It’s another new name in Philadelphia Weekly’s Food section. Christina Perachio reviews the truly farm-to-table, Russet.
“Farm-to-table,” “garden,” “local,” “sustainable,” “organic”: these have become buzzwords in the restaurant industry, one that seems to look more and more like a living, breathing Portlandia skit each time a new spot flicks on its Edison bulbs and plants an herb garden on its roof. But why be cynical? It may be a trend, but the food’s great—and that’s no fad.
Chef-Owners Andrew and Kristin Wood are now offering brunch at Russet. The BYOB is offering seasonally-inspired brunch dishes every Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. till 2 p.m.
Andrew’s savory dishes will show off his expertise in butchery and charcuterie.
Tonight and tomorrow Russet will be serving up the above house-made mortadella with black pepper and lemon zest grissini.
Then at 10 p.m., Lehigh Valley PBS affiliate WLVT will be broadcasting American Beer Blogger, the pilot episode of beer writer Lew Bryson’s Kickstarter funded TV show. WLVT is available locally on Xfinity (39, 793HD).
Dining room is parlor from 19th Century townhouse.
Andrew and Kristin Wood have opened Russet at 1521 Spruce Street. The legitimate farm to table BYOB will offer an ever changing menu with a focus on whole-animal butchery and traditional cooking methods.
Owners Andrew and Kristin Wood
Andrew and Kristin met in 2000 while working at Radius in Boston
They traveled west to Chicao where Andrew worked at Rick Tramonto’s TRU and Kristin at Trio under Chef Grant Achatz.
The couple continued west to California. At Napa’s Terra and San Francisco’s Quince Andrew really got into food-sourcing and seasonality
Back in Philadelphia Andrew opened James and Maia
Kristin was also the pastry chef at James
Most recently Andrew has been at Fork where his charcuterie won a Best of Philly award
UPDATE:Okay, so that first video? Not our best work. But since Russet was literally opening the doors as we were finishing the video, we figured that something was better than nothing.
Now that we’ve had a couple days, we’re pleased to offer the prettied-up version of our Russet walkthrough. It’s a gorgeous space that deserves a loving look. And that charcuterie is just sexy as hell. Enjoy…
Andrew and Kristin Wood didn’t take the easy route when they picked an opening date for Russet. Their first night of service? Tonight. Valentine’s Day–one of the busiest nights in the entire food service calendar.
Still, if the charcuterie room (as seen in the video) is anything to go by, they’re ready. And this is what the tiny, gorgeous, 50-seat BYO will look like when they open the doors to the public for the first time tonight.
Russet will be the name of Andrew and Kristin Wood’s Spruce Street BYOB. The couple is taking over the former Ernesto’s for a true farm-to-table restaurant, not just a spot cashing in on a buzz phrase.
Andrew, who’s first Philadelphia restaurant job was in Georges Perrier’s Le Bec-Fin more than a decade a go, has traveled west to California (with stops in Boston and Chicago) as he has become a disciple of ingredient-driven cuisine. In California, Andrew worked as a sous chef at Hiro Sone and Lissa Doumani’s Terra in the Napa Valley. After that he went to Michael and Lindsay Tusk’s Quince in San Francisco. Quince’s philosophy serves as the backbone of Russet, daily changing menus and food supplied directly from farmers.
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