Opening: High Street on Market

OWNER ELLEN YIN AND CHEF ELI KULP TO DEBUT

HIGH STREET ON MARKET,
AN ULTRA-CONTEMPORARY NEW AMERICAN RESTAURANT

PHILADELPHIA, PA – In September, owners Ellen Yin and Roberto Sella and Chef Eli Kulp will open High Street on Market (308 Market Street, 215-625-9425), an of-the-moment restaurant serving Chef Kulp’s acclaimed, boundary-pushing food from morning to evening.  High Street’s menu will change spontaneously to showcase everything from difficult-to-find foraged ingredients to artful Old World preservation techniques, and will replace Yin’s trend-setting market-cafe Fork:etc., which she opened in 2004 to expand the appeal of her highly-praised new American restaurant, Fork (306 Market Street), located next door.  On Friday, August 23, after service, Fork:etc. will close for a complete renovation; then, in mid-September, High Street will make its official debut.

Chef Kulp plans to share his new menu developments via social media leading up to the opening and ongoing updates thereafter.  Guests should follow@EliKulp on Twitter and Instagram and @HighStPhilly on Twitter and Instagram; he will reveal dishes as he tests out new techniques and flavor combinations, so followers will always be the first to know when a new plate is being added to the menu.

“Eli and I are thrilled to highlight his most ambitious dishes at High Street, where our guests will find unexpected and exciting new flavors throughout the day,” says Yin, whose penchant for creative evolution has kept Fork at the forefront of Philadelphia’s vibrant dining scene for the past 16 years.  “In the mornings, guests can enjoy inventive savory and sweet pastries and breakfast sandwiches accompanied by Rival Bros Coffee.  We’ll be one of a handful of locations to serve their freshly ground, craft-roasted coffees, made in our brand new, state-of-the-art La Marzocco coffee machine.”

In the afternoon, High Street will offer a variety of artisanal sandwiches, salads, pastas and more, all made from scratch daily.  The on-site bakery will also debut a new menu of house-made breads using locally milled flour and grains, used in daily dishes and also available for retail sale.  In the evenings, Chef Kulp will create fun and delicious family-style dishes that utilize the very best ingredients and present them in new ways.  A selection of hand-crafted drinks, using house-made shrubs and infused liquors, will be available.

“Fans of Fork:etc. won’t be disappointed, and High Street will also appeal to adventurous eaters looking to experience something new,” says Chef Kulp, who has quickly earned his place among the city’s top new chefs since joining Fork in late 2012 from New York City’s trendsetting Torrisi Italian Specialties.  “We will utilize both contemporary and time-honored techniques, such as fermenting and brining, to stretch every possible flavor out of each ingredient and make the bounty of the summer last year round.”

Drawing its name from the historic British term for a city’s main thoroughfare, High Street is also a reminder of Market Street’s past: in William Penn’s original plans for Philadelphia, Market Street was known as High Street and was home to a true market shopping district, a tradition that Yin and Chef Kulp are proud to maintain with their market-fresh menu.

Assuring that guests will have an extraordinary experience at High Street is newly appointed General Manager Paul Rodriguez, one of the city’s most widely recognized front-of-house talents, whose gracious hospitality and broad range of experience make him a natural choice for this casual-yet-refined restaurant duo.  Once Fork’s assistant wine director, Rodriguez went on to run the successful pair of restaurants of Village Whiskey and Tinto before returning to Fork to join Yin and Chef Kulp as they write this new page in the restaurant’s ongoing story.

The inviting, fully-renovated new look of High Street on Market comes from designer Meg Rodgers of Marguerite Rogers Ltd.  The decor of natural wood walls, wood tables, church pew seating, large creamy subway tiles, blue painted wainscoting and factory windows will surround guests with the same fine craftsmanship that is central to Chef Kulp’s ever-evolving menu.  Hand-crafted loaves of fresh breads will be stacked on shelves, creative sandwiches will be made-to-order at the charcoal grey stone walk-up counter or guests may choose to be seated for informal service throughout the day.  A map of the Philadelphia area depicting the inspiration for many of Kulp’s dishes will be on the wall.

In less than a year at Fork, Chef Kulp has garnered a wealth of praise from critics and diners alike.  In a June 2013 feature on “Where We’re Eating,”Saveur magazine gushed that “Fork’s current tasting menu is filled with breathtaking moments…the venerable Philadelphia restaurant, a trailblazer in farm-to-table dining 15 years ago, has been made over, to miraculous effect.”  Chef Kulp was named as one of Star Chefs’ Rising Stars for 2013, and under his direction, the standard-bearing restaurant earned a stellar “Three Bells: Excellent” review from The Philadelphia Inquirer in which food critic Craig LaBan wrote, “Kulp’s food is just so hauntingly good…a serious talent.  And with his arrival, Yin has managed the improbable, taking a 15-year-old citywide favorite and reinventing it as something even better – current and fresh, yet sophisticated in a grown-up way so many new restaurants just can’t muster.  There are few crews anywhere that can match the polish of Yin’s veteran service staff…I loved so many of my meals here, I see for the first time four-bell potential in Fork’s future.”

Located in one of the country’s most historic neighborhoods, steps from Independence Hall, The National Constitution Center, many of the city’s most prestigious galleries and Race Street Pier, in the shadow of the iconic Benjamin Franklin Bridge, Fork has constantly evolved to remain at the forefront of locally sourced, creatively prepared American fare.

High Street on Market will serve breakfast and lunch, Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; and dinner will be served Tuesday through Thursday from 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.

For more information about High Street on Market, please call (215) 625-9425 or visit www.highstreetonmarket.com (website not yet live).  Guests are also invited to follow High Street on Twitter (@HighStPhilly) and Instagram (@HighStPhilly); fans can also follow Chef Eli Kulp on Twitter (@EliKulp) and Instagram (@EliKulp).