Ahhh…who knew that two months could pass in what feels like days? In two months at the Rattlesnake, we’ve completely changed the room, the feel, the menu, the drinks, and I think we are all having fun with this.
Having traveled so much last year, I’m also feeling really good about having a home for both my culinary ideas and for all the people I love cooking for. The journey stimulated the creative juices (also known as wine!) and completely enhanced my cooking style. But now that I’m back, there’s no more nail-biting about whether the foie gras will fly past airport security on the way to San Fran; no longer do I fret over which office in which city I left my notebook in. When I reach for the black lava sea salt, it’s right where I left it. I can make habañero-saffron pickles or chipotle beef jerky and stick around long enough to taste the results. And I can pack up my broken Spanish and Portuguese. It’s good to be home.
Here at the Rattlesnaek, I’m really settling in nicely. A fantastic kitchen staff is coming together. It’s a young team, but it’s bursting with professionalism as well as physical and creative energy. We had a little trial run with a few of the newer ones and everyone clicks. The guys at the front of the house are paying attention, learning and moving forward as well. Drink lists, wine lists, menus, crew, all moving forward—this should be fun! Bring me good weather and we’ll take care of the rest!
Speaking of good weather, this is that very strange time of year in New England where as a chef I start to think spring, but the weather plays with my mind. Sixty degrees one day and a foot of snow the next. I can’t wait for the ramps, fiddlehead ferns, fresh herbs, live baby eels, and all that other fun stuff to start coming in. I even found myself kicking around the ice on the roof deck last night trying to find the perfect spot to plant some vegetables! Just a few more weeks and we’re there.
Meanwhile I’m going to kick off an additional menu—the Unleashed menu. It’s your ticket to an ever-changing world of dishes! Rogerio, my sous chef, and I are bringing in diverse ingredients like black garlic, caul fat, yuzu, pork belly, and more. We’re going to lay them out on the table and just make stuff up. We’ll poach fish in vanilla oil, we’ll add wasabi sorbet to old favorites like tuna tartar in soy-chive vinaigrette, we’ll revisit my good friend Giovanni’s oven-roasted, bacon-wrapped figs stuffed with Maytag blue cheese. We started a nice pork stock a few days ago and I’m definitely going to do a small-plate trio called Three Little Pigs. All in all, we are just going to have fun and keep playing. We should have it all ready to go by Wednesday night, so stop by if you’re in the nieghborhood.
Thursday, in addition to the Unleashed and regular menus, we are doing a $35 three-course prix fixe, with portions of the proceeds going to a cause very near and dear to my heart: Curt and Shonda Schilling’s SHADE Foundation. Rattlesnake partner Tony Caz is personally battling with melanoma since his wife was recently diagnosed. The two of them have been amazingly strong in the process and we’re praying for and proud of them as they move forward.
Friday and Saturday until 10 p.m., Poe’s Kitchen remains a kitchen—but then let the dancing begin! We’ll have DJs mixing it up with the foodies. Don’t tell anyone but we’ve already seen a few great chefs living large here last week—I’ll never do shots with the boys from Bonfire again! But the rest of you can be my guest.
Another Day in Poe's Kitchen at The Rattlesnake 