Spring!!!

I can not tell you how nice it is to see and eat things that are green.  People may complain about this past winter.  with the exception of The Blizzard to end all blizzards, it truly was not that bad.  No matter what I always look forward to cooking spring food.  My cooks(who have been with me over the years) always hate this time of the year, shelling favas twice. Instead of just taking them out of the thicker shell, and then blanching them, we take them out of both of their shells, and then blanch them.  They hold their color longer, and taste better.  Along with favas, come shelling english peas(same process as the favas)and ramps.  All three are some of my favorite things.  Of course they all make their way to the menu now.  In addition artichokes are now starting to become available, and are really tasty.  We are serving them in two dishes.  First we are serving them braised with fontina fonduta, mint, cracked marcona almonds, and arugula.  Second we are serving them with cured tomatoes and roasted tai snapper.  The New Zealand snapper that we are getting from my friend Carl Galvin at Supreme Lobster, may be some of the tastiest fish I have had in years.  We have pretty much changed about 80 percent of the menu, and I am loving it.Attached are some pictures of some of the new items, as well as the amazing Tai Red Snapper.  The first picture is of the crispy duck leg with orange and fennel panzanella, chicken-sherry reduction.  Shelling fava beans.  A chilled broccoli salad with marinated broccoli stem, roasted olives, goat feta, and crispy shallots.

90 Days

So it has been just over 90 days since I opened The Florentine.  I gotta be honest, it feels a lot more like 6 months at least.  A lot has happened since we opened it November.  The menu has been changed quite a bit since we started, I would say about 80% or more.  I am really happy with the food, and where we are now.  I do believe that I have not worked this hard in about 8 years.  I have never felt better about a restaurant going forward, than I do now.  Does it mean there will not be changes, some sooner, some later. Of course.  A restaurant is an ever evolving beast, it grows, and it grows.  I guess it is like raising a child, or in some cases many children.  Food changes, staff changes etc.  Some people think we are crazy to be working in this business, the hours and everything that goes with it.  The thought of having to got to a Target on Saturday, makes me cringe, I would much rater be at work and wait till my day off on Monday.  All of you non-restaurant people can have that and everything else that goes on in the "normal world" on weekends.  Too much Chaos for me, and to much waiting in lines to pay for things, I do not really need.  I would have to say I could not have made it through opening The Florentine without my three time weekly trip to see my trainer at the gym.  It keeps me sane, you have no idea.  Even though it has been only 90 days, I can not wait till spring.  Opening a restaurant in the winter really makes you look forward to green vegetables and all that the spring gives us.  The Spring menu is already being planned.  So as we have changed the menu quite a bit since opening, be ready for more to come.

Menu Changes

As you all probably know part of being a chef involves the creative process. I like to change items on my menus when I get a great idea, or when I am bored with a dish, but most importantly to improve on what we are already doing.  When The Florentine opened in mid November, I was not happy with a lot of the food for dinner, so we changed about 60% of it.  I really like what I did, the food was more about how I felt, and really about food that would match the room.  What I mean is that I truly believe that food must speak of the city it is being cooked in, and of the room it is being served in.  I have always felt as a Chef that this was very important.  We have made a few more changes to the menu since then, and even more last night.  We have been very fortunate to receive some wonderful press and some very favorable reviews.  This has not stopped my creative drive, it has only driven me to do more, and create more, to evolve!  Last night in addition to changing some things on the dinner menu, I changed the entire lounge menu.  It really speaks of what I want our bar menu to be.  We added some salumi, lowered the amount of items on toast, and even added a great veal meat ball dish served over rich, creamy Anson Mills polenta. There are more changes than those listed, come check us out.

It has been a long While

So I created this blog last year and then got tied up with so much, that I let it go. Today I am basically starting over. A lot has gone on since I started Salty Parts. I left my position at Cibo Matto and have become the Chef at The Florentine Restaurant, also in Chicago. In addition personally I got engaged, and could not be happier about both. We are currently in week seven since we opened. Let me tell you it has been the most challenging, and most rewarding experiences I have had. I was lucky enough to have most of my staff from Cibo Matto join me here. Most importantly my two Sous Chefs, Mark and Rusty. With out them it would have been rough, really rough. Today we were awarded three stars by the Chicago Tribune. It was an incredible review and made me very proud of our entire staff. It is kind of crazy to be reviewed so quickly, I really did not think we were ready yet, but the last few weeks have felt really good. We really feel like we are starting to click. So for tonight I will leave you with that, and promise that there will be a lot more to come. Thanks to those of you that have dined with us so far, and to those who have not, we look forward to having you soon!

Pan roasted chicken livers with anson mills polenta, pancetta, caramelized onions
villa manodori balsamic at cibo matto

First Post

As a chef in Chicago, I have been thinking about writing a blog for some time. Hell I read a ton of them on a daily basis some good, some not so good. I have been cooking professionally for the last 16 years and am currently cooking the food I love from Italy. Nice Jewish boy from the north shore cooking Italian food you ask. The best thing about growing up Jewish was the constant discussion of food, even when we were eating. I believe that being Jewish, and being Italian are similar, we all love our mothers, even though they annoy us, and we all love food, so there!

I am sitting in a hotel room in New York thinking back over my the past sixteen years, and thinking about the crazy times I have had, the crazy chefs I have worked with and for. I would not change any of it at all, it has been a great ride. Fifteen years ago I came to New York with Keith Korn, the very first chef I worked for, to cook at the James Beard House, and now I am cooking there myself this coming Saturday. I am extremely excited, and nervous at the same time. The menu is killer, and the wines are going to be perfect. I will be updating the blog on Friday and Saturday, with photos, and some video of the event.

My goal with this blog is to discuss my life, in and out of the kitchen, talk about the past a little bit, and let you into my world.