Behind The Swinging Doors: The Kitchen At Craigie On Main

A stone's throw from the MIT campus, Craigie on Main is a go-to for Cambridge-ites and Bostonians alike. The menu changes daily, depending on the season and what's best from the farmers they work with. Proprietor and chef Tony Maws is devoted to having the freshest ingredients possible.

Behind the Swinging Doors: The Kitchen at Craigie on Main (Slideshow)

We stopped by Craigie on Main on a Sunday at 11:30 a.m. The brunch rush was in full swing and the kitchen was bustling. Chef Maws helped out anywhere he was needed, while his chef de cuisine, Carl Dooley, was the most vocal. 

"Ryan, your next move: two hash, one sausage, one rillette," he yells, referring to the beef cheek and smoked beef tongue hash, "dimanche" (French for "Sunday") sausage, and pastrami sea trout and smoked bluefish rillettes.  When he yells to another line cook, "You're focusing on making that pasta," the cook, of course, replies, "Yes, chef!" 

The kitchen is open, so the diners can see and hear everything. There's also a bar that faces right into the kitchen. This Sunday, Maws' wife and son had brunch and watched what they've seen many times before, dad and husband at work. Maws is a positive force in his kitchen, laughing and smiling with everyone. In a kitchen where most of the restaurant can watch your every move, they're a staff that we'd be happy to watch work any day.

Tony Maws

Chef Tony chats with his son during brunch. He dips some greens into ketchup and tells his dad his latest innovation, "Salad...with ketchup!"

Carl Dooley

Formerly of Westend Bistro and Battersby, the chef de cuisine heads the kitchen when chef Maws isn't there.

Click here for more behind the swinging doors at Craigie on Main.

Jane Bruce is the Photo Editor at The Daily Meal. Follow her on Twitter @janeebruce.