Restaurant music; where is David Ansill?

An excerpt from Craig LaBan's weekly online chat:

Craig LaBan: There have been some especially nice greens at the area's farmer's markets - including this head of the most delicate baby bibb lettuce from Z Food Farm at the Rittenhouse Market, where we also savored some warm cider that was pressed right there on the spot . . . from Cortlands, Macouns, and Empires.

Reader: Why do you think restaurant owners think that it's necessary to have loud music playing in the background? It's so hard to find a restaurant where one can have a quiet meal and enjoy conversation. I ask this question in all sincerity.

C.L.: Smart restaurants think of their music choices every bit as much as they do the design or color of the walls. It's another expression of personality - and it's changeable, like a nightly special. So in theory, it's a wonderful tool for them to shade the ambience or mood of a restaurant. Of course, like bad design, bad music can have the wrong effect. And loud bad music, in particular, is its own problem.

Reader: Are you surprised at all that there's a rash of restaurant openings in such a down economy where capital/loans are supposed to be much harder to come by? C.L.: There are a TON of new restaurants coming on line right now, something like 20-plus in the month of November alone, which my colleague Michael Klein, who's been following these things for years, believes is the most EVER. I have no obvious explanation for this, except that there's a lot of pent-up capital out there coming from outside of banks for smaller investments, and many of these projects are small - thanks to Philly's naturally cozy landscape - so restaurant investments are doable.

Reader: Is David Ansill still cooking in Philly? This weather reminds me of the osso bucco that I had at his restaurant at Third and Bainbridge a few years ago. It's crazy that a place like that and a place like Adsum couldn't stay open. I feel like they're the slightly more adventurous types of places that Philly needs to keep pushing the envelope.

C.L.: Last I heard, Ansill was still cooking at Ladder 15, on the 1500 block of Sansom St. As for Adsum, there were a lot of factors there - the menu's daring edge only one of them. People loved Matt Levin's cooking there, but for some reason, that was not a sustainable situation. We'll see how many of the new places really take those kind of menu risks.

Reader: What is going on at Federal Donuts? There's such a short window every day to get either donuts or chicken. Is there any thought to adding a second fryer so they can do donuts all day along with the chicken? Loved the glazed chicken by the way (sweet chile I think).

C.L.: Yeah, running out of food within a couple hours of opening isn't exactly a Wharton-grade business plan. Then again, it does stoke hype. These birds are seriously good - and take a long time to be prepared. But I am definitely getting tired of the "bird countdown" updates on Twitter. It might get to the point where you're going to need to camp out with a lawn chair to get your donut-chicken fix.

Reader: Your article on Maine's bounty was great. I go up there several times a year, so I understand your enthusiasm. Yesterday I got a shipment of dried beans from the Beanery. Did you get any from them? If so, are they noticeably different from those at SuperFresh?

C.L.: There are basically two big shippers of Maine's heirloom beans: the Beanery and Freedom Bean Co. Both are amazing, compared to supermarket beans, so fresh and consistent in the way they plump and soften while soaking. We got ours from Freedom Bean Co. The only downside there is that they require a 16-pound shipment, to keep costs low. We're set for the year, but glad about it. In fact, I just repurposed a frozen pint of the soldier beans into a bean and escarole soup with ditalini last weekend (just defrost into a quart of chicken stock, season, and then add shredded escarole and par-cooked pasta - shave parmesan, grind pepper, drizzle extra-virgin and devour it!) . . . escarole also bought from Z Farm.

C.L.: I'll be off and cooking next Tuesday - getting ready for the big bird. I'll be back to chat on the 29th.