A new Uptown Kingston restaurant—opened last spring by Dave Amato, the force of nature behind the Rondout neighborhood’s wildly popular Ole Savannah Southern Table—combines creative world fusion cuisine with a laid-back welcome and a vibe inspired by iconic history and his own grandfather’s place within it. Welcome, friends, to Brickmen Kitchen + Bar and to quintessential Kingston.
Born in 1909, Joe “Skookie” Amato went to work in the Hutton Brickyards on the waterfront at the age of nine, part of the thriving industry that put Kingston on the map in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and employed thousands at its peak. He would go on to help found the Brick Handler’s Union and serve as its president in the ’50s and ’60s.
Dave was his youngest grandchild; to him, Joe was just Grandpa. “He always had jobs going on, but he was semi-retired, so I got to pal around with him, go to the diner, the luncheonette, wherever. And everyone we ran into said hello to him, made a big fuss over him. Gradually, I realized he was a Kingston legend of sorts, which fascinated me. It was his personality; he made us all feel like we were his favorite, he had a way of making everybody feel special.” Beyond Joe’s personal influence, Amato wanted to memorialize Kingston’s impact on the wider world. “The bricks and cement created right here in Ulster County—a lot of the visitors and newcomers from downstate probably don’t realize how much of their familiar landscape came from up here to build icons like the Empire State Building and the Cloisters.”
Brickmen Kitchen + Bar was opened last spring by Dave Amato, the force of nature behind the Rondout neighborhood’s wildly popular Ole Savannah Southern Table.
Burger and drink photos by Above Photography.
When Amato found his location on North Front Street, combining two buildings to create a spacious bar and dining room, he wanted to keep that history front and center while crafting a culinary experience informed by his own world travels. The result is a culinary tour of influences from around the world, ranging from a Tuscan Roasted Cauliflower appetizer to a Korean BBQ Ribs entrée, to Maine Lobster Pot Pie, to a full sushi bar. “There’s Thai and French and Indian cuisine here, Jamaican chicken, all my favorites. That’s what I do in my free time: I travel to restaurant towns, down to the city, Miami, Nashville, and go check out what’s good.”
To bring the best of the best to Kingston, Amato enlisted the help of Certified Master Chef Dale Miller, one of only 68 in the US to hold that title and a member of the Culinary Institute’s Alumni Board. (Besides working with Amato to craft the menu for Brickmen, Miller was named last spring to the U.S. State Department’s “Kitchen Cabinet,” a panel of 10 top-ranked experts tasked with promoting diplomacy through food.). “I would call it my dream menu,” says Amato. “It’s the best things I’ve found everywhere, and the feedback I get from guests is ‘I want to try everything,’ which is exactly what I was aiming for.”
The eatery combines creative world fusion cuisine with a laid-back welcome and a vibe inspired by iconic history and Amato’s own grandfather’s place within it.
Photo by Above Photography.
For interior design, Amato turned to the Jackson Creative Group to craft a warm, vintage vibe, cozy yet clean and open with lots of natural light, to appeal to locals and out-of-towners alike. And since its opening, Brickmen has been living up to that hope. “One of the top five meals I have had in a restaurant,” writes a Yelp reviewer, a native Kingstonian back in town visiting family. “We were blown away and intend to dine there again on our next visit. The menu was fantastic and everything we ate was phenomenal. Our service was also exceptional, delightful, and attentive without being overbearing.”
That combination of being beautifully served and able to thoroughly relax is exactly what Amato had in mind. “It’s for everybody, you know, whether you’re coming back from your hike in the Catskills or finishing up a day’s work, whether you need to just destress after a long week or you’re looking to celebrate something special. Come as you are, whatever that may be, and we’ll take good care of you.”
“There’s Thai and French and Indian cuisine here, Jamaican chicken, all my favorites. That’s what I do in my free time: I travel to restaurant towns, and check out what’s good.” – Owner Dave Amato.
Amato’s own favorite spot might be the four-season deck. “Even in the winter, you can sit outside and still feel like you’re outdoors. And you really do, I mean, it’s the whole mountain range laid out before you—you’d never know you were in a city, and the sunsets are just spectacular.” Sounds like the perfect place to grab a drink—and you’ve got plenty of delicious choices. Try a NY Brickmen Sour made with freshpressed lemon juice, a Cloudy Peach, or a Blood Orange Mule. There are plenty of local draught beers, a globally inflected wine selection, and enticing-sounding alcohol-free choices, plus champagne to go with your seafood tower on those special occasions.
The whole package would no doubt make Grandpa Joe wildly proud. And Amato, who won a 2022 Humanitarian Award from The Arc Mid Hudson for shepherding Ole Savannah’s bounty to the places it could do the most good, sees it as a vital connection between his own family and the larger Kingston family that makes this town a special place. “It’s not just paying homage to my grandfather,” he says, “it’s paying homage to all of the hard-working men from back then. Every day I get guests that come in, ‘oh, my grandfather, my father, my uncle’… Kingston is full of the stories and the descendants of the brick men, and I wanted to tell the story of that connection.”
brickman kitchen + bar
47 North Front Street, Kingston
845-882-7425
brickmenkingston.com
