Join us October 26 at 11 AM to chat with Ann Limpert. Have questions about the latest big, shiny new restaurant at the Wharf? What to do—or give out—this Halloween? Or maybe you just need a dinner recommendation. Leave a question below, and Ann will get to as many as she can.
Ann: Before we get going on the chat, I’ve got some news that will make Seasonal Pantry fans happy. Don’t know the place? Before Shaw was a restaurant epicenter, and before there were tasting menus and pop-ups all over town—in the ancient days of 2013—there was Seasonal Pantry. The tiny, narrow space was a market by day, but at night, chef/owner Dan O’Brien put on remarkably soulful and ambitious multicourse dinners for a communal table of 12 customers. With a tiny kitchen and a couple induction burners, and often working with just one other cook, he landed at number 14 on our 100 Best Restaurants list in 2014.
O’Brien closed up shop and left town two years ago, but now he’s back on the scene, handling the market and cafe side of Officina, fellow Bibiana alum Nick Stefanelli’s Italian megaplex at the Wharf. Next month at Blagden Alley Social Club—just around the corner from his old place—he plans to start putting on monthly dinners that sound a whole lot like Seasonal Pantry. Communal tables, some family-style dishes, around 14 to 16 snacks and courses, and O’Brien’s intensely focused, handmade style. “Y’know, it’ll take 14 hours to make one bite” O’Brien says.
He’s still tinkering with the menu, but dishes might include a “rice crispy” with beef tendon and rosemary smoked marshmallow, or oysters with preserved tomatoes. He’s also been messing around with Japanese fermentation methods (“Can I make a 28-day aged duck breast in three days?”).
Dates too, are TBD. Keep an eye on O’Brien’s Instagram for more details in the coming weeks.
OK! Onto your questions—ask them in the form below, the chat transcript shows up underneath.
