Photo: Aatma at Widowmaker
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — It's not a classic cuisine pairing, but a local restaurant and a brewery are trying it out anyway.
Widowmaker Brewing in Brighton merged with South Asian restaurant Aatma Curry House on Thursday, Nov. 20. The new enterprise is officially called Aatma at Widowmaker.
Brewery owner Ryan Lavery explained that Aatma was looking for a permanent spot in Boston after operating as a pop-up in New Hampshire.
“New and different is only new and different when you're the first people to do it,” he said.
Head Chef Keith Sarasin spent 16 years immersed in Indian cooking culture. He said that this experience allows him to cook authentic South Asian cuisine like butter chicken and mushroom saag, while also creating dishes that fuse with classic bar food, like a masala spiced burger and chaat-er tots (tater tots, with chaat seasoning.)
“Indian food and beer pairings are really easy because you have things that are spicy,” Sarasin said. “Not all Indian food is spicy, but you have things on the spicier side which really pair well with beer.”
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With craft breweries in a significant downturn in the past few years, Lavery said this was a way to draw people in.
“We appreciate the customers who came out during the time where we were doing the chicken fingers and what have you, but it wasn't a world-class experience in our opinion,” Lavery said.
Sarasin said the unconventional match comes as consumers want more than pizza and wings from their neighborhood bar.
“I think the average diner’s expanding their palette more, and they're getting this cravability in food," he said.
WBZ NewsRadio’s Chaiel Schaffel (@CSchaffelWBZ) reports.