From Garden To Table, A Trip of Mere Inches

     
by KYW's Lauren Lipton

Philadelphia has lots of BYOBs, and now RTHTOGs are cropping up.  
  
If you've never heard of that term, it's because I made it up to describe a new trend: Restaurants That Have Their Own Gardens.

(Pouget:)  "The garnishing will be on the roof this morning and will be on the plate that night."

That's Bruno Pouget, one of the partners in the new restaurant Noble, at 2025 Sansom Street.  Its garden is on the roof.

"Large planters, they're about 12 feet by two feet wide, and the chef uses that to plant tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, spice, herbs."

And this restaurant is not alone.

(Pouget:)  "We're very good friends with Mark Vetri, who owns 'Osteria,' and Mark did the same thing."

Pouget, who opened Caribou Café on Walnut Street in center city in 1989, teamed up  with Todd Rodgers and chef Steven Cameron for Noble. (The group had previously worked together on "Blue," in Long Beach Island.)  For this latest venture, he was involved in every aspect of the renovation.

Patron Michael McGettigan runs Trophy Bikes in University City:

(McGettigan:)  "I saw Bruno up on the ladder outside, and he's going (sanding sound), and he's like, 'I like to sand!' "

And like many other restaurants in the Philadelphia area, the front windows open right up.

(McGettigan:)  "You have your velvet rope places, which is like, ugh, very New York.  And this is like, whoa, you know, like I feel l might see someone I know and just stick my glass out and go, 'Try this, this is great!' "

That's Positively Philadelphia!