FOOD
EGG’S
GEORGE WELD
KEEPS IT LOCAL
story by CRAIG HUBERT
Thirteen years ago, George Weld was living in Williamsburg,
attempting to start a writing career, when
he accidentally opened a restaurant instead.
A friend offered him free reign in the mornings at his
newly opened hot dog place, and Weld, who had worked
in restaurants in high school and college, took him up
on it. This is how Egg, Weld’s mega-popular Williamsburg
eatery, was hatched.
When demand quickly exceeded the few hours it was
open, Egg took over the entire space. But that didn’t
make a dent in the ever-present line.
Eventually, in 2014, Weld moved the entire operation to
a bigger space on North 3rd Street.
Egg was part of a community of restaurants, Weld says,
that is largely nonexistent today. “We never thought
anything of asking someone for cooking oil or flour,
sharing contact info for repair folks or good vendors or
even sending cooks over to help out when needed,” he
remembers. Tom Mylan of The Meat Hook taught him
how to butcher a pig in a shed behind the restaurant
Diner.
With that said, he’s still happy to be in Williamsburg.
“I still like it here, though,” Weld says. “I meet amazing
people here all the time without even trying.”
How has Williamsburg changed since you opened Egg?
How hasn’t it? When we opened there was no development
on the waterfront -- only shoulder-high weeds
filled with skaters and the local marching band and
creeps and people walking their dogs. Kent Avenue was
a two-way drag strip. People in Manhattan still couldn’t
resist the joke of asking whether they’d need a passport
to come to Brooklyn.
What’s your favorite meal of the day?
I should say breakfast, but the truth is I often don’t get
around to eating until lunch time, and I really like Egg’s
lunch menu. It’s also the only meal I’m really consistently
able to get out for.
Where do you like to eat when you go out?
I love going out to eat, but my kids hate it so it’s rare
that we do it. When I do it’s often to the same old (great)
standbys – Diner, Aurora. I’ve had a lot of good lunches
at La Goulette and Oasis and Reynard.
Can you tell us about Goatfell, your farm in the
Catskills?
We started trying to grow some of our own produce up
there in about 2008. It’s small but when it’s in full swing
it provides us more vegetables than we can possibly use.
We had actual towers of tomatoes all over the restaurant
this summer. It’s run by a farmer who lives upstate –
sometimes it’s been someone from the restaurant who
wanted to try something new, but right now it’s run by
a guy who brings decades of experience to it and does
amazing, almost miraculous work.
You recently opened an outpost in Tokyo. How is that
going so far? What has been the biggest surprise
during the expansion?
It’s going well – certainly an interesting experience. One
of the biggest surprises was actually just how small the
world is and how close Tokyo is to Brooklyn: I met so
many people in Tokyo who’d been to Egg in Brooklyn
that it felt like we’d just opened up around the corner from
Williamsburg rather than halfway around the world.
Anything you’re hoping to bring back to the menu this
spring?
That’s more chef Evan Hanczor’s call now than mine
but I’m always happy just to see berries return and to
start getting stuff from Goatfell. Our farmer’s got trays
of seeds started already, so as soon as the ground’s soft
we’ll have at least radishes and greens coming in.
Here’s a question from many of us here in the office:
What is the best way to make a scrambled egg?
Gently and with nothing but whole butter and a little salt.
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Photo by Bryan Gardner.