What you first see posted in Restaurant Eve’s front hall are rows of positive, glowing reviews, interviews and kudos for Executive Chef Cathal Armstrong, a soft-spoken Irishman who has set D.C.’s dining scene on its ear. He runs a kitchen that also has earned 3.5 stars (out of four), and whose restaurant’s trademark is “Nourish the Palate.” So what’s going on with this chef who started his career as a computer programmer and ended up cooking food that critics describe as “delectable,” “rustic” and “thoughtful”?
As with many chefs, Armstrong’s cooking life started in slow steps with a stint as a dishwasher, though unlike his American contemporaries, his first kitchen foray took place in Dublin. As it turns out, his family, particularly his father, played a determining role in Armstrong’s formative years, teaching him by example that fresh-grown vegetables — picked from the family’s own garden — and deft seasonings elevate plain food into ambrosia. But working as a dishwasher might not have changed his life had not the restaurant’s chef gotten sick one day and Armstrong covered for him.
“I never looked back,” he says. He was 17 at the time.
And by the time Armstrong celebrated his 19th birthday, he had opened his own classic French eatery, working the front of the house, and he admits this venture ended in disaster. Probably a good thing for Washingtonians, as Armstrong came to the D.C. area and after a few false starts found himself working for Greggory Hill at the fashionable and edgy New Heights restaurant. Other D.C. stints have included the now-defunct Cities in Adams Morgan with Mary Richter, and Vidalia with Jeff Buben (and CityZen’s Eric Ziebold).
“When Eric left,” he says, “it was trial by fire.”
Admittedly ambitious and passionate about cooking, Armstrong decided to start his own restaurant business, considering first an Irish country inn to play to his native roots, but after several unsuccessful efforts, he decided the Irish concept had little credibility in Northern Virginia. And besides, his wife had found Restaurant Eve’s present location in Old Town Alexandria, a perfect setting for a charming restaurant. From that, Armstrong’s cooking life took a different approach.
“I focused on American food, and it’s been successful,” he says. “Thank God.”
Armstrong’s success sparked him to open a trendy spot called Eamon’s Dublin Chipper in Old Town, took over the beloved neighborhood spot The Majestic Café, and has won such awards as one of Food & Wine’s Ten Best New Chefs 2006 and nominations from the James Beard House and Washington’s Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington as outstanding chef of the year.
All this praise Armstrong deserves, certainly, but perhaps his work with and support of local farms and farmers, and earning a “certified humane” certificate, speak more to his cooking ethos than all the awards together.
Carolina Black Bass with Orange Braised Fennel
Serves 4
1 head fennel
1 orange
4 bay leaves
2 to 3 tbsp. olive oil, or as needed for sautéing
salt and pepper to taste
2 oz. Kerrygold pure Irish butter
4 6-oz. fillets of black bass
Tarragon leaves and flowers for garnish
» To make the fennel:
Cut the fennel into 8 pieces, keeping the core intact. Sauté in 2 tbsp. olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until golden brown on both sides. Using a peeler, remove the zest from the orange and add to the fennel; squeeze the juice into the pan. Add the bay leaf, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently until the fennel is tender. Adjust the seasonings to taste. Finish with butter.
» To make the black bass:
Season the black bass fillets. Sauté in olive oil with the skin side down in a large skillet over medium heat until the skin is crisp. Turn to the flesh side, and continue to cook until the fish is done.
» To serve:
Place a couple pieces of fennel in a bowl, and garnish with leaves of young tarragon and tarragon flowers.
In Armstrong’s own words
What has been your most amazing award? The recognition from Food & Wine. I still pinch myself, even though it is now a year later. It is fantastic to be noticed and rewarded. But I can’t believe my press. I want to be humble and work with the staff for a creative team. We meet every day to discuss the food, plan the menus and to be creative.
What is your cooking philosophy? I believe in serving food from the vine to the plate, as quickly as possible. When I take my children to visit my parents, we shell the peas, shuck the corn and have dinner within the hour. I try to not ruin what nature has created.
Where do you get your cooking inspiration? From farmers and farmers markets. Many of the chefs I admire include Thomas Keller, Eric Ziebold, Fabio Trabbochi and my dad. I got my talent from my dad. When my parents met, my mother had never seen garlic. Everything we ate came from the garden.
What is your most unusual dish? There is a real food culture in Alexandria. So I have taken chicken and salmon off the menu. We decided that we would put one dish on the tasting menu that is aggressively different, and it is selling like crazy: monkfish liver.
What is your favorite dish? Pork belly. I brine-cure it when I get it, then braise it and recrisp it. My comfort food is roast chicken, and a good farm-raised one.It reminds me of my nana, who served hers with roasted potatoes.
Which ingredients are musts for you? Thyme, salt, olive oil, lemons, garlic and onions.
What’s in your fridge right now? Milk, cheese, champagne, mayonnaise, eggs, sausage, bacon and Kerry Gold Irish butter.
What is your favorite cookbook? The French Laundry. I met Thomas Keller in New York after his book came out. He has modernized the rules of French cooking, and I refer my staff to it.
