Kicking off CHEFS TALK with Jeff Miller, owner of the sushi bar Rosella, and Bar Miller, an eight-seat omakase restaurant that received a Michelin star in December. How does that change one’s fortunes?
“It overnight switched it from a business that, you kind of don't know what to expect from one day to the next to, every day you're on,” says Miller.
Bar Miller’s rise was somewhat faster than Rosella’s protractedly long soft-opening, when pandemic-era regulations and officials devised onerous and seemingly arbitrary ways to keep restaurants closed. (Remember being required to buy sandbags, but only from one place out on Staten Island? Miller does!) But rise it did, with the New York Times and New York Magazine raving from the jump.
“After that, it was a different universe for us,” says Miller, whose dedication to using local and sustainable East Coast fish is an ever-going odyssey that began when he hit the New York sushi scene in 2016.
“There are countless guides for Japanese fish, but I was kind of on my own [here],” he says. “I kept track two and a half, three years, and I used 91 unique species. Not all of them were good, but yeah, it was a crash course in local seafood.”
Also discussed:
The positives of launching a restaurant during the time of COVID
Panning for gold in Grass Valley, California
Great tuna and scallops from New Jersey? Yes!
The rise of omakase in New York City
The “sugar crust” of fame
How the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration may impact restaurant staffing
An outstanding seafood restaurant in Mexico City
Plus, Miller’s favorite kitchen tools, what he eats on his day off, and a preview of next week’s episode with international pizza consultant (an actual thing!) Anthony Falco.
CHEFS TALK will be coming to you Thursdays. For full episodes, video, links to where the chefs eat and all the food talk, become a paid subscriber.
With thanks to Eli Lake for the bangin’ theme music and Jenn Sen for the anchor pic
