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“Chestnut”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	New American	Brooklyn	Moderate	Good

named Alex Miranda. “Alex, what’s in this drink?” I asked, perplexed by the slim pinky-shaped garnishes. These did not look like onions to me. “Oh, those are ramps that our chef Daniel Eardley forages for upstate and brings back here. He pickles them in house for the cocktails. We don’t like to use any of those creepy cocktail onions.”

Eureka! This was a story idea. (While this is common now, back in June of 2002, no one was making pickled ramps for cocktails.) The next morning, I called and interviewed the chef, headed back to my office and pitched Sam. This time he wrote back right away. The email was short and to the point: “Get me 300 words by the end of the day and maybe I’ll print it.” It was official: I had my first assignment for the Dining Section. I sent in those 300 words and waited and waited. When the fact checker called that Friday, that’s when I knew. I was in. The article came out on Wednesday June 27, 2002. I woke up as the sun was rising, and probably still in some part of my pajamas, ran down to my corner bodega. I tore the paper open to the Dining Section and read the article right there on 3rd Avenue as my bleary eyed neighbors walked their dogs around me. As I go to the end of the piece and read my byline, fat wet circles of salty water dropping out of my eyes stained the page. I went back inside and bought five more copies.

It’s hard to believe that almost seven years have passed since that warm June morning. Not all that much has changed, I suppose. I am still writing about food, though not as much for the Times anymore, and Daniel is still a chef, though not at Washington Park which sadly closed. He’s actually cooking at a little restaurant in my neighborhood in Brooklyn, called Chestnut where he’s been quietly doing his thing for five years now. While we’ve stayed in touch over the years, it wasn’t until I moved to Cobble Hill, and he opened a new wine bar next to the restaurant, that I got around to stopping in to say hello. Shame on me, I know. I wish it hadn’t taken me so long.

Chestnut is a quintessential neighborhood restaurant, but one that takes its food a bit more seriously than the norm. Like Daniel was doing at Washington Park, he often forages for his own ingredients or finds them from local farmers who can do a better job than he can. If it’s something that he can make himself (bre ... [more, click below]

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Posted: November 2, 2008

Other restaurants in Brooklyn :
+ Chickenbone Cafe-- Closed   + Pier 116-- Closed   + Chestnut   + Lunch at Peter Luger's   + 360   + Palo Santo   + The Good Fork   + Porchetta-- Closed Now   + Bocca Lupo   + Flatbush Farm   + DuMont Burger   + Dressler   + Farm on Adderley   + The Grocery   + Saul   + Black Mountain Wine House   + The General Greene   + Char No. 4   + James   + Chestnut   + No. 7   + Vinegar Hill House   + Motorino   + Buttermilk Channel   + Buttermilk Channel   + Vutera   + Watty & Meg    + Prime Meats   + Aqualis Grill   + Jack the Horse Tavern   + Roman's   + Fatty 'Cue   + Thistle Hill Tavern   + Broken English   + Trix, by Dara Pollak   + An Ode to New Orleans in Williamsburg: Maison Premiere, By Dara Pollak   + Brooklyn Wok Shop by Dara Pollak   + Arthur on Smith   + La Vara   + Gran Electrica   + Pok Pok Ny   + Ganso    + Reynard   

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