continued.
While “brasserie”
brings forth images of bustling tables laden with onglet,
moules, gratin and the likes, and “trattoria”
evokes bottles of chianti and fresh taglietelle served family-style,
the gastropub gets off clean, relatively free from these long-standing
connotations regarding décor, menu and service. This
is largely due to its lack of history: it was a mere 15 years
ago that The Eagle introduced the concept to London
diners with a straightforward, creative, seasonal menu and
true pub setting. It was certainly not the first pub to serve
good food, but was the first to advertise as a “gastropub.”
In 1995 came The Fat Duck in Bray, England, now famous
for Chef Heston Blumenthal’s experiments with molecular
gastronomy and retro English fare (not to mention its three
Michelin stars). The Eagle hit the nail on the head,
and started an enduring trend; today there are almost 100
gastropubs listed in Time Out London, as notable for their
cheeky names as their creative menus of English and French
cuisine.
The first Michelin
starred stateside gastropub, The Spotted Pig in New
York’s West Village, opened in 2004 to rave reviews
for both its food and its ambience. The cozy, inviting atmosphere
of dark wood and eclectic décor is paired with a small
but well-crafted and accessible menu, making for a neighborhood
spot that thrills locals and draws pilgrims from as far as
the Upper West Side. In 2006 Chef Ford opened Ford’s
Filling Station in LA, aiming for a similar combination
of a comfortable pub-like attitude that serves exciting, seasonal
food.
Ford designed
Ford’s Filling Station to be casual, open and
familiar, with concrete floors and high ceilings, with his
books on the shelves and his music playing on the stereo.
It is warmly lit, flecked with dark wood and decidedly inviting.
As for the menu, its focus is on regional American cuisine
with the occasional brasserie favorite. Ford works well within
these self-imposed parameters, serving dishes that range from
tender braised kobe cheeks atop fregola risotto, to smoked
trout salad, to scallops and foie gras, seared and topped
with a blood orange reduction. For Ford, a large appeal of
the gastropub designation is the flexibility that it allows.
“The ability to have freedom of cuisine is big,”
says Ford. “It’s fun to be responsible for interpreting
the meaning of gastropubs.”
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