Like Everyone Else, Rachael Ray Loves Zahav

Celeb chef Rachael Ray’s “Best Restaurants in America” episode airs Friday morning with two familiar Philly faces. Both Mike Solomonov and Marc Vetri appear on the show, repping two local spots in the top restaurants roundup: Zahav and Vetri Cucina. The show compiled the list of restaurants by polling chefs and restaurateurs.

It seems like Solomonov, who won the James Beard Award for outstanding chef earlier this year, just can’t stop racking up the accolades. Along with Ray, who calls Zahav her “absolute must-go, must stop every time I’m there” restaurant in Philly, Andrew Zimmern, Daniel Holzman, Hugh Mangum, Marc Murphy, Amanda Freitag, and Melissa Clark all named the Old City destination as the best restaurant in Philly. Zahav opened in 2008.

Meanwhile, Vetri is approaching its 20th year and still knocking it out of the park. On their surveys, Alex Guarnaschelli, Jet Tila, Graham Elliot, Stephanie Izard, Fabio Viviani, and Anne Burrell named the Washington Square West landmark as their favorite Philly spot.

Nick Solares

In a pre-taped cooking segment on Friday’s show, Solomonov makes Zahav’s Brussels sprout baba ganoush (topped with feta, hazelnuts, and dill) before heading over to Vetri, which he calls his favorite restaurant in Philadelphia. Chef Vetri makes a spinach gnocchi for the camera that Solomonov refers to as “life-changing.”

Watch the Rachael Ray Show November 3 at 10 a.m. on 6 ABC, or just watch this clip to see Vetri and Solomonov in action: