Revisiting Peter McCarthy: EVOO and Za, Cambridge and Arlington

Profile One in this Series: Revisiting Boston Chefs and the COVID-19 Pandemic

What has been the major change since we last connected during our summer interview?

We have just come to the tough decision to pause operations at our Za Cambridge location; our last day open will be December 23. We paused EVOO soon after the pandemic hit, thinking that it would only be for a few weeks. Boy I was wrong about that. At Za Cambridge, we tried sticking with it as long as we could; the loss of outdoor dining caused by cold weather meant that our business, which was already dismal, became unsustainable. 

We decided to save our remaining funds for re-opening. With widespread vaccine availability looking like it will happen within a few months; we hope to re-open in the spring.   

Za in Arlington, located in a neighborhood (rather than the business-centric area of Kendall Square) is doing quite well with just curbside pick-up and third-party delivery. 

Do you offer winter outdoor dining and can you describe it? What would I need to wear to stay comfortable?

We have kept tables and chairs outside for guests, if they choose. As the weather has gotten colder, the number of willing diners has diminished. We have had a few diehards in full winter/ski gear dine outside; they seemed fine with it.

What is available on your winter menu?

Salads, pizza and dessert. As of now with both EVOO and Za Cambridge paused, we will be serving our regular Za pizza, salads and a couple of desserts for pick-up at our Arlington location. 

Our commitment to support local farms doesn't stop in the winter months.  Local arugula, beets, potatoes, radishes, carrots, apples, butternut squash, mushrooms and dairy are still on our menu. Arugula from Drumlin Farm in Lincoln is used for our arugula salad and on our “Aruguloni” pizza: Homemade dough is baked with potato cream sauce, pepperoni, diced onions, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses and then topped with (on-the-side for take-out) a salad of arugula, diced tomatoes, red onion, parmesan and citrus vinaigrette. 

Potatoes and butternut squash are from Verrill Farm in Concord. The potatoes are paired with New Hampshire smokehouse bacon, Gruyère cheese, diced onions, scallions and thyme to make my wife’s all-time favorite pizza, which she slathers on way too much sour cream. The butternut squash is also used as a pizza topping. We dice and roast the butternut, pairing it with caramelized onions, cheddar cheese, cloumage (think ricotta with flavor) from Shy Brothers Farm in Dartmouth, homemade apple butter and sage. Beet-apple salad and apple crisp celebrate the season.

What do you see happening in the coming months?

More restaurants closing; it’s dire times. If you can’t adapt or if your location is not one that is adaptable, it’s going to be a long winter. 

When the vaccine arrives and the pandemic subsides, what are the top three things you will do first?

I think we will have to take it slowly, just because there is a vaccine doesn't mean that people will be ready to gather in large groups. I feel that there will be a lot of apprehension and it will take many months to regain the confidences of times past.

We will re-open Za Cambridge first, we’ll see how that goes, using it as a barometer for re-opening EVOO, which we expect to do with weeknight dinner first and expand from there as business directs.

Most importantly, I want to see the friends and family who we have only seen through Zoom calls. I want to go to concerts, sporting events, a date with my wife and a long warm weather vacation. 

Can you tell us your most challenging moment since the onset of the pandemic, and your most positive highlights?

The most challenging moments continue to be not having jobs for the people who have worked so hard for us. If it wasn’t for them we would not have had our 22 years of success. We owe them a lot, it is extremely difficult to see them out of work. We just furloughed the last of the Za Cambridge employees, some of whom have worked with us for more than 10 years. It really just sucks.

Another challenge was that this year, for the first time since we opened EVOO in 1998, we didn’t have family Thanksgiving at EVOO. Instead of 50 to 70 family, friends and coworkers it was just the four of us. I still cooked a full turkey dinner with all the fixings. Thanksgiving was always a day we could all gather, eat a bit too much, drink the right amount, watch football and enjoy each other. The family Zoom call was great, but I really missed our annual get-together.

Far and away the most positive effects of the pandemic has been the amount of time spent with my immediate family. My son Shane is 15 and my daughter Caitlin is 12. Before the pandemic most weeks I worked six days, getting home from work well after their bedtime. I would get up each morning to drive them to school; many days that was the only time I spent with them. Sunday has always been a family day and we would take great vacations. Now I am home most nights by 9, the kids are still up, we almost always have dinner together. I am working a lot less, two days off every week, some weeks as little as 50 hours, which is a welcome change from years of 70-plus-hour weeks.

Working less is a trend that I hope to continue. 

How have you been both personally and professionally grappling with life surrounding these tough times? What’s your source of relaxation and/or method of survival? 

Professionally, though it’s been really tough, it’s out of our hands, there is really not much we can do about it, except looking forward to it being over. 

Personally, I have an amazing wife, Colleen, who has been supporting my dreams from the beginning. We started dating in 1985, she was there for me during Culinary School, low-paying cook jobs, long-hour chef jobs and opening three restaurants together. She even gave up her career as a C.P.A. to work with me. I never forget how lucky I really am—sure I work too much, but I have amazing friends, family and co-workers.

With more time on my hands I joined the Boston Sailing Center this summer. I am a lifelong sailor, who because of lack of time gave up boat ownership about 15 years ago. I have still been sailing on other people’s boats, doing quite a bit of offshore sailing along the way.  Being able to go into Boston and hop a sailboat for a few hours throughout the summer was great for me.

We also have a house in New Hampshire, close to Lake Winnipesaukee, where we have spent many weekends boating, cooking, hiking and long walks with our dog, Butter. If travel restrictions are figured out we also look forward to skiing this winter.

And of course there is cooking; several nights a week I cook. In the last week I have made Thai Chicken Coconut Soup, Grilled Sirloin Steaks with Baked Potatoes, Pork Chops with Broccoli and Sweet Potatoes, Soy Glazed Sockeye Salmon, Buffalo Chicken Wings and Turkey Enchiladas. I love to hang in our kitchen with some music on and a glass of wine close at hand, it is meditative.

When the weather and my knees allow I enjoy going for a run around the Mystic Lakes not far from my house in Arlington.

Finally, what would you like to see for 2021 in the face of a new chapter—medically, politically and spiritually? 

I want everyone to get vaccinated. I want people to regain the confidence to gather with friends and family and obviously see them dine out regularly.

Politically, I am hopeful and disappointed. Hopeful because people voted, voting out the most horrific president ever, he was even worse than I imagined. Disappointed because even though he was voted out, 70 million Americans still voted for this arrogant, divisive, non-science believing, greed monger. 

Though I am not very spiritual, I do hope that all are have a fulfilling 2021.

This interview appeared as an online exclusive in January 2021.