CITY GRIT is a Culinary Salon – a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine taste.

The brainchild of FOOD & WINE’s Home Cook Superstar Sarah Simmons and business partner Jeremie Kittredge, these food culture-based events are anchored by supper-club style dinners from perennial host Simmons with her signature Southern influence as well as a guest-chef series’ of well-known and emerging chefs looking to showcase their culinary talents in New York City.

Taking cues from their supper club roots, CITY GRIT experiences are ticketed events held in a 70-seat dining room in an old school house in Nolita.  The décor, handcrafted by Brooklyn-based furniture artisans WRK Design creates a warm and inviting atmosphere and is all available for sale.  If you enjoy the supper, you can buy a ticket to another event, if you like the chair you can buy it and take it home with you tonight!

Wines are carefully curated with a choice group of importers to offer small batch production, and often rare wines chosen to compliment each menu.  Selections range from the traditional French, to the Chilean Colchagua Valley and even the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon and while many of these appear on restaurant menus for a premium, CITY GRIT brings these coveted selections to their guests for $50 a bottle or less.

Through its carefully cultivated relationships CITY GRIT is more than just good food, it’s redefining the American dining experience.  It is idea and resource sharing at its best; chefs discovering vendors, creating dishes for new audiences and offering diners a new experience to stimulate all the senses on every visit.

About The Chef

Southern-bred Sarah Simmons, Chef/Curator of CITY GRIT was a trusted advisor to Fortune 100 companies designing business solutions.  All the while she was hosting a Supper Club out of her apartment as a way to convert her Yankee friends to grits enthusiasts.  Everything changed in early 2010 when she was named Food & Wine magazine’s Home Cook Superstar and Sarah left the corporate world to pursue a culinary career full time.

What started as small gatherings at Sarah's place has now evolved into CITY GRIT where she curates food experiences, really engaging all aspects of the food community - from the small batch wine offerings to the privately sourced pantry and the handcrafted furniture. In addition to her constantly changing menu (with her signature Southern flair, of course) - CITY GRIT hosts guest chefs and cookbook authors from around the world, providing them the invaluable opportunity to showcase their food and test recipes to a discerning New York audience.

For more information on Sarah please visit www.sarahmcsimmons.com

Photo courtesty of Donny Tsang