Chef Kevin Adey and his wife Debbie of Faro (“lighthouse” in Italian) bring New Wave Italian-inspired cuisine to Bushwick, and redefine the “farm to table” concept

by Catherine Gigante-Brown

“I like living under the radar and surprising people,” admitted Kevin Adey, Faro’s executive chef and part owner. His new restaurant, whose name means “lighthouse” in Italian, has been turning heads in just the six months it’s been open, including being awarded a “Bib Gourmand” in the 2016 Michelin Guide; established in 1955, the designation recognizes restaurants that offer “exceptional good food at moderate prices.”

Raised upstate in Rome, New York, Adey lived and worked in Florida for more than a decade, making his mark in cities like Naples and Bradenton.

“My goal was always to work in the best place in town,” Adey explained. And that he did.

Upon a return to New York, he joined the kitchen team at La Bernadine before moving to Northeast Kingdom, where he served as executive chef for five years and built a culinary rock star following for his seasonal cooking and dedication to locally-sourced and sustainably-raised and harvested ingredients.

Adey met his wife Debbie about 15 years ago at work. A front-of house expert, she climbed the ranks of upper management at Jean Georges Vongerichten’s vaunted group of restaurants and was general manager at Perry Street in the West Village.

“It’s long been a dream of ours to open our own place, putting to use all we learned over the years,” said the chef. “We just needed an investor.”

It was pure serendipity, however, that brought Adey and Daniel Blumberg together.

“Danny convinced us to jump out of an airplane without a parachute. He said we’d get one on the way down, and that it would open. It did.” The Adeys and Blumberg became business partners and haven’t looked back since.

Set on a sedate street in Bushwick, Faro appears like a mirage—big, inviting glass frontage, a spacious dining room with soaring ceilings (the space was once a storage warehouse for MOMA’s artworks), and tables with plenty of breathing room, topped with handmade plates and tableware. And then there’s the food:

Rigatoni mezzi with braized goat, pistachio and kale, wood-fired octopus with gigante beans, peppers, and chorizo, and dry-aged duck breast with green wheat, kabocha squash, and Thai caramel are but a few of the standouts. Faro’s menu also evolves every couple of weeks; in part because its vegetables are organic and sourced from local farmers. The grains for pastas and breads are milled on site.

“It’s such an easy step that does wonders for freshness and flavor,” said Adey, who bakes 32 loaves of bread each day, seven days a week, adding that he’s established a relationship with Tim Haw’s farm, Autumn Harvest, in Romulus, New York, whose pastured, heritage-breed animals go beyond organic. Utilizing the whole animal is a sustainable dream, he explained. “In buying select parts like a whole pork loin, we were responsible for using more than 500 pigs a year. By using the entire animal, we went down to 12. The environmental impact is huge.”

Ironically enough, Adey said that pig’s head has become his signature dish.

“It’s a perfect representation of the fact that pork chops don’t walk around outside,” he laughed. “At first, people might be a little shocked at what they’re eating, but it’s delicious. No one’s sent it back yet.”

“By bringing in a whole goat and braising it down, there’s little waste,” Debbie further explained. “We wanted to be able to give great food to a great neighborhood without crazy prices, and this is one way we can accomplish that.”

To compliment the menu, Debbie has curated an impressive selection of wines from across the globe, including a rosé from New York’s Finger Lakes district on draft, and more than a dozen organic and biodynamic choices. “I wanted a little of everything,” she offered. “Old world, new world, something a bit funkier and brighter. Our wine list is classic but well rounded—and reasonably priced.”

There are five American craft beers on tap, all drawn from New York City breweries like Bridge & Tunnel and Brooklyn Brewery. The bar highlights small-batch spirits and creative cocktails like Cameron’s Kick, which revisits a forgotten classic (Jameson, Bank Note Blended Scotch, lemon, and or geat).

Faro offers the entire gastronomic package—fine fare, drink, atmosphere and attentive service. “We’re a very honest restaurant,” Debbie said. “Less concerned with the bottom line and more concerned with guest comfort.”

“The architect originally wanted us to put in 150 seats but I refused,” Kevin recalled. “When I suggested 70, he looked at me like I was insane, but I didn’t want to build a place that had me working in the basement.” The plan ultimately included an open kitchen and a wood-fired oven for roasting meats and vegetables—its fuel arranged artfully opposite the bar.

Faro’s entrees range from $13 to $25, and the menu changes so frequently it’s difficult to pinpoint a customer favorite, but the pastas, made from house-milled flour, shine.

“The bucatini is from my grandmother’s recipe and is very popular,” the chef offered with a smile. “It’s a reminder that you don’t need all of this pretentious ‘stuff’ for a dish to be fantastic. All you need is a pot, a chicken, pasta and some cheese, and you can make magic happen.”

Faro
436 Jefferson Street / 718.381.820 / farobk.com