The Merit System

NO WAITING: Thanks to Meritage's down-to-earth staffing arrangement, Taylor Barnebey (left) and James Colabelli will be your servers. And owners. And on-hand consultants. Photo By: Michael T. Regan

Two hands-on food and wine fans want you to get comfortable.

by A.D. Amorosi

Whether you're a novice diner or a foodie, real or imagined, you'd have to admit the dining enterprise has become a de-personalized rush, an often jaded experience wherein the kitchen's dedication and the time you plan to spend don't always match.

James Colabelli and Taylor Barnebey hope to change that. To do it, the two men, former front-of-house staff at Davio's, have taken over 20th and Lombard (once home to Waldorf Café and Bella); there, they've opened Meritage Philadelphia, a restaurant without borders in terms of personalized service — a restaurant without waiters. There will be bussers, food runners and hostesses. But only Colabelli and Barnebey will take your order, discuss the food and wine — its histories, preparations, necessary pairings — and act as tour guides for a delicious, decadent evening in comfy surroundings.

Stop for a second.

Linger on all the waitstaff jokes you can cull from your collective memory. Get it out of your system. Now picture a room without waiters. Creepy, right? Like NASA without astronauts or an indie record store without the music nerd who knows the minutiae of The Move or Pavement.

Something's not right. But it will be once you're in the hands and hearth of Barnebey and Colabelli. They promise.

Barnebey, 27, and Colabelli, 34, met at Davio's in 2001, while Barnebey was a dining-room manager, and Colabelli acted as sommelier. In that craft, Colabelli, an opera-trained singer who studied music throughout Italy, has received several certifications from the Wine and Spirit Education Trust of England, and is currently preparing for his master's of wine examination in America. His education and sense of European traditionalism, and Barnebey's quest for familial dining experiences and fun led the two to scheming.

"We wanted to provide a special experience for guests," says Barnebey, "like throwing a dining party every night."

"We both wanted to open a restaurant where we could play the role of "host' and take guests on a culinary adventure," says Colabelli of the possibilities of hands-on operation. Meritage is housed in a manageable space, a cozy, intimate corner location of 34 seats.

With an idea based on the traditionalism of European service (not so much with smile, but rather a cheery sneer, perhaps), neither Barnebey nor Colabelli discussed their customer service style in advance. It just happened. "I guess having us serve our guests is the old European model where every diner meets the owner and gets to feel as if they part of the restaurant … or even part of our family," says Colabelli.

The Meritage heritage is about connection and tradition, bringing together the history and taste of "great classic cuisines that pair beautifully with the great wines of the world," says Colabelli. Meritage Philadelphia has 250 wines available, priced between $24 and $1,000. "We've chosen a menu of dishes that evolved in areas that either produce wine or have a wine-drinking culture."

"The only thing James seems to like more than drinking wine is talking about it," laughs Barnebey about Colabelli's assigned role versus his own — to know the particulars of the menu and how its ingredients exploit the wines' friendly nature. "While James discusses what style of wine [the customer] might like or want to experience in terms of country or pairing, I think it's great fun to answer questions about the origin of a dish. Or when they see something unexpected and are inquisitive — that's the real joy of the dining experience."

When asked to give their joint favorite, they gang up for the Tunisian Meritage: a lamb rack and loin chops with house-made sausage, Beaujolais, lemon, mint and honey sauce, with Middle Eastern salads, that incorporates North African influence on French cuisine in nouvelle fashion.

Each edition of that signature dish is numbered as it leaves their kitchen, an idea that has its roots in La Tour D'Argent, the Paris restaurant that's numbered their pressed duck dish for nearly a century. "Our dish is embedded with gastronomic history," says Colabelli. "Plus, it pairs beautifully with American Meritage red."

From its drawn-blind front and club-country waiting room to its intimate dining environ, Meritage has the feel of the exotic and the familial; a respite laced with Spanish Mission elements and leather touches. "It feels like you're walking from your best friend's living room into your family's dining area," says Barnebey of the stroll from its lounge (perfect for pre-dinner champagne or post-meal Cognac) to its dining area. "It's about intimacy."

It's also about honor, which they feel exists in the tradition of service and the cultural histories of their menu and its wines. "Our name is really a perfect description of what we do," says Colabelli of the invention of "Meritage' by its association of Californian winemakers who blend Bordeaux grapes into wine, red and white. "That name combines the words "merit" and "heritage." Both Taylor and I are proud Philadelphians. This restaurant is our gift to a city with its own wonderful culinary history."

Meritage Philadelphia, 20th and Lombard sts., 215-985-1922.

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