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by Louisa Kasdon |
April 04, 2009
 I was curious when I learned that Jeremy Sewall, chef-owner of Lineage in Brookline, was going to be running the kitchen at Eastern Standard.
Was there a message here? Another bistro casualty? Trouble in the
kitchen at Eastern Standard? Thankfully, the answer was none of the
above. Two success stories added together equals one big win.
Almost since the day it opened, Eastern Standard has been packing them
in at the bar and on the patio, with parties queuing up for those
burgundy booths both before and after the game. In only four years,
Eastern Standard has established its niche as a scene, a breakthrough
bar, and a damned good place to eat. “Comfortable food with polish” is
how proprietor Garrett Harker describes it. But Harker, a hospitality
perfectionist, wants more. “Restaurants are all about balance. We could
just ride the bar, but I have aspirations for our food to be as good as
our bar.” Enter Jeremy Sewall.
Sewall is a serious pro. He trained right, went to the right schools,
worked at the right five-star hotels and French bistros and San
Francisco icons. When he came to Boston to help open Great Bay,
the GB team was nearly agog at his ability, especially with seafood.
With his wife Lisa, an equally revered pastry chef, he owns Lineage, a
gem that Brookliners almost hate to share with friends in Boston proper
because they don’t want it overrun. Sewall has a rep as a chef’s chef
—time spent in his kitchen becomes part of a young cook’s own lineage.
And it hardly seems like he’s in need of a moonlighting gig: Sewall’s
Lineage had its best year yet in 2008 and its best months to date in
February and January.
Why, then, is he taking command of the Eastern Standard kitchen? “I
like building teams,” explains Sewell. “I brought 10 people with me
from San Francisco when I relocated to Boston for Great Bay. I’ve built
another solid team at Lineage, and coming to Eastern Standard lets me
take on another great group of young cooks.” Harker sees Sewall as
having the potential to be a “mentor” to his kitchen corps. “I’ve spent
a lot of time ‘loving’ the front of the house at Eastern Standard.
That’s what I know how to do. I know exactly how to motivate people
whose main job is hospitality and service. But I’m not a chef. Jeremy
is the guy who can motivate and train the guys on the line. He’ll make
time spent on the line at Eastern Standard feel like graduate school
for our kitchen team.”
The mutual admiration society between Harker and Sewall dates back to
when Sewall cooked at Great Bay and Eastern Standard was in its
infancy. “Jeremy has no hard edges,” says Harker. “He was the guy down
the end of the corridor who could loan us something when we ran short
or give us brutal advice when we asked for it. A colleague from the
get-go.”
What’s this really about? Harker recognizes that inching Eastern Standard up a notch to destination-dining status means
making an investment in his kitchen. Eastern Standard’s basic menu
won’t change — “it will just get better,” Harker says. “We’ll keep the
same price point, the same kind of brasserie menu.” Sewall is making an
investment, too. As organized and calm as he is, there are still only
24 hours in most days. He says he’ll be shuttling between the two
restaurants several times daily (they are “1.1 miles apart”). Both guys
are wagering that one plus one will add up to a lot more than two. ...
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