"We're not looking to become millionaires," says Sweeney. "We just want to pay the bills and have a nice life. . . . And we basically want to focus on simple food done well."
The result may not be the kind of fine-dining destination that merits a drive from far afield. But the little BYOB they created has the charm, personality and value to be a delightful neighborhood fixture, especially for an emerging neighborhood like Pennsport in deep South Philly, which had yet to score its go-to local bistro.
It's a concept that resonates in a perfect bowl of mussels, basking in a tan broth steeped with wine, tomatoes and hickory-smoked chunks of bacon. Or a flash-grilled round of stretchy pizza dough topped with molten streams of white cheddar and deep green florets of broccoli. Or a hearty fall salad of crisp-skinned duck breast fanned medium-rare beside tufts of bitter frisee and sweet Gala apples shined with tart cider vinaigrette.
That particular duck may come and go on Nicholas' menu, which changes substantially from week to week. And if the Nicks don't want to make an elaborate sauce or starch for every dish, that's their call - though some offerings could use one or the other to be more complete. But when food is as fresh and priced as fairly as it is at Nicholas, where every entree is $19 or less, the lack of fuss and trimmings is easier to overlook.
Matteo and Sweeney had long talked of opening a restaurant together, mulling the possibilities over years of friendly beers and barbecues in Matteo's backyard. Their powers of suggestion must be very strong: the low-slung brick building that became Nicholas now sits with its chocolate-brown awnings directly across East Moyamensing Avenue from Matteo's backyard. Formerly a gelateria called Caffe Carmen, it was pounced on by the duo the moment it became available.
