Craig LaBan reviews Heirloom in Chestnut Hill
"Welcome to Heirloom," our waitress said, her friendly but very deliberate tone barely audible through the din that pulsed through this lively new Chestnut Hill new restaurant. “We are a ‘fine American cookery.’ ”
Did she really say that? Not since a visit to Colonial Williamsburg, methinks, have I heard a server describe a restaurant as a “cookery” with a straight face. But Heirloom — despite a stiff demeanor that can sometimes give this BYOB an overeager awkwardness — is very serious about its mission to highlight regional American and seasonal flavors, from the buttery fresh-baked pocket buns in the enticing bread basket to the seafood “purloo” inspired (however loosely) by coastal Carolina.
And Chestnut Hill, long-suffering in its wait for some quality fine dining, but now on somewhat of a roll with last year’s Mica, has responded to this latest addition with gusto, pouring into the 44 seats of its votive-lit, glass-walled space in the Top of the Hill strip mall, even sitting alongside strangers around the long wood community table that runs down the center of the cinnamon-colored room.