Who's Tommy?

South Philly food's cooking in the last place you might expect: Woody's

Mark Stehle I'LL MEET YOU ANY TIME YOU WANT Chef Thomas Deeney, a native of South Philly, toasts in Tommy D's Café, the restaurant portion of Center City gay bar Woody's. He's cooked up Italian-American cuisine here since 2007.

It's a lazy Tuesday afternoon at Woody's, and "Just Beat It" plays dimly in the modest café connected to the iconic Center City gay bar at 13th and Walnut. Thomas Deeney, a bright-eyed (Italian) Bruce Willis look-alike, sits in one of his wooden booths, discussing, in a jovial tenor, the experience of working as executive chef at the nightlife institution.

Woody's has been a polestar in Philly for nearly 30 years. Due to its far-reaching rep as a bar, however, many tend to overlook the dining area — Tommy D's Café — tucked off in the northernmost wing of the building. Deeney's food often stands tertiary to Woody's more visible amenities — tall libations and dancefloor provision. Those in the know, however, are keen to the fact that it's a destination for real South Philly-style food cooked by a real South Philly native.

Growing up at 17th and Wolf, Deeney often watched his aunts and grandmothers in the kitchen as they prepared ravioli and gnocchi. He spent his summers working at his uncle's boat rental in Wildwood Crest, where at the hot snack bar he earned his first cooking experience: making pizzas and cheesesteaks. It wasn't until Deeney studied under Peter Gems, executive chef of the Manor Country Club in Rockville, Md., that he received his first taste of formal training.

After graduating from the Academy of Culinary Arts at Cape Atlantic Community College, marrying his wife, Allison, and touring the area as a chef, Deeney was approached in early 2007 by Tre Rios, executive GM of Woody's, with an offer to be the bar's executive chef.

Deeney had no particular qualms about working in a gay bar. But he does remember his wife being quite enthusiastic about the new employment opportunity. "Allison said working at Woody's would keep me away from temptation," he chuckles.

Woody's has served food since ever since it opened in 1982. Although it never quite attained restaurant-caliber notoriety, the fare evolved from fresh-made ham and cheese strombolis to a deluxe steam bar. Since Deeney came on board, however, both the lunch and dinner menus have undergone serious upgrades.

"I try to bring a little bit of South Philly to Center City — home-cooked Italian food for good prices made with fresh, locally bought ingredients," says Deeney, who formerly served as executive chef (and later maitre'd) of Dante and Luigi's at 10th and Catharine.

The Woody's lunch menu offers Angus beef burgers, hefty wraps, mountainous salads and plenty of sides. All sandwiches are served on seeded bread and come with Deeney's signature "Pub Chips" (potatoes, yucca and plantains). The dinner menu is more tour d'Italia: steamed mussels and clams, ricotta-stuffed eggplant, shrimp fra diavolo and other delicacies. Baguette slices with olive oil and roasted longhots precede all entrées.

Woody's dining room resembles a quaint south-of-South ristorante: rose candles melted over rotund Chianti bottles, red-and-white checkered tablecloths, servers garbed in all black. Deeney focuses all his energy on maintaining this little hub of nostalgia, but it's still sometimes overshadowed by the rest of Woody's accommodations, packed nightly with mirthful revelers.

Even with Deeney's touches, the café's traffic leaves something to be desired. "Sometimes, I feel that since this is a gay bar, some people can be a bit wary about coming in to eat," laments the chef. "I've seen people walk up to the door, look up at the awning — [while] some go in, some walk away. We should be packed for lunch ... and more [customers] at dinner would be nice."

Advertising for Tommy D's is virtually nonexistent, aside from the daily listing of specials scribbled on a blackboard outside. News of the café spreads primarily by word of mouth. "When I do get a rush, I have to work in [a] tiny kitchen," Deeney says, gesturing toward his 16-square-foot work space, which features a four-burner stove and an ungenerous fryer.

Thankfully, Deeney's finesse seems to transcend the limited cooking quarters, as diners can attest. "The food is great for the price, especially in Center City. A [dinner] here costs $10 or $12, and it fills you up," says Christopher Tadeo, a patron who's frequented Woody's since it opened.

Adam Shellenberger, who's worked as a server at Woody's for seven months, concurs. "Tommy's food is one of those hidden gems," he says. "It's genuine."

Sadly, Deeney's wife passed away last April. "A dark cloud [was] cast over everything when Allison died," he says. Deeney suspended his popular Sunday brunch buffet, the couple's weekly co-venture, but plans on reintroducing it this fall as a tribute to her, just like her mounted picture above the register in the café.

"It's necessary to have passion," says Deeney of overcoming obstacles. "As a full-time chef, you give up a lot. But the sacrifices keep you going.

"This is my art," he adds. "I can't draw a stick figure, but I can make butter roses, do ice carving, and make one hell of a marinara sauce. And I keep doing it, because that's what I do best."

(editorial@citypaper.net)

Woody's, 202 S. 13th St., 215-545-1893, woodysbar.com. Tommy D's Café: Lunch served daily, noon-3 p.m.; dinner served daily, 4-10 p.m.

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