocken and, more recently, Brittingham’s in Lafayette Hill. They in turn taught her about pastas and sauces from around the world. In her down time, she would delight them with American food. The chefs were mostly hired from Italy and spoke little English, Gesek said. She later found work with Boston restaurateur Frank DePasquale. Graduating from Rhode Island’s Johnson & Wales with a culinary degree, she moved to Boston and worked under James Beard Award–winning chefs Jasper White and Lydia Shire. Insatiable gets its name, Gesek said, from her own constant hunger for food as well as culinary knowledge.Ĭoming from a Spanish-Italian family, she developed a passion for cooking growing up with her grandmother in South Philly, absorbing all she could from time spent in the family kitchen and watching Julia Child on TV. The bar at Insatiable, now open at 21st and Federal in South Philadelphia. Insatiable is not a sports bar, Gesek said, “but I am a sports fan.”īesides the 14-stool counter and banquettes and tables to accommodate approximately 20, there’s also seating for 14 across five outdoor tables. There are also 10 wines to choose from.Ĭorner-mounted above the bar, the restaurant’s only TV will be on for certain events, like Eagles games and World Cup matches. Cocktails cost $15 each while beers, seven on tap and six bottled, are $8. The Insatiable Kiss, combining Irvine’s vodka with dragonfruit syrup and rose water, is currently most popular, alongside the Shhhh… which adds Aperol, cinnamon, and thyme to Redemption wheated bourbon. It’s the most aggressively named of the cocktails, thought up by Gesek and fine-tuned by bartender Luis Sebastian. French onion soup dumplings with melted gruyere at Insatiable, newly open from chef-owner Denise Gesek. Most of the items range from $13 to $29, but for those so inclined there are glitzier options, mostly in the form of caviar - either served with Rhode Island Johnny cakes and vodka crème fraiche ($45) or as $15 “bumps” to go with Insatiable’s take on the martini, the Bite Me. The restaurant’s burger, a “very rich” Angus and short rib blend, comes with a bacon jam that takes four hours to make, Gesek said. Larger dishes include steak frites, miso butter fish en papillote, and grilled chicken with mango. There are salads with dirty martini dressing, and farro or tuna bowls. There are plenty of small plates, like gruyere-topped French onion soup dumplings and grilled octopus with fava beans.
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