One cannot ignore the presence and impact that Stephen Starr has brought to the area's restaurant scene. Mr. Starr owns some 13 noteworthy restaurants in Philadelphia along with two highly successful concepts in New York (Buddakan and Morimoto). His impact continues to be gigantic and has proven to be more than simply opening terrific restaurants. He has contributed some former Starr employees who have quickly graduated to become significant restaurant stars of their own. One of the hottest chefs in America right now has to be Jose Garces who was the executive chef at Starr's El Vez in Philadelphia. Chef Garces went on his own and quickly opened eight highly regarded concepts in Downtown Philadelphia with presumably more to come.

Another rising star would be Chef Michael Schulson who served as executive chef with Starr's Pod in University City (Philadelphia) and at Buddakan in New York. Upon leaving the Starr organization, Chef Shulson joined the celebrity chef line-up (Bobby Flay, Michael Mina, and Wolfgang Puck) at the Borgata as owner and executive chef at the popular, and very successful Izakaya. In 2009 the restaurant was named as one of the Fifty Best New Restaurants in the United States by Travel & Leisure Magazine.

Michael Schulson may or may not be going the route of Stephen Starr and Jose Garces, but in short order he opened Sampan in Philadelphia which coincidentally is across the street from Stephen Starr's El Vez where Jose Garces got his Philadelphia start.

There is a profile of chefs who go the celebrity route, and from what we see, Michael Schulson is well on his way. Keep in mind that this chef opened one of the most successful concepts in the history of concepts in Manhattan when Stephen Starr selected him to become the opening executive chef at Buddakan. In the 2010 (sales figures from 2009) “Top 100 Independent Restaurants of America” from Restaurants & Institutions, Buddakan was listed at #9 with sales of $20,074,469. While we are at it, Parc in Philadelphia was #66 at $11,392,238; Buddakan in Philadelphia was #89 at $10,399,677; the Continental in Philadelphia was #99 at $9,806,813; and Morimoto in New York was #100 at $9,630,494. All of the above, owned and operated by Stephen Starr. Need we say more?

And with all the apparent success in the Restaurant Capital of the world, Michael Shulson chose not to stay. His home, his wife, his child were in Philadelphia and the Borgata represented an tremendous opportunity, so who can argue with him. But New York was very good to Michael and the media responded accordingly with appearances on The Today Show“Martha Stewart Show,” “Live! with Regis and Kelly,” “The View,” “Rachel Ray” and “The Tyra Banks Show” (to name a few).

He is also the creator of a line of upscale Asian prepared foods -
www.AppetizersToGo.com.

A natural television personality, he was also cast for a season-long stint on Discovery Channel’s “Go Ahead, Make My Dinner,” and has appeared on “The Today Show,” “The Martha Stewart Show,” “Live! with Regis and Kelly,” “The View,” “Rachel Ray” and “The Tyra Banks Show.”  He is also the creator of a line of upscale Asian prepared foods through www.AppetizersToGo.com.

Chef Schulson’s interest in food stems from his childhood on Long Island, where he first learned to cook alongside his mother and grandmother.  After high school, he attended the Culinary Institute of America, where he interned with culinary legend David Burke at New York’s Park Avenue Café. Following his graduation, he worked in such acclaimed restaurants as New York’s Peacock Alley in the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel and Philadelphia’s Le Bec Fin, Susanna Foo and Buddakan.

Chef Schulson opened Izakaya joining an all-star roster of chefs at the Borgata including Bobby Flay, Michael Mina and Wolfgang Puck to rave reviews and immense popularity. The restaurant was named one of the “50 Best New U.S. Restaurants, 2009” by Travel + Leisure magazine (May 2009) and received a coveted “Three Bell,
Excellent” review from the Philadelphia Inquirer.
A natural television personality, he was also cast for a season-long stint on Discovery Channel’s “Go Ahead, Make My Dinner,” and has appeared on “The Today Show,” “The Martha Stewart Show,” “Live! with Regis and Kelly,” “The View,” “Rachel Ray” and “The Tyra Banks Show.”  He is also the creator of a line of upscale Asian prepared foods through www.AppetizersToGo.com.
For more information about Chef Michael Schulson, please visit www.michaelschulson.com.  For more on Sampan, or to make a reservation, please visit www.restaurantsampan.com.  For more on Ultimate Cake Off, please visit www.tlc.com.


After experiencing success with Izakaya in the Borgata, Schulson had plans to do a 200-seat modern Asian restaurant in Philly about a year and a half back. The faltering economy, however, gave him pause. “I [didn't] want to do a huge restaurant that [was] going to cost $4, $5 or $6 million,” says Schulson. “I wanted to come back to Philly to do food in a cool, intimate setting, with something affordable for everybody. That’s what’s important in this economy.”
The 13th Street space, across the street from El Vez and Vintage in a former kids’ store, is about 2,500 square feet. Concept-wise, the chef says he’ll draw from his experiences/travels in Asia for Sampan (that’s a Chinese plank boat), featuring dishes celebrating Japanese, Chinese and Southeast Asian traditions. Think unexpected takes on spring rolls and pad Thai, steamed pork belly buns, raw fish and the like; figure on $8 to $12 for appetizers and $14 to $22 for larger places, which checks averaging out to somewhere between $20 and $40 a head. It’ll have a liquor license, with affordable wine and sake programs. The chef hopes to have the place open by November.

www.grg-mgmt.com/ - (The Garces Restaurant Group)
www.michaelschulson.com
www.restaurantsampan.com
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