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The hotly-anticipated bourbon and oyster restaurant heading to Magazine and Nashville this fall now has a name, Ian McNulty reports this week. Kenton's—located in the new development that displaced Vom Foss, Rare Cuts and others— is a reference to Simon Kenton, the founder of bourbon hub Maysville, Kentucky, and will have 'an encyclopedic collection of American whiskey," along with an All-American booze lineup. Owner Sean Josephs and partner/New Orleans native Mani Dawes already run a restaurant called Maysville, along with the restaurants Char No. 4 and Tia Pol in NYC.
Current Maysville chef and Alabama Native Kyle Knall will head up the kitchen at Kenton's. During a stint as sous at Gramercy Tavern, critic Pete Wells reportedly referred to Knall's cooking as a 'winning blend of refined and unpretentious.' At Kenton's, he'll use a wood-fired grill and smoker to create the grilled/smoked/charred flavors that will bring out the best in the bourbon selection.
An oyster bar will also play an important role during dinner service at the 89-seater, which will verge on fine dining, but the restaurant will be open for more casual breakfast and lunch hours too with coffee, pastries, salads, sandwiches and the like.
