Located within Canoe Place Inn & Cottages — an upscale, year-round and historic Hamptons resort — Good Ground Tavern serves as the property’s signature restaurant where rising culinary talent chef Edwin “Eddie” Alvarracín creates delicious seasonal American cuisine.
The restaurant offers both an indoor and outdoor dining experience where each area is designed to reflect an earthy and inviting energy. Through neutral tones, rich shades of green and fresh plants at each table, the atmosphere invites guests to unwind.
Alvarracín’s passion for cooking began at 17, inspired by his mother. Over the years, he’s honed his skills through his experiences in the culinary world and brings his own unique taste to cooking through his Ecuadorian culture.
He discussed how vital it is for him to craft food he loves that also delights his guests, the importance of teamwork, and the use of vibrant, locally harvested ingredients that inspire each creation.
How would you describe Good Ground Tavern?
It’s my first cooking experience here in the Hamptons; I’ve always worked in the city. It’s an excellent experience, one reason being that the people are so friendly … When you open that door, you feel as if you’re home. It’s something new for me, and it’s very beautiful.
Are there any dishes on the menu that are special to you?
For me, when I cook, everything is special. I like it when the client leaves happy. Something special about it is that we have many local ingredient options. For example, we have local producers and products such as pickled oysters and a brown fish company that brings fresh, local fish. We have a field where we plant tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers, so everything that we send out is something fresh, something in season. But everything is special, everything I cook, everything I send to the table is special. I like for everything to be special.
How do you decide when to change up the menu?
I like to work in a team. For example, I have my sous chef and the cooks, who I sometimes allow to give me advice because you can always learn something new. But sometimes, it’s based on the season. In the winter season, we use ingredients like butternut squash. In spring, we use English peas, ingredients that come as the seasons do.
But also, as I mentioned, we work as a team, and we make recipes as a team. For me, that is the most important thing when we are changing the menu: having opinions as a team to ensure we are all okay with the flavors and everything.
As you mentioned, all your dishes are special to you, but are there any favorites to cook?
I really like my short rib pappardelle because it was the first dish I made in Le Bernardin. It was the first dish I cooked, plated, and served. So, it was a unique experience because the chef watched me to ensure everything came out well.
I was very nervous, but (this dish) is my special dish and it has good memories from how I cook the rib, the taste, how I have to plate it, and how it goes to the table. It’s a very special dish to me, and also Latin food. I love it since I am Ecuadorian and my wife is Mexican.
What makes Good Ground Tavern special from other restaurants?
For me, this restaurant is special because it has everything. It has great people and hospitality, which is very important. Many restaurants don’t have that hospitality component that makes customers feel good. Everything here is beautiful, but the people, more than anything, make it special. The team that I have, who are from the Hamptons, I’ve never worked with people so intelligent, friendly, and educated, and so it’s something new for me.
How do you want customers to leave feeling?
I’m one of those people when I send the food, I ask the waiter ‘how is everything?’ ‘Is everything ok? How’s the table? Is everything good?’ I like for the customers to leave satisfied more than anything that they leave content, if something wasn’t good or they didn’t like it, I’ll try to send something else to leave the client content. I want everything to be good and to be sure the food is good for the client to be content and happy.
