Everyone has an ‘it-girl’ friend. Her finger is always on the pulse of a new cutting edge trend or the next hotspot. She also has a knack for choosing restaurants that you’ll remember for years. When cool-girl bestie was adamant about a dinner reservation at Olmsted, I knew it would be a celebration for the senses. From the minute we sat down the inventive flavors and flourishing herb garden made the Prospect garden restaurant memorable.
I fell in love with Brooklyn’s Olmsted garden-to-table restaurant, because it was the first time I sat next to the herbs and vegetables that were on my plate. Farm-to-table restaurants work with local farms to curate fresh produce for their kitchen. Garden-to-table restaurants take it a step further and grow the vegetables and pluck the warm eggs from the backyard chicken-coop themselves.
That night was the first time I tasted ‘fiddlehead ferns’. I won’t give away any spoilers about this ‘appetizer must’. I’ll leave it up to you to try for yourself. But, I will say this to tempt you… it was glorious.
Keep reading to hear about other delicious treats you’ve probably never heard of from the people who grow, make, and serve it themselves.
Q & A With Olmsted…
What was the inspiration for Olmsted?
After working in kitchens for over a decade, I knew I wanted to open my own place where I could combine my love and respect for nature and agriculture with all of my experience and training.
Olmsted just turned 3 this year. How has the restaurant changed since it first opened its doors in 2016?
Since we opened we have been able to expand, and for a lack of a better word, “grow” our garden program several times. It’s 3X the size from when we first opened. We also started growing wheatgrass in our 50ft living wall for our brunch menu. And more recently, we acquired some space on a roof in our neighborhood.
What are some of the vegetables that you grow in your garden? Do you still have the chicken coup?
We grow all kinds of stuff these days. Kale for our crab rangoon, wheatgrass for a shot during our brunch, heirloom tomatoes, eggplant, borage flower, blackberries, strawberries, pawpaw, etc. Oh, and pretty much every herb you can think of. And yes, Gary and our quail are still around and producing eggs!
What star winter items are in season now and on the menu?
Without question the rutabaga “pasta”. We take rutabaga and cut it so it looks like tagliatelle. Then we cook it just like pasta and serve it with black truffle butter.
What’s next for Olmsted?
We will continue to explore more ways to be local, sustainable, and responsible while maintaining a high standard for quality yet approachable. We are also very active in our community and charities and organizations we share values with.
