banditapple

The Redhead, Frank Bruni writes, is “the most inspiring kind of restaurant story, happy proof of that hoary adage about wills and ways.” What started as an East Village bar, decorated with hand-me down furniture, has turned into, a restaurant with “principled, distinctive cooking.” The development is thanks to Meg Grace, the chef, and her “season-conscious comfort food” and is also a sign of the times. “It wasn’t a ready-made brand from another city,” Mr. Bruni writes of the restaurant’s rise, “it wasn’t the latest outpost in a burgeoning empire, it didn’t have big-name investors and big-statement décor. It had bacon peanut brittle, buttermilk-fried chicken, house-made soft pretzels and three scrappy proprietors unafraid to beg, borrow and toil round the clock to realize their ambition of a neighborhood place with an idiosyncratic flair.” Make your reservations now.

By JULIE BLOOM
Wednesday, August 19, 2009