Sushi and sandwiches draw large crowds to Kent Kitchen

KENT — Two chefs have opened up shop on Main Street, both working under the same roof.

“Two different kitchens, one restaurant,” said co-founder and co-executive chef Alberto Schenck of Kent Kitchen’s business model. The eatery opened its doors this summer and has been busy slinging burgers and sushi alike to hungry downtown wanderers, all for reasonable pricing.

Suko Lugito, the other executive chef and co-founder, agrees that the restaurant’s strengths lie in its wide array of regional offerings.

Lugito, who is Indonesian, has more than 20 years of experience as a sushi chef and brings a slew of Japanese offerings to the restaurant including a variety of rolls, nigiri, sashimi and ramen served with a choice of miso or bone broth, which was taken off the menu in the restaurant’s early days, but soon after reinstated due to popular demand.

A snack cabinet below the register showcases bagged crispy bites with East Asian options that would be hard to find elsewhere in the Northwest Corner.

Lugito cut his teeth at globally-renowned New York City Japanese establishment Nobu and legendary institution the Rainbow Room in Rockefeller Center among others, but he says that he’s as busy now as he ever was in those lauded kitchens.

Schenck is Chilean and has built his career as a chef in restaurants spanning the continent from well-known restaurateur David Burke’s Fort Lee, New Jersey, restaurant Ventanas to the Encore hotel in Las Vegas, with many more in between.

While Lugito’s sushi station — planned for expansion — is customer facing in the restaurant’s dining room, Schenck occupies the spacious downstairs kitchen where his internationally-inspired American culinary sensibilities produce crowd-favorites like the Kent Burger and Kent Falls Corned Beef Sandwich.

His station also offers a number of appetizers such as yuzu-dressed rock shrimp tempura and a chicken quesadilla.

Schenck maintains that the motivation behind the restaurant was to bring a unique eating experience to Kent’s Main Street. The two men worked together for several years cooking at the Silo Ridge Field Club, the recreation arm of the Discovery Land Company’s Amenia, New York community. Schenck admits that the impetus for the idea came from Lugito while the two worked at the club, but he quickly saw the promise of the project.

“We started building a concept no one else has,” he said.

Alberto Schenck and the 19th century door to one of the restaurant’s several walk-in refrigerators. Alec Linden

It might be apt to call it anti-fusion fusion cuisine – the meeting of cultures, but keep certain elements purposefully distinct. While the two chefs’ deliberated where to bring their culinary talent after Silo Ridge they came to a realization: “Why don’t we combine our talent and do one?” Schenck said.

When the current location at 12 North Main Street came online after previous tenant J.P. Giffords vacated this past spring, the idea crystallized into something tangible. The men allied with Wingdale, New York’s Cousins Pizzeria owner Tony Robustelli to move their business into the storefront, and from there things progressed rapidly.

Schenck described acquiring the location as “just luck” and timing, and said they saw the potential of its downtown positioning immediately. The duo said being situated on the main drag has kept business booming since first opening, with takeout orders proving to be especially popular.

The community has been welcoming to their novel concept, the two reported. “The people are super friendly,” said Schenck. “Super nice,” agreed Lugito.

Lugito said the town’s extensive boarding school population in particular has taken to the restaurant’s varied offerings, with many coming from far away – including East Asia – and looking for a meal that reminds them of home.

Sure enough, as The Lakeville Journal’s interview with the two chefs concluded, a group of eight or so students ambled in out of the warm Friday morning at 11 a.m. sharp, just as the restaurant was opening its doors for the day. Lugito jumped behind the counter, deftly sharpened a knife, and started cutting into a slab of rich red tuna.