In true Talula's fashion, each one was more delightful than the last. And yet, something familiar was missing here. Bryan Sikora - the celebrated chef who helped his wife, Aimee, turn Talula's into the talk of the dining world - was nowhere to be seen.
Aimee, 39, and Bryan, 40, first rose to prominence at Django, where they became the iconic duo on the Philadelphia restaurant scene. They were a seemingly unbeatable "mom-and-pop" force that set the bar high for a generation of BYOBs - dozens of them also run by husband-and-wife teams.
But what happens to that idyllic equation when "pop" files for divorce and quits the team, as Bryan did in January?
Angst-ridden foodies, of course, must be wondering about the status of those precious reservations. Is an evening here still the enchanted dinner that Saveur magazine recently named to its coveted Top 100 list? The food, spirit, and future of the culinary gem were suddenly at risk.
Unconventional vision
At their peak together, Bryan cooked seasonal wonders, and Aimee ran the dining room (and lovingly tended her cheese). When they suddenly sold their four-bell Django to eventually open a far-flung gourmet market in Chester County - a move that struck many as a shock - the national acclaim they earned for the nightly tastings at Talula's seemed only to confirm their flawless, albeit unconventional, vision.
In fact, just a few months ago, industry insiders were abuzz with the possibility that the couple were planning a return to the city with their onetime boss Stephen Starr. Negotiations to remake the Blue Angel space (which Aimee originally helped open) had advanced so far, Starr says, that bids for construction were being put out.
And then, in mid-January, Bryan asked for a divorce.
