Joe Mercuri Has a Fire Pit

Back in October chef Joe Mercuri told Eater Montreal that his new restaurant would "have a wood burning and charcoal oven. I'll be cooking directly on the embers and plan to do a lot of vegetables in ashes, stuff like that."

Later in the month photographer Randall Brodeur's Plywood Report offered the first glimpses of the immense Cité Multimédia/Old Montreal space in the Milgram building on the corner of Wellington and Soeurs Grises. One major takeaway: Mercuri definitely has enough space to play with fire if he wants to get serious about it.

And now, finally, an exclusive look at Mercuri's fire pit. The behemoth will face the restaurant's bar and work in tandem with the kitchen's state-of-the-art Combi oven.

[Photos: Joe Mercuri]

Of his new toy Mercuri wrote: "Cooking area 49"d x 106"w x 42" high....actual fireplace 57"d x 118"w x 108" high......monster!! (Made by) Mauro Mucciarone."

· All Mercuri Coverage [EMTL]