Pearsall's Books

About a month ago, the Washington Post published a long article about the kitchen workers at Merkado, a new upscale restaurant located in DC's rapidly gentrifying Logan Hill neighborhood, that is well worth reading.

The focus of the article is on line chef Miguel Rosario, a Puerto Rican-born, Bronx-raised, ex-convict, who is using the cooking skills he picked up in prison to turn his life around and provide a better future for his fiance and their son. It's quite a strong look into the internal dynamics of the restaurant business, and the ways in which contact with such an upscale, aspirational world can drive working-class natives and immigrants to learn and to attempt to better themselves.