Brian O'hara

In 2001, Andrea Reusing, now owner/chef at Lantern in Chapel Hill, was charged with writing the menu and running the kitchen at Enoteca Vin, a European wine bar and restaurant on Glennwood Ave. I started waiting tables at the Ethan Allen Club in Burlington, Vermont in 1991 but the extent of my kitchen experience was limited to a year or two stretching dough at Ken's Pizza on Church St. So I was surprised when this local juggernaut and self taught chef hired me as a prep cook at a restaurant that would rival the best in Manhattan. I was trained by a guy with two full sleeve tattoos and the symbol of Kronos on the back of his right hand. He had a deep scare from chin to ear, and one to match from just above the back his left elbow to the apex of his armpit. He looked like someone who might shank you but was as calm and friendly as a grandpa. When I asked him about his arm, he said
“Have you ever hopped a train?”
He told me he was walking the tracks one day and got jumped. They hit him with a lead pipe in the back of the arm as he was running away. The last thing he remembers before blacking out is seeing his arm swinging next to him ,“like a salami in a tube sock.”
Brian Ohara was born in southern Illinois just outside of Champaign. His first job was washing dishes at the Hoagie Hut in Decatur, IL. When it was slow he would help cut fries, shred mozzarella and watch them make the pizza sauce.
“They called it gravy,” he recalls, explaining that all gravies are sauces but not all sauces are gravies.
But the west was calling and he a few friends jumped a train to California. He met Earthworm on box car outside of Kansas City who had a brother who had a place in San Francisco' China Town. He explained how working there helped him understand the roll of spice and aromatics in cooking, and how to compartmentalize food.
“A pot of beef broth will keep for a week or more. Same goes for rice noodles. This allows you to order small amounts of the perishables daily. Bean sprouts, jalapenos, limes, basil, mint and meats need to be fresh. It’s like instant Asian chili. And it makes fiscal sense. “
Brian traveled for years before settling in Raleigh. He followed bands like Kiss, Motorhead and Thin Lizzy. He’s lived, worked and eaten his way through cities like Seattle, Phoenix and New Orleans. Traveling and working in a myriad of restaurants and eateries has afforded him a panoramic perspective of society and culture.
“The serfs boiled the bones of the rich for sustenance, to make stock and soup to nourish the hungry. They took that stock, boiled it down and called it demi-glace. Add marrow butter, serve it with veal chops, and it’s gourmet. Circle of life.”
Brian Ohara worked at Vin for five years before becoming the Pastry Chef. In 2008, he was made Head Chef. He now runs NC Brewmasters in downtown Raleigh and serves things like Shrimp Ceviche with roasted pablanos, charred onions and plantain chips, Deviled Eggs with pickled okra relish, and a Catfish Biscuit topped with an orange- chipotle slaw and cilantro-mint salad, all for under $8. His food bridges the disconnect between comfort or soul food, and gourmet. It is regional cuisine made with local ingredients using the best techniques from all around the world.
“When something works in the kitchen, it has staying power. Pickling, hollandaise, rouxs; they’re a piece of history from all over the world. The kitchen is like an international food laboratory.”
The most limiting factor in Brian Ohara’s knife kit is an inexperienced restaurant owner. This is a fairly common occurrence in the restaurant industry. The duality of the creative and financial are engaged in a constant struggle. The most effective way relieve this is a chef who is also the owner. These prove to be the best and most successful restaurants. Poole’s Diner, Capital Club 16 and J. Betski’s are all testaments to successful chef owned restaurants where the food does not suffer for the sake of the bottom line. Brian O’hara falls in with this elite breed that have the creativity and experience to make this happen. Now all he needs is his own restaurant.

Bryan Bolduc