Photos by Michael Piazza

For Erin Miller, the smell of crookneck yellow squash sautéed with bacon and onions is synonymous with summer. Growing up in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, it was a staple summer food served in many Southern kitchens, including her own grandmothers’ and her mother’s.

This formative food memory is the source of inspiration for summer squash crème brûlée, a staple on the seasonal menu at chef-owner Miller’s Urban Hearth in North Cambridge. Punctuated with wild mushroom conserva, seared peach and feta crunch, the dish is a perfect example of how Miller channels her influences and curiosities into modern iterations on her farm-to-table menu.

“I take something very familiar either to me or our dining community and elevate and change it in some way that makes it compelling and approachable in a new way,” she says. “My story—what I love, where I come from, what has defined me through my life—is part of the fabric of creating in the kitchen. It’s me tipping my hat to flavors I love so much … I’ve just recently given myself permission to say I’m nostalgic—celebrating the very best without it being a crutch.”

Indeed, at Urban Hearth every dish has a story. And you’ll find that this intimate space—24 seats inside and 26 outside—lends itself just as much to the sharing of beautifully curated dishes in close proximity to your neighbors as their accompanying narratives. Here, the team exuberantly offers threads of anecdotes and engages in conversation: where an ingredient was sourced, or how a previous version of a dish inspired a flavor combination.

On an early fall night at Urban Hearth’s four-seat chef’s counter—where Miller and her team workshop new menu ideas—the vibe is decidedly chill as they work their magic, moving with grace and precision, speaking in shorthand as the music hums. A scallop crudo featuring a spicy cantaloupe granita and cucumber basil water combines textures and surprises with unexpected flavor combinations. Then a koji-marinated duck breast with duck fat carrots, sprouted broccoli and blackberry barbecue. The heirloom tomato salad with rosehip vinaigrette and fried sesame goat cheese croquettes. And the biscuit laminated with buttermilk served with maple miso butter—so popular that Miller met strong resistance when she pondered taking it off the menu. So popular that on this recent evening, a patron called and reserved the night’s remaining biscuits.

Despite the awe and sparkle, nothing is over-engineered or over-complicated. All the flavors are accessible, the focus is local (when possible seasonally, 90% of the ingredients are sourced from a 100-mile radius, at times featuring the yield from Miller’s regular urban foraging expeditions) and the influences on the New American cuisine are global: Mediterranean, North African, Italian, French and Asian.

Miller opened Urban Hearth in 2016, following stints in New York City’s restaurant scene. Classically trained at the former French Culinary Institute of New York, she came to the food industry after working at community-development nonprofits. While she loved the mission of that work, she found herself mostly writing grants.

“It wasn’t feeding my soul physically or emotionally,” she recalls. Realizing it was time to rethink her career, Miller posed herself the question: What is it that I love to do?

“One of the big things: I loved not only feeding people but also seeing people enjoying being together and eating together. That ethos of community dining. I’ve gotten beyond trying to create for art’s sake,” she says. “You can create beautiful plates, but if it doesn’t have soul or purpose, if it doesn’t move people, what is it? Food can transport you if it’s done well. I hope that’s what we’re doing.”

urbanhearth.net
2263 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge

This story appeared in the Winter 2024 issue.