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Brooklyn’s finest chefs cook at City Grit in Manhattan

For more than two years, City Grit has been hosting chef dinners in a room at a defunct Catholic School on the edge of SoHo. The vibe is homey, but the whole affair is actually quite serious. The chefs are all talented, and many are very accomplished.

Sarah Simmons, who founded City Grit, cleverly curates the dinners, managing to keep things interesting week after week. (Dinners are hosted multiple nights a week.) She has introduced The Next Big Thing series, which brings in chefs who are about to open their own restaurant and The City Spotlight series, in which a well-known chef from outside of NYC cooks a meal.

With seating for some 50-odd people, a dinner at City Grit can feel like an extended family gathering. The room, with paintings and antiques lining the walls, features communal tables conducive to chatting with strangers.

When Simmons got her hands on the recently-published book “Brooklyn Chef’s Table” by the food writer Sarah Zorn, she realized that Brooklyn chefs deserved a spot at her table, too.

“I wanted to bring attention to all the great chefs that are doing these great things in our backyard,” she said.

And so the Brooklyn Chef’s Table Cookbook Series idea was born. Four dinners are taking place on March 27 – 30.

But Brooklyn is in New York City, so why attend a City Grit dinner instead of just heading to the respective chef’s restaurants?

Simmons says first off, the chef will be present and accessible to diners. Indeed, at City Grit dinners the chefs present the meal to those in attendance. And the menu will feature twists on what is normally prepared at the menu, or perhaps something completely different.

For tickets, which range from $55 – $75 for individual tickets and $95 – $145 for pairs, are available at citygritnyc.com. Beverages not included.