apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

We recently took a kitchen tour of Ortine Café, a new Prospect Heights, Brooklyn eatery opened by former Schiller’s and Pastis manager, Sarah Peck. The restaurant, which opened mid-December, has an eclectic café-style menu and an equally eclectic kitchen. Read on for more of this tiny restaurant kitchen and some of the creative, cost-saving solutions Sarah found to fit her space.

Earlier this week I toured the Park Slope, Brooklyn kitchen of Elizabeth Crowell and Robert Wilson, the owners of the Sterling Place fine home décor and specialty gift stores. Robert and Elizabeth live in a beautiful four-story 1897 brownstone that they bought four years ago and live in with their two small children and two cats.

The current kitchen is in the back of the first floor (the former “men’s smoking room”) and features a large, sunny bay window overlooking the back yard. The kitchen is a generous size and is fully utilized by Robert and Elizabeth, who cook and eat in regularly. Robert grew up having dinner with his parents by candlelight every night – a tradition that was at times burdensome to a teen, but one that he now sees great value in and shares with his own children.

Enter Slideshow

I recently had the great privilege of touring the Park Slope, Brooklyn home kitchen of Dan Kluger, the executive chef of Core: Club. Core, located on East 55th Street in Manhattan, is an exclusive private club with a restaurant that offers members a gourmet dining experience and extensive wine list. Dan started the 90-seat restaurant with advice from consulting chef, Tom Colicchio, and now oversees the operation, including numerous private events. Prior to Core, Dan spent seven years at Danny Meyer’s Indian-fusion restaurant, Tabla, where he also met his wife, Hannah. Before that, Dan worked at Union Square Cafe where, in his words, he got his start in the kitchen as a prep cook.

I was so curious to find out what a “real” chef’s kitchen looks like. Is it teeming with gleaming appliances? Is it organized alphabetically? Does the chef turn out seven course meals? Are there secret accouterments that only a chef would have? No – no – no – yes.

When I was thinking about kitchens that might be interesting to the Kitchn readers for the new Kitchen Tours department, my dear friends Tara and Devesh came to mind. Not because they have a particularly unique kitchen. In fact, to the contrary they have a fairly standard galley kitchen in a rental building. Well equipped and up-to-date, but certainly not unique. What is unique, however, is their pantry, which is literally teeming with all manner of dried spices, pastes, dried beans, pickled items, sauces, and specialty flours.

Their pantry is, in their own words, fairly typical of that of any Indian expat, but to anyone else, it’s an exotic cache of treasures.

In Devesh and Tara's Spice Pantry kitchen tour we were led on an Indian spice adventure in Tara and Devesh’s Manhattan apartment. Devesh shared two recipes: one for a typical western India breakfast item of “flattened rice,” known as “Poha” and another for the authentic way to prepare Chai.

Both dishes were rather extraordinary: the poha was an unexpected, full-flavor, mildly spicy, fluffy rice full of different elements. It is both hearty and light at the same time, and amazingly satisfying. You would only encounter this dish if you have the good fortune to eat in an Indian home: it is not typically available at restaurants. There are a few specialty ingredients that require a trip to the Indian grocer, but believe me; it’s worth the trip!

In Devesh and Tara's Spice Pantry kitchen tour, Devesh shared two recipes: one for an Indian breakfast called Poha, or flattened rice, and another for authentic Chai - that strongly spiced, milky tea we love.

The Chai was so different from what I’ve come to know as the slightly cloying, heavily spiced Chai from local teashops that I couldn’t believe it was the same thing. It was truly wonderful. Recipe and a guide to the ingredients below...