The term picky eater just got a whole new meaning.
At Homestead, opening tonight atop Roots Handmade Pizza/Bleeding Heart Bakery in West Town, chef John Wayne Formica (C-House, Sunda) harvests fruits, vegetables, herbs, flowers, and more from 130-plus plants growing in the restaurant’s rooftop garden.
Formica’s half-Lebanese, half-Italian background, plus a yearlong stint in Asia, inform his menu: Labneh and tahini accompany stuffed Colorado Co-op lamb (an interpretation of kibbeh); chicken wings take a bath in turmeric, ginger, lemon grass, and chili.
House pickles inject vinegary sweetness to cured, smoked salmon, while pickled tomato adds punch to mozzarella roulade (the cheese is made in-house).
Freshen up with a Femme du Coupe cocktail (No. 7 includes pisco, Swedish punsch, apricot liqueur, mezcal, and lavender blossom).
Bottle & Branch installations add greenery to the rustic interior. But the 85-seat patio (adjacent to the garden) is where it’s at in summer.
Plant yourself there.
Homestead, 1924 West Chicago Avenue, at Winchester Avenue, second floor (773-645-4949 or homesteadontheroof.com).
Photo: Courtesy of Homestead








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