Christopher Robins
Gaslight Brasserie
560 Harrison Avenue, Boston
While it may be true that sometimes you wanna’ go where everybody knows your name, a quiet spot with great food and atmosphere can do the trick sometimes as well. Gaslight is such a spot. Set mostly under Harrison Avenue on the edge of Boston’s tony South End, Gaslight offers a venue for drinks and dining that combines old world continental charm with contemporary flavors and panache overseen by Chef de Cuisine Christopher Robins. Open seven days a week for lunch, dinner, late night “supper” and weekend brunch, Gaslight is a great place to getaway or to bring people who already know you or who you want to get to know better.
Matt’s Meals: How did you get into cooking?
Christopher Robins: I got into cooking thru my grandfathers, both of whom cooked at home on a regular basis. I grew up overseas and would return to the US in the summer to visit family. Both my grandfathers were avid home cooks. They were as adept at knocking out a killer fatty breakfast (baloney fried in bacon fat with eggs and biscuits- a fave!) or Manhattan-style clam chowder made with clams that we pulled out of Peconic Bay ourselves or an amazing pot roast with fondant potatoes. These were real men, WWII vets, working men. They dug food & cooking and passed that along to me.
MM: Where was your first professional kitchen experience?
CR: Paul’s Italian American, 21 Hill Street, Southampton, NY. Paul DeRobertis was my first mentor- That 75-seat restaurant would do 500 couverts on a Saturday night and that is where I cut my teeth. I worked in the dish pit for about a week until a pizza and sandwich guy quit and then Paul moved me over and I got ridden like a donkey until I got my act together. By the end of the summer of 1984 I was the main pie guy and would make 350 pizzas in two deck ovens in one shift, while helping out the sandwich guy and doing whatever else Paul told me to do. Paul is a badass, and still works the line five nights a week in his kitchen at age 64. AND he’s got an amazing Fu Manchu mustache!
MM: What is your favorite dish to prepare?
CR: Any large piece of roasted meat- Rib chop, leg of lamb, etc. It’s primal. Any cook worth their salt loves to wrangle with a big piece of meat.
MM: What is the best part of your job?
CR: Interacting with my team. From our GM Eric all the way down to our intern Malcolm, they are all great, hard working, funny, intelligent folks and I am blessed that they dig what we’re doing and actually like working for me. Sixteen hours in my kitchen with them is fun!
MM: Who is your favorite chef in Boston?
CR: Barbara Lynch is an incredibly talented chef and a truly kind person. She extended a hand to my wife and I when we were 9/11 exiles from NYC and we knew hardly anyone in Boston. I have thought of her a lot since we got the news about bin Laden’s demise.
MM: What do you usually make for yourself at home?
CR: I like to cook what my kids like to eat, I’m lucky that they like real food too! Noodles and broccoli rabe and pork bits are easy and quick to bust out and my girls love i! Korean BBQ is another fave- sweet, salty, fatty, it hits all the spots.
MM: If you could dine with any three people, who would they be?
CR: Neil Young, Duane Allman, and Teddy Roosevelt. Neil Young and Duane Allman are and were two of the most amazing artists and Teddy was an incredible president. I think they would be a cool mix, too. Canadian hippie songwriter-meets-southern guitar maestro-meets eastern Intellectual-Man of Action. They would be a hoot to see together at one table. I’d make a huge rib roast, some pommes gratin, and spicy broccoli rabe. After dinner, Neil would fire up a big heater the size of a Camel wide and Teddy would get weird.