Review: The $300 Ticketed Dinner at Jose Garces' Volver

Philadelphia is the City of Brotherly Love so it warms my heart that we now have Volver, a restaurant to welcome locals and out-of-towners alike with four-hour, $600, luxury-laden feasts; I suppose we all have different takes on fraternal love but this one fits my definition pretty well. And props to Iron Chef Jose Garces for bringing America's fifth-largest city some culinary diversity at the ultra-high end.

The spendiest destinations for long-form gastronomy have been thriving in New York, Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area as of late. Tony spots like Atera, Atelier Crenn, Alinea, Benu, Blanca, Next, and Saison all serve 11 - 30 course meals to reasonably full houses most nights. And while Philadelphia remains brimming with ambitious places to eat — from the sharable plates of Serpico or Zahav to the set menus of Avance — the extended-tasting menu sector remains dominated by just a handful of venues, like the Italian-tinged Vetri, at $155 per person, as well as Lacroix's internationally-inclined chef's table, priced at $165.

But is it any good? >>