The table setting for a lunch out East.
Christopher Spitzmiller dinner plates in lime on dark green rest atop an antique 19th-century tablecloth. Along with the vintage napkins, it was newly dyed in the vibrant color and sourced in London. Flatware, Sabre Faux Bamboo. Glassware, Brodksy’s own collection.
Guests were served a dish of tuna crudo, with green sauce, olives, pine nuts, and citrus. The meal was prepared by caterer DyAnne Iandoli, who created all of the dishes in the story.
Another dish features marinated heirloom tomatoes, thin sliced shallot, mustard seed, and basil sprouts.
A bar area at the end of the porch features a KRB Dark Olive ice bucket by Rita Konig for The Lacquer Company. The green stemware from is from Brodsky’s collection.
Dessert is served! Fresh chilled fruit on ice and pignoli cookies offer a satisfying end to the meal.
The square wicker planters used as centerpieces filled with chamomile are from Larger Cross. The salad is a composition of Little Gem lettuces, radishes, snap peas, a variety of herbs, and tendrils.
“I really love a long lingering lunch,” says tastemaker and shop keeper Kate Rheinstein Brodsky. “It’s a great time to have that lingering conversation, and keep having mint tea or espresso, and just let it spin out into the afternoon.”
And her East Hampton porch is the perfect setting for lingering longer. She likes to keep the guest list to six or eight people for lunch, an ideal number to keep things intimate.
“You can keep one big conversation going, or have multiple side conversations.”
Brodsky is known for her use of color at home and at her beloved Manhattan shop, KRB.
“I really love color. I love color on a table. I love it in interiors. I think it’s really joyful.”
At home in East Hampton, rich hues radiate from the table.
“[Ceramicist] Christopher Spitzmiller did a special glaze for our 10th anniversary—a sort of green on green—and I fell so in love with it that I had him make plates for me.” Napkins are just as saturated, reminiscent of the color of a really ripe summer heirloom tomato.
“I was really fortunate enough to have a mother who always gave me things for the table,” says Brodsky of her late mother, designer Suzanne Rheinstein.
“I tend to collect things that I love. I tend to buy a lot. I never buy, like, six or eight of something. I buy 12, I buy 18, I buy 24. I really use everything, and I break things, you know?”
As much effort that goes into creating a beautiful table, Brodsky says that it’s just one component of a good meal and should not become the sole focus.“I just want you to think that was such a nice lunch that we had,” says Brodsky, “and that it felt good.”
