Carnegies, Greenfield

There are not many chef/owners, outside of Rome anyway, that would go to the trouble of building a traditional wood-fired, Roman-style brick oven out in back of the restaurant. That, however, is exactly what Ian Harrison did. He uses the oven to turn out breads, pizza, and meats of delicious distinction.

Carnegie's occupies Greenfield's old Carnegie library building, thus the name. The menu is Italian inspired by American accents and Chef Ian changes it often to take advantage of fresh, seasonal ingredients, using local foods when he can. Speaking of local, the oven is situated in the backyard vegetable and herb garded which provides ultra-fresh ingredients during the growing season.

I was fortunate to work in Greenfield for a few years when Carnegie's was open for lunch. Ian does great work. His Cream of Roasted Red Pepper Soup is one of his claims to fame and it was almost always part of my workday lunches when I dined there.

They are not open for lunch any more but serve a terrific dinner menu and Ian is still making that signature soup! Carnegie's has a blog here. It is not updated often but has the basic information including a sample menu. The oven is featured here as part of a Traditional Oven resource website with lots of photos and info about these ovens. I'm thinking this might be a good backyard summer project for next year!