Behind the Counter with Morgan Jarrett of Smith Canteen

When Morgan Jarrett, 28, started working in the kitchen at a year ago, she had no idea that a brand new (and major) opportunity would open up for her a mere seven doors south, and just a few months later.

But when owners Rob Newton and Kerry Diamond approached her to run the kitchen for their newest project, , she jumped at the chance.

“I was thrilled! It was a no-brainer for me,” says Jarrett.

The opportunity was exciting to her as a cook, but also as a Carroll Gardens resident.

“I used to work in Midtown and was always hoping for a place to grab a good cup of coffee on my way to work,” says Jarrett. “There was really something lacking in this four block radius. There really wasn’t anywhere to get a good cup of coffee, a great breakfast, or a well-crafted sandwich with trustworthy ingredients.”

Smith Canteen, which opened this spring under Jarrett’s leadership as chef de cuisine, offers all of that. And unlike the Southern food-inspired Seersucker, Smith Canteen has no geographic restrictions, which allows Jarrett to improvise.

“We’re keeping it as fresh and organic as possible and that’s pretty much our only boundary,” explains Jarrett. “So everyday it’s like ‘What do I want to eat with this weather?’ Selfishly, it’s what I crave a lot of the time.”

Lately, Jarrett has been craving the “Ploughman’s sandwich,” her take on the traditionally British sandwich “Ploughman’s lunch.” The sandwich features Consider Bardwell cheese and apple on sourdough bread.

But it’s the people as much as the food that makes Jarrett’s job fulfilling.

“Before [I worked here] I didn’t know many people in the neighborhood, but I’ve met so many people,” she says. “It’s really awesome to walk in here and see the line out the door.”

Jarrett grew up in a big family in Fort Worth, Texas and began cooking “as soon as she could reach the counter.” When she went off to college, she found that she missed spending time in the kitchen, so began hosting dinner parties for her friends.

When a friend offered her a position cooking at his wine bar, she decided to give it a try. That decision eventually landed her a spot in the French Culinary Institute, and later, in Carroll Gardens, where she now resides across the street from Smith Canteen. While Jarrett enjoys the short commute, she admits there are some down sides.

“Sometimes I don’t see much beyond Court Street and Smith Street on 1st Place!” she laughs.

Perhaps that's why, on this fairly quiet Monday morning at Smith Canteen, Jarrett has taken it upon herself to add three new items to the day’s menu.

“I could have just relaxed and not had added things,” confesses Jarrett. “But part of challenging myself and hopefully keeping the neighborhood excited about what we’re doing is constantly having new stuff.”

She warns that soon the menu will undergo a considerable amount of changes due to the shifting seasons (most notably the finale of the tomato harvest), but that patrons have a lot to look forward to for fall. Customers can perhaps expect a meatloaf sandwich and a lot of squash, but diners seeking familiarity can always fall back on Smith Canteen’s most popular sandwich: turkey with bacon and sage mayonnaise on an everything croissant.

And while Jarrett tries to keep things as exciting as possible for herself and her customers, she can’t always escape the daily minutiae of running a neighborhood restaurant.

“It’s the mundane things that nobody likes to hear about that are challenging, like figuring out how many coffee cups to order in a week,” says Jarrett with a laugh. “It’s not things catching on fire like something on TV. It’s like ‘Oh God, we ran out of straws today!’”

Although the number of customers (and straws) keeps Jarrett on her toes, she takes particular note of the loyalty of her local customer-base, some of whom visit the restaurant three times per day. That, to her, is what makes it worthwhile.  

“I want a place you can go to every day and it brightens up your day,” says Jarrett. “I’d like to think that if I didn’t work here, I’d want to come here.”