
With Pitt’s, North Carolina Meets New York in Red Hook
Jeremy Salamon and designer Sydney Moss were discussing his new Red Hook, Brooklyn restaurant, Pitt’s, recently — trying to settle on the best way to describe it. At one point, Moss said, “Oh, it’s a restaurant-themed restaurant,” Salamon recalls. The cheeky designation fits. “It’s kind of in on itself,” Salamon says.
But, first and foremost, he clarifies, it’s a neighborhood spot. Tonight, Pitt’s debuts to the public in the old Fort Defiance space.
Like Salamon’s first spot, the charming Agi’s Counter, Pitt’s is decidedly of the moment, but tinged with nostalgia. It takes its moniker from a nickname that Salamon’s parents gave him when he was little, and pulls inspiration from North Carolina and New York restaurants of the early 2000s. “I think the name also fits the neighborhood,” Salamon adds. “It’s quirky and kind of aggressive when you first hear it. It’s just a fun place to be — that’s Pitt’s.”
Here’s everything you need to know about Pitt’s before you go.
The Resy Rundown
Pitt’s
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Why We Like It
We’d trust chef Jeremy Salamon and the team behind Agi’s Counter with pretty much anything, and that includes Pitt’s. This is a charmingly quirky, Southern-influenced, bistro-style spot in the former Fort Defiance spot in Red Hook. Do cozy up with a Negroni Sazerac, gouda pimento, and a pancake soufflé and settle in. -
Who and What It’s For
Fans of Salamon’s style — contemporary, but rooted in nostalgia — and lovers of Red Hook’s quirkiness, will find a lot to enjoy at Pitt’s. -
Essential Dishes
Dinner starts with freshly baked caraway rolls with gold-wrapped butter pats (the first round is on the house). Then, head to the American South with gouda pimento cheese and fried saltines, Carolina grit rice with bottarga, and spiced fried chicken. Or, stick closer to New York with a mutton chop inspired by the one from Keens. -
Pro Tip
Before you even get to the bread, be sure to request a pancake-soufflé — it must be ordered at the start of your meal. -
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Must-Order Drinks
Beverage director Ben Hopkins’s menu channels Long Island Bar with simple and unadorned drinks. Opt for a Negroni Sazerac or a taeko coffee cocktail with barley shochu that’s a nod to the Irish coffee that Fort Defiance used to serve. Beers from Strong Rope and whiskey from Widow Jane — both made nearby — give the drink offerings a Red Hook feel. -
How to Get In
Reservations drop two weeks in advance at midnight. Both the bar and the counter are reserved for walk-ins. Expect mid-day service to launch later in the year. -
Good to Know
Pitt’s also has crayons and paper on hand, plus a short kid’s menu. Little diners can also seek out all the animal-themed decorations throughout the space, including duck lamps, bunnies atop hook posts, a golden pig, a frog playing a guitar, a stallion holding the toilet paper roll in the bathroom, and much more.

1. Like Agi’s Counter and Salamon’s recent cookbook, Pitt’s is very personal.
“While Agi’s is an homage and exploration of my grandmother’s story, Pitt’s is this other story I’ve always wanted to explore,” Salamon explains. This one is his own, taking inspiration from his time in North Carolina, and the New York restaurants of the early 2000s that he visited with his parents.
There are lots of family touches throughout the project. Salamon’s dad has been on hand helping with the opening; his grandmother Arlene’s china is on display; his cousin painted the tiles on one wall of the restaurant with different fruits and vegetables; and Moss, his designer, is the daughter of his dad’s fiancé.
Meanwhile, Salamon and his longtime boyfriend Michael Herman, who is a partner in the restaurant, are also hoping to put down roots in Red Hook and move to the area.


2. It’s a “restaurant-themed restaurant.”
The wood paneling, red booths, and Tiffany lamps might bring to mind a Pizza Hut or TGI Fridays — and that’s decidedly on purpose. There’s certainly a sense of “if you know, you know” at play here. The mutton chop, which is served with “something green” and fries, is a reference to the one at legendary steakhouse Keens. The coffee cocktail nods to the legacy of Fort Defiance, and a grapefruit curd pie with a saltine crust, called pixie pie, is a riff on the Atlantic beach pie from the now-shuttered North Carolina institution, Crook’s Corner.


3. You won’t hear a Southern drawl, but you’ll definitely get a taste of the South.
While Salamon grew up in Florida, he spent many of his summers with his grandparents in North Carolina where he helped his mentor, Dorette Snover, run cooking classes. It was also where he became a fan of Crook’s Corner. “It was that neighborhood spot that everyone talked about. I thought this would be a great space to channel that same energy,” he notes.
Much of the menu looks to the South for inspiration. There’s pimento cheese made with two types of Gouda, served with fried saltines, a southern pâté reimagined as a cold meatloaf tea sandwich that’s encrusted with parsley (à la James Beard, Salamon notes), and the fried country captain poussin is a riff on the Southern dish, country captain chicken. Instead of braised chicken with spices, Salamon’s team is frying the chicken and finishing it with Sichuan peppercorn, cloves, coriander, turmeric, and cardamom. Salamon’s also serving Carolina grit rice from Anson Mill’s, an heirloom rice and grains company based in South Carolina. The dish, which has a risotto-like texture, is made with fish stock, shrimp butter, and bottarga.


4. Pitt’s will feel a bit like New York in the early 2000s.
There’s a whiff of nostalgia for the early 2000s hovering in the air of New York City’s dining scene at the moment — white linens are gracing tables, Commerce awoke from a slumber, and opulence is in at places like Daniel Boulud’s La Tête d’Or. And while there’s little consensus on what defined that era of dining, to Salamon, it’s red booths, white tablecloths and martinis, crayons and drawing paper, the feel of early episodes of “Sex and the City,” and cozy places like Gabrielle Hamilton’s Prune, which he worked at previously.
You will find many of those trademarks at Pitt’s, from white linens and Tiffany lamps to booths and crayons on hand. And, while the menu feels modern, there are references to the past — especially at the start and end of your meal. House-baked caraway rolls with golden foil wrapped salted butter pats are the first thing to reach your table (round one is on the house), and you can end the night with a pancake soufflé. (Just be sure to order it at the very beginning of your meal.)




5. The drink offerings have a decidedly neighborhood feel — and flavor.
Beverage director Ben Hopkins, who previously worked behind the bars at Momofuku Kō and Please Don’t Tell (PDT), hopes strangers sitting at the bar will write their phone numbers down on crumpled napkins and slide them to the person next to them. They are channeling Long Island Bar, which is located just north of Pitt’s, with simple, mostly unadorned drinks. They’re also pouring riffs on classics like a Rosie Martini, which is inspired by a Gibson and is made with onion brine, and a Negroni Sazerac with gin, strawberry gin, vermouth, and Campari. “We’re here to refill your martini in a very cold glass,” Salamon adds.
Honoring the legacy of Fort Defiance’s Irish coffee is a taeko coffee cocktail with barley shochu that’s served hot and topped with a cold foam. Meanwhile, you’ll also find whiskey from Widow Jane and beer from Strong Rope, both of which are produced in the neighborhood.


6. Whatever you do, do not miss the soufflé.
Typically, the first order a diner places at a restaurant is for a drink. But at Pitt’s, it should be the pancake soufflé made by head baker Goldie Flavelle, a vet of Agi’s Counter. She tested at least 50 versions of the recipe. Everyone on the team has “soufflé fatigue,” Salamon says.
Soufflé is a challenging dessert to execute, particularly in a restaurant. The team conducted timed walks from the bakery in the back to the front of the dining room to make sure the towering high soufflé wouldn’t fall. When it does reach the table, a cross-hatch is cut on top by the server, who then pours in maple syrup and presents it with salted butter. The balance of salty and sweet, with the pillowy inside and crisp top alone makes the trip to Red Hook worthwhile.
Shortly before opening, Salamon explained: “It’s going to be one of those things that will make this place really special.” He didn’t lie.
Pitt’s is open Wednesday through Sunday from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Devra Ferst is a Brooklyn-based food and travel writer who has contributed to The New York Times, Bon Appétit, Eater, NPR, and numerous other publications. She is co-author of “The Jewish Holiday Table: A World of Recipes, Traditions & Stories to Celebrate All Year Long.” Follow her on Instagram. Follow Resy, too.