Phillyist Interviews... Ted Allen

In person, Ted Allen is pretty much exactly what you'd expect, only not quite as tall. He's friendly; he's charismatic; he's a little geeky (we shared iPhone tips); and he's very giving of his time to fans and press alike (admittedly, we're a little of both). We met him at the beginning of the California Wine Tour event this past weekend's Atlantic City Food and Wine Festival, and while the event's lack of well-versed vintners left something to be desired, our brief time with Ted didn't. We only got a few questions in, but the time was completely ours—and now, we're sharing it with you.

You're in Atlantic City, which is only a 40-mile drive to Philadelphia. How familiar are you with the Philly food scene?
Not very. I've only been to Philly three or four times. The last time I was there, it was to film a commercial for Dining out for Life, which, as you may know was created in Philly. It's the a national fundraiser for AIDS involving restaurants.

I have eaten quite a bit of the food from Mr. Morimoto, so I would have to speculate that Morimoto is one of your best restaurants.

I haven't had the chance yet [to really experience Philadelphia]—I'm not kidding, I really would love to. I love history, I love beautiful old buildings. I live in a brownstone from 1879 and Philadelphia is obviously the seat of so much American history, I'd love to spend some time there.

Who knows—maybe after this year, you'll be having a lot more food from Mr. Jose Garces!
Is he one of the contenders [on The Next Iron Chef]? Oh man. I would love to be a judge on The Next Iron Chef.

We overheard you speaking earlier about what you look at on a wine list. But in Philadelphia, we have a lot of BYOBs.
Love that!

How do you go about picking the wine when you don't know what you're having for dinner?
Well, you could bring two. (Chuckles.) I mean, generally, you have some idea what kind of restaurant you're going to. But obviously, you want to try to get something versatile. I'm more of a red person most of the time, and if you go with some sort of a light red, like a pinot noir, that's something that's going to drink great with a roast chicken, and it'll do okay with a steak. It doesn't have enough tannins to be ideal for a steak, but it's so versatile, it goes with a lot of things. Maybe a grenache—another light red. But you know, sometimes your food is predicated by your wine and vice-versa. So if you're going to a BYOB, maybe that's the attitude you need to take.

Philadelphia is a town that loves to buy and eat local, seasonal food. When we're dining this time of year, are there any wines that you'd especially recommend for what's in season?
Let's take a look at the much-merlined—merlined (chuckles)—the much-maligned grape, merlot. This, thank God, tomato season, and we're in New Jersey, which grows fantastic tomatoes. Tomatoes are notoriously difficult to pair with wines because of their acidity. Merlot is actually a great option, so you may think about that.

We are in—this is like vegetable nirvana, right now. Everything is coming in. I'm a member of a CSA, so every Wednesday I go pick up my little box of organic yumminess from Long Island. It's a great way to eat. Philly and Jersey have [access to] such great agriculture that you can do the same thing.

Photo by Ross Currie