When Bryan Carr worked at a San Francisco restaurant in the 1980s, he lived a mere two blocks from chef Michael Roberts and his wife, Jean Donnelly. But it wasn’t until years later, when Carr and his wife, Diane, dined at Roberts and Donnelly’s Atlas Restaurant in the Central West End, that the couples met and became friends. The Carrs, who opened Clayton’s Pomme Restaurant in 2002 and Pomme Café & Wine Bar in 2006, recently purchased Atlas from Roberts and Connelly, who have moved back to San Francisco. Bryan Carr discussed his plans for the neighborhood eatery and why he considers it “a real privilege to take over this restaurant.”
How did the purchase of Atlas come about?
I had been looking around [for] what the next step was going to be. Someone told me [Roberts and Donnelly] were interested in selling so they could move back west. I think I’ve always liked their restaurant so much because their sense of cooking and their broader sense of hospitality is similar to our ethic.
Tell me about your shared philosophy of running a restaurant.
You know the French term “accueil”? It means “the welcome.” It doesn’t just mean what happens when you walk in the door, it’s the whole way you are treated. In France, whether it’s a little joint or one of the great three-stars, they have this generous hospitality. You get that at Atlas, and we aspire to that [at Pomme Restaurant and Pomme Café & Wine Bar].
The restaurant is not changing names. Why?
There are a lot of simple, pragmatic reasons. Beyond that, our goal is not to reinvent but to continue something. By keeping the name, we are saying, to the public and to ourselves, this mission statement: Can we continue to do what they did so well for seven years? And can we do it again tomorrow? We believe a lot in continuity and honoring traditions.
Tell me about your culinary philosophy.
What I want the point to be is the food. You can’t eat an idea. You can only eat what’s on the plate. Ideas are fine, but let’s talk about the fish. Often when people talk about food, they talk about passion. Passion is about recklessness, throwing caution to the wind. Good cooking happens as a result of preparation, consideration, reflection, precision. That’s how you cook well, and those are not the qualities of passion. I don’t want to be reckless.
Are there any specific menu items you plan on keeping at Atlas?
The piccolo fritto, the steak frites –
Those are so good.
But what kind of potato do you use? How do you cut the potato? How long do you cook the potato? What kind of salt do you use? How much of it? That’s what I love about that restaurant and what we try to do at Pomme. God lives in the details.
What else stays?
We’ve talked to a lot of regular clientele. The butterscotch pudding I’m told to leave alone. There are some people who don’t want me to change the light bulbs. I want to call Barack Obama and say, “I need a leftover sign: Change you can believe in.”
Will there be menu items from the Pomme restaurants on the menu at Atlas?
Ice cream. We make our own ice cream at Pomme; we have since we opened, and we take a lot of care and have flexibility with different flavors. A lot of the fruit tarts, which we’re known for. For example, we have a sour cherry tart, that’s the kind of thing that will show up. Maybe our duck confit, some of the pâtés that we make.
People loved the desserts at Atlas. Yet your desserts at Pomme – besides the homemade ice cream – are equally to die for. What do you have planned on the dessert side?
You are going to see quite a few of the desserts that appear at Pomme at Atlas – I’m not going to rewrite the dessert menu. It’s going to be 98 percent the same on day one, and over time things will change as we see what people like. We’re going to do something from now through the end of September that involves fruit. For example, the fruit galettes that we serve here, maybe figs or pears in the galette, blackberry.
How do you feel about taking over such a beloved restaurant? Are you nervous?
I understand that things are going to happen that I’m not going to anticipate. I’m OK with that, because I’ve prepared well the last few months. I’ve also prepared well the last 30 years. People ask me how long I’ve been working on this place. I say, “30 years – and five minutes.”
This article appears in Aug 1-31, 2010.