INSIDE THE KITCHEN is a mouth-watering editor. We will always take you inside a professional kitchen which is delicious and has a lot of quality. After seeing everything on the web, we bet that at the first opportunity, you will visit these places.
In January, FIT&FAT Kitchen visited the Union Oyster House restaurant and interviewed Executive Chef Rico DiFronzo. Check out the full interview and see what a wonderful place it is!
History of America's oldest restaurant
Union Oyster House is Boston's oldest restaurant and America's oldest operating restaurant. Since 1826, the doors are open, serving various types of meals based on seafood, specifically oysters.
The street where the restaurant is located was built in 1636, but there are no municipal records documenting the Oyster House’s date of construction. What is known is that it has existed for more than 250 years.
Before it became a food business establishment (in 1742), the building marketed luxurious dresses of the brand Hopestill Capen. Over the years, the upper floors were becoming more occupied and new ones were built. A
Produced by Nathália Araujo historic landmark for the building was when the French King, Louis Phillippe resided for a few years on the second floor. In 1826, the clothing trade ended and the "Atwood and Bacon's" was inaugurated.
The new owners of the place, installed a fabulous semi-circular bar called "Semi-Circular Oyster Bar". This new fad had a loyal customer named Daniel Webster, who always drank a large glass of brandy and ate half a dozen oysters. Another interesting fact: toothpicks were first used in the United States at the Union Oyster House. The toothpicks that were first used there were imported from South America.
The Union Oyster House had only three owners to this day. Currently, the Milano family manages and runs the restaurant.
The menu
Today, the restaurant offers differentiated meals for lunch, dinner, desserts, and for special occasions when large groups celebrate festive dates. In addition, the bar- atmosphere offers a specialized menu.
On one of the walls of the establishment, guests can look at the restaurant's oldest menu, made in 1826. Today, the kitchen produces a n d s e r v e s almost 40% of t h e o p t i o n s offered in the original menu.
According to Chef Rico DiFronzo, oysters are the best-selling dishes. They sell more than 1 million oysters in half a shell a year. And this amount does not cover when they fry, bake, grill or
Produced by Nathália Araujo produce oysters Rockefellers. In addition, there are other dishes that oysters are part of the list of ingredients.
In addition to oysters, the Union Oyster House's kitchen produces choices of dishes with Cod, Clam, Lobster, Haddock, Shrimp, and other types of seafood. Also, cool detail, all are traditionally from New England culture.
The environment
According to the Chef, at this time of year, they serve more than 500 customers per day. In the summer, when the movement increases, they serve more than 2,000 customers a day. To support so many customers, over time they have bought new buildings, getting bigger and better in service. Today, there are 5 floors and 9 customized environments for tasting.
Despite being an old restaurant, Chef Rico claims that the concept of the establishment has not changed over time. He comments that upon entering, guests are about to live an experience of what that building represents for history and offers traditional New England dining.
John F. Kennedy, ex-president, patronized the restaurant for many years. He loved to have meals on the second floor at one of the "cabin" tables strategically located and of great privacy.
Currently this cabin dedicated to J.F.K is one of the tables of greater demand for reservations.
Located at 41 Union Street in Boston / MA - United States, 02108, the restaurant is open Sunday to Thursday from 11AM to 9:30PM and Friday and Saturday from 11AM to 10PM.
Produced by Nathália Araujo Awards
During the interview, one of the questions to Chef Rico was "The Union Oyster House has got many awards and honors. How do you feel handling a kitchen of that level?" The chef replied:
“Well, It’s an honor to be here. I feel myself as caretaker of the restaurant because this isn’t a restaurant where you are not gonna be able to come in and take the menu apart and put all your signature dishes on it because it’s not gonna work. This is a restaurant that people come from all over the world, they come to eat. They come here basically to eat and experience of what we do. So if you want to run a restaurant like that, you have to be a caretaker, you have to understand the history. You have to have passion for what the building is all about and the restaurant’s concept.”
In 2003 the Union Oyster House was honored with a plaque that officialized it as being a "National Historic Landmark”.
Produced by Nathália Araujo AWARDS
2014 CONDÉ NAST Travelers — World's 10 Oldest Restaurants
2014 ACF (American Culinary Federation ) — Achievement of Excellence Award
2013 USA TODAY Readers Choice Awards — 10 Best Seafood Restaurants
2012 FORBES 10 Classic Great Restaurants in the World
2001 NRA (National Restaurant Association) — Restaurant of the Year
Social Networking:
Instagram: @unionoysterhouse Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/unionoyster Website: http://www.unionoysterhouse.com
Produced by Nathália Araujo