A dining experience is very often defined by ambiance. The lighting, design, decor and overall organization of the space where a diner eats all have a huge part in a meal. Of course the food itself is important; but what a chef or restauranteur’s clientele takes from the atmosphere of their breakfast, lunch, or dinner is equally as vital. Chef Louis DiBiccari certainly understands this, which is why on Sunday, January 26th, he will be starting his Studio Sundays series in Boston.
Studio Sundays will occur on the fourth Sunday of every month at TR Street Foods at 343 Congress Street in Boston, deep in the heart of the new “Restaurant Row” in the city’s Fort Point neighborhood. TR Street Foods is the lunch venue off-shoot of Tavern Road, an affordable but high-end, neighborhood restaurant that features dishes such as sautéed skate wing (with pumpkin agro dolce and apple relish) and grilled flatiron steak (with red curry, chimichurri and marrow butter). The restaurant was started by Louis and his brother Michael and opened in February of 2013.
The concept for Studio Sundays originated in 2012, out of the CREATE project, also launched by Mister DiBiccari. When Chef DiBiccari saw that the woodworkers, sculptors and other artists that called the Fort Point neighborhood home would no longer be able to afford rising rent prices, he wanted to do what he could to help the creative people who had inspired his own culinary creations. The concept was for six artists and six chefs to pair up and create a work of art and a specialty dish that complemented the other.
Studio Sundays is both an expansion on and concentration of CREATE. Each event will see a local artist turn the TR Street Foods space into a gallery to showcase their work alongside the innovative food and drinks served at the DiBiccari brothers’ lunch venue. The artist showcase will run from 4:00-7:00 PM with drinks being served from the outset and snacks from TR Street Foods available from 4:00-5:00. At 5:00 PM art and food lovers alike will be able to order off the Tavern Road menu while they enjoy the day’s exhibition.
The first Studio Sunday featured artist is Patt Kelley a Boston illustrator and comic artist (and MassArt graduate) who has a weekly comic strip “What’s for Breakfast” in DigBoston, the alternative newsweekly founded in 1999. The second edition of the event (on Sunday February 23rd) will focus on the work of Natasha Moustache, a talented photographer who “has a keen eye for capturing keepsake moments from her travels.”
The DiBiccari brothers understand that, in any good dining experience, aesthetic extends well beyond the plate. With Studio Sundays they will be showing just how important and unique the marriage of food, art and ambiance can be.
