Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1077792
CHEF BRANDON MILLER PUTS A NEW SPIN ON IL GRILLO Chef Brandon Miller has worked with some of the giants of the culinary industry, in mega-restaurants such as Tra Vigne in Napa Valley, and LuLu Bis and Fog City Diner in San Francisco. More recently, he helped push 6,500 burgers out the door each month at Alvarado Street Brewery and Grill in Monterey. Now 54, Miller dreamed of a small restaurant with a narrow focus, a one-page menu, and using ingredients sourced from a few local purveyors. So he went from wrestling an elephant to play- ing with a cricket. Carmel restaurateurs Emanuele and Anna Bartolini (La Balena) hired Miller to head their spinoff restaurant il grillo (the cricket in Italian). And for the first time in several years, Miller can feel his creative energy resurfacing. "I wake up with ideas, and that's exciting," he says. "I really thrive working with a couple of people who care so much." Open for dinner only, il grillo will focus on fresh-baked breads, handmade pastas and small Italian "tapas" called cicchetti. "He is the right person to help give il grillo a different identity," Anna Bartolini says. "You can tell he just gets it." il grillo is located on Mission between 4th and 5th in Carmel. For more information, call 831/238- 9608 or go to ilgrillocarmel.com. 206 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 1 9 Chef Brandon Miller helms the kitchen at il grillo, owned by restaurateurs Emanuele and Anna Bartolini of La Balena. Miller was previously the chef at many local restaurants, most recently Alvarado Street Brewery and Grill. Photo: Kelli Uldall food for thought Car mel's il gr illo Evolves; Chef Stamenov Celebr ates Two Decades at Ber nardus; and PigWizard Appear s on the Pier B Y L A R R Y H A R L A N D