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Phantom Gourmet: Brassica Kitchen & Cafe In Jamaica Plain

JAMAICA PLAIN - Brassica Kitchen is a triple threat restaurant, located just outside the Forrest Hill train station in Jamaica Plain. It offers breakfast and lunch out of the bright and sunny spot during the day, with a more sophisticated feel at night.

Fun loving Chef Jeremy Kean, along with longtime friend Chef Phil Kruta, created a menu that utilizes their fine dining backgrounds in a laid back way that's more their style.

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"We're coming from backgrounds like No. 9 Park, and Rialto, L'Espalier, and we kind of bring the skills from that and we do something really casual," Jeremy explained. "There's no dress code. We're just kind of welcoming you into our living room."

In this casual space, not only are they showing off their skills in the kitchen, but also they're showcasing Phil's prowess in the woodshop.

"He's a fine finish carpenter and woodworker by trade. The design of the whole place is kind of his baby."

But it's in the kitchen where this pair really shines.

"The philosophy around what we're doing here is to keep it honest, affordable, and tasty," Jeremy said.

At breakfast, you can grab one of their housemade pastries with a coffee, before you catch your train. Or you could opt for something more indulgent like the Low Country Breakfast Sandwich, featuring eggs, sausage, fried cheddar and fig spread, all on housemade brioche.

Brassica Kitchen, Phantom Gourmet
Fried Chicken Sandwich at Brassica Kitchen (Image: Phantom Gourmet)

If you can wait until lunchtime, you can dive into the Crispy Chicken Sandwich topped with smoky green tomato, homemade hot sauce and local honey, a sandwich that's more than a mouthful.

"People who come for this sandwich know that you've got to take the top off, take one of the pieces of chicken, eat that on its own, then make the sandwich and eat it," Jeremy said. "If you try to do the whole thing you're gonna fail."

That same fried chicken makes its way onto the dinner menu, topped with a maple plum sauce.

"We take maple syrup and salted Japanese style plums, and that goes all over it. So you bite into it, and you get that awesome buttermilky fried chicken crunch, but there's like a certain sweet and saltiness," described Jeremy.

The fried chicken is so good, it also can be found on the dinner menu in Bahn Mi form.

Brassica Kitchen, Phantom Gourmet
Fried Chicken Bahn Mi at Brassica Kitchen (Image: Phantom Gourmet)

"Traditionally it's on a baguette with a country mousse, but then you've got like cilantro and pickles and cucumber and fresh basil and all this Vietnamese freshness. We thought that was such a nice dance as a sandwich, and it's kind of a reflection of how we think about food," Jeremy said.

Other sandwich standouts include the Brassica Burger, a menu item Phil made sure was spot on.

"I'm pretty obsessed with burgers. I make the brioche in-house. It has to be perfect. It has to be the same exact size as the patty. We pickle green tomatoes, and then smoke them. Then we decided to put a classic American cheese single on there for the nostalgic aspect of it. Put it all together with our housemade hot sauce mixed into an aioli. It has everything I'm looking for in a burger."

Before you make your way into that burger, you should sample some of Brassica's starters, like a shareable board of house smoked meats and cheeses, or one of their signature toasts.

Brassica Kitchen, Phantom Gourmet
Toasts at Brassica Kitchen (Image: Phantom Gourmet)

"That's how I eat my meals," Jeremy said. "I toast bread, and I put whatever I'm eating on it. It's like a great vehicle. It's bread. It's the ultimate country man, peasant cuisine, which is my favorite stuff."

If you are looking for something more substantial, you should go to the entree section for dishes like the perfectly seared Scallops served with Eggplant Caponata, or the hearty Bolognese, a pasta so popular that they can't take it off of the menu.

"It's a country Bolognese. We kick it up with a little bit of shallot double-cream, a ton of fresh herbs, fresh lemon juice," Jeremy listed. "So you get this deep sweet reduction with your pork and beef and veal, but then also you're getting fresh lemon and herbs, which is actually making it taste like, 'Whoa, that's fresh.'"

Brassica Kitchen, Phantom Gourmet
Bolognese at Brassica Kitchen (Image: Phantom Gourmet)

While being open for all three meals is a daunting task, these two seem to be loving every second of it.

"We cook because it's our version of art. It's our medium, and that's how we express ourselves, and we love what we do," Jeremy shared.

"It's a pretty unique situation where you get to make a beautiful sculpture out of food, and then serve it to someone and it's gone. You can make someone happy with your artwork every day," Phil added.

You can find Brassica Kitchen & Café at 3710 Washington Street in Jamaica Plain, and online at brassicakitchen.com.

Watch Phantom Gourmet on Saturdays and Sundays at 10:30 and 11 a.m. on myTV38.

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