Boston: Fairsted Kitchen
It's on One for the Table Boston ReviewsLet's Eat by Kitty Kaufman, photos by Roseanna Spizzirri, Julie Moffatt
Andrew Foster and Steve Bowman dish contemporary American at Fairsted Kitchen in Brookline. It's a young vibe with a busy bar and communal tables so be ready to party. Why not? Even I have given up thinking I must get in my car to eat. It's not that I eat in the car. It just turns out favorite places or ones I want to try are elsewhere. So it's newsworthy that within walking distance of where I live, there are choices. Andy Warhol said it better: "I have to go out every night. If I stay home one night I start spreading rumors to my dogs.”Julie and I start with sumac-cured salmon garnished with pomegranate. For the record, we never had fruit on our lox at home. This is more lox than I've ever had in one sitting, assuming you're out of cream cheese. It's a time when bread . . . Of course I should have asked our server, Scott. And yes, I'm well aware there's not a chance in the world Nathan Mhrvold, the modernist chef, will be inviting me to a 50-course, lab-prepared whimsical meal anytime soon.
Julie's having what she calls a medium-bodied Malbec with her wilted kale salad that has shallots, apple and pecorino I can smell across the table. (Wilted kale is so big our Whole Foods has a waiting list.) When it comes to salads, we're curious how far inventive chefs will go beyond mesclun. At home, we make lunch a lot with arugula, croutons, Boston lettuce and avocado. You impress, chef Jason Albus, when you do us one better.

Julie's riccota gnocchi are in company with more kale. Duck confit is included, which she asks for on the side, then hands over. Now I'm happy; your usual duck is plum sauced or smothered in rice. This is neither, and sorry, just ducky. When we were kids, we could count on mother roasting a duck every five years. After, she would have the kitchen painted and talk about how we had to move.

Roseanna, Jim and I are back on Saturday night early; it can't be that early as the room fills up in no time. Jim's a Dirty Martini fan and his Ketel One's here in what we can only term a grandma glass: gold rimmed and gold footed. Today's gnocchi are potato-filled in a rich sauce with peas, favas and fiddleheads. This is one of their small dishes; others include crab cake, the smoked salmon, tuna crudo and scallops.




Fairsted's convenient if, say, you prefer other people's kitchens to your own. I mean, it's not like apple turnovers magically appear in my kitchen. You may not notice there's little moderating the acoustics but I did so you'll want to limit secret sharing. It's nothing tablecloths and seat cushions couldn't help. When you're early, ask for a table on the patio.
Fairsted Kitchen
1704 Beacon St
Brookline, MA 02446
617. 396. 8752
© July 8, 2014 for One for the Table
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Kitty@corp-edge.com
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Italian Western

Fine kettle of fish

Food, and art

Red hot and blue

Yes, we have no meatballs

Meatballs and calamari in Roslindale

Pon cooks with fire

Happy, happy new year

New York state of mind

Industry standard

Ta dah

Eat dessert first