Last updated: December 10, 2023

In the Weeds

We’ve been screaming to get other foodie cities to pay attention to us for years, and it was Good Food on Montford that first got their attention. The restaurant opened in 2009, and diners stood on the patio to await a table at the no-reservations small plates spot. In 2010, Good Food — Bruce Moffett’s second restaurant — earned the city its first James Beard restaurant award semifinalist nomination, in the Best New Restaurant category.

Nearly a decade after its opening, the city’s restaurant options have grown, but Good Food still draws a crowd of people waiting for tables. Chef Larry Schreiber — who was the restaurant’s sous chef when it opened — serves an eclectic menu of global flavors. The Korean beef, for example, is a beautifully plated dish, with spicy beef resting on top of a fried rice square, a gochujang (Korean red chile paste) sauce circled over it. The pastas tend to lean towards traditional flavors with an unexpected element, such as the gnocchi with bacon lardons, crushed spring peas, and parmesan paired with a lemon whipped cream.

One of the most popular dishes on the menu is the bao bun, a steamed bun, with pork belly, steamed vegetables, and hoisin. The dish has been so popular, in fact, that Schreiber will step down at Good Food to open a steamed bun spot in Tompkins Hall when the construction is complete there. Tompkins Hall is a food hall in an old mill building, near the Parkwood Avenue light rail stop, expected to open sometime around the new year. Schrieber’s stall, Bao + Broth, will be under the Moffett Restaurant Group umbrella, and will serve ramen as well as steamed buns.

Another menu mainstay is the mussels, a must-order of steamed Prince Edward Island mussels doused in a coconut green curry sauce. You won’t leave a smudge of the sauce on the plate with help from the charred bread served atop the dish.

The portions can be small here, though the servers guide you through ordering enough for the table and ensure that delivery is smooth. They know the menu, too — something that is clear when you ask for recommendations. The wine list and beer lists are small but well-chosen, and cocktail drinkers will find some interesting options as well as classics on the seasonal list, though we’ve had a few misses over the years. We’d recommend sticking with the wine list—meals here are meant to be a lingering experience, enjoying drinks and small plates over a couple of hours, and cocktails might cut your time a little too short.

Like the menu, the dining room was an early adapter of what’s en vouge today, with minimalist décor, exposed brick walls, and a front façade of windows opening to the bustling Montford Avenue. That’s the draw of Good Food on Montford: the restaurant isn’t on trend—it helps set the trend, and has since 2009.