Walking through the construction laden building at 901 S. Bond Street, disheveled and dusty, bustling with workers and their tools creating the elegant atmosphere of a restaurant meant for socializing, the evolution taking place all around you feels like you are a part of something. Not just in the conventional way of being part of a team or an organization, but rather a part of the building itself, like you are giving birth, or being born together, in this new and exciting depiction of someone else's vision. Standing in the front of the house looking around you feel the impressions of laughter and congeniality that will soon fill the room and it charges your body like a Duracell from the bottom of your soles rising like an electric shock up your legs and through your body until it reaches the top of your head and makes the hairs stand up. Bursting through the black swinging porthole door for that first time everything is new. You don't know exactly what's to come but you are certain that it is going to be BIG. As you turn the corner into your new destiny you get a sinking feeling that falls like a balloon being pushed out through your feet that's about to elevate you and push you right through the ceiling. And that's when you know things are about to get good.
For the past two weeks I have had the pleasure of helping to prepare for the launching of a new restaurant that hopes and promises to be a new Baltimore mainstay. Breaking Bond Street Social has been a brilliant experience in learning a new chef, a new cuisine, a new theory on food and a new way of doing some old favorites. Our first day consisted of arriving at 9AM, meeting the other cooks, and filling out paperwork. Our second day consisted of scrubbing the kitchen top to bottom and discovering the mess that DuClaw left behind some two years ago. But, on the third day, the tomb was opened! The kitchen looked good, things were getting organized and food deliveries were coming at a steady pace. That's when "from here on out" started. We started as just one group, Chef Neill Howell doled out recipes to each of us and told us to do what we could. I came in early and stayed late when we needed, as I always do. One night Chef turned to me, "You haven't got something to do?" "Like what?," I said,"this IS what I do."
Chef Neill, a native of Essex, England, is tall and good-looking, sporting a charming accent and a penchant for mockery. By the end of week one he had already told me--in much more elegant and subtle ways-- that I talk too much and was rather "upbeat" which I took to mean irritating. However, now when I try to stifle myself he asks me, "whats wrong?" and suggests that I had partied too hard the previous night, but the balance is slowly gaining and I feel a real connection to this guy, to these guys...to the entire braintrust behind Bond Street Social. There's a special relationship that develops in this situation, for all of us giving ourselves to this place, dedicating our days, and nights and mornings, and the entire capacity of our brains to one ultimate goal of successfully launching patrons to "eat. drink. socialize."
Bond Street Social was born of this idea, that a restaurant is not a place to shovel as much food as possible into your mouth as fast as possible and then go home, but rather that a restaurant--that food--is meant to be shared among friends, eaten leisurely with beverages that compliment the food and enhance the experience, and that it should be done in a place that is relaxing and beautiful, inviting and warm, and above all, sociable. There is a copper penny lane entrance way leading into a wonderfully earthy, not-in-the-least-prententious, fire-centric main room with deep rusty red walls, some adorned with cages lined with raw stones that look plucked from the seaside somewhere near Soverato, Calabria. I love this place. Its gorgeous deep brown almost black wood tabletops contrast and compliment the cold flat concrete floor while metal "tiles" finish off the front of the bar. It's just the kind of place you want to sit down with a few close friends on a chilly autumn night and share great food by the fireside. The centerpiece is a big floor to ceiling fire pit in the middle of the main room, surrounded by a brushed brown metal cage.
The braintrust behind Bond Street Social consists of Mike, John, Max, Shane and CJ, all who work tirelessly while still maintaining their shiny footwear and neatly quaffed styles. They are all supportive, interactive, and excited. They always want to try what's cooking and have put all of their faith into Neill and his crew that we will deliver the top notch food that Bond Street Social will soon be known for.
This week, we all got assigned to our stations. Chef Neill passed out packets of recipes and told us each where we would be, "Garde Manger- Ryn, Val, and Ryan." I wasn't at all surprised to be on Garde Manger,–in fact, Neill had been subconsciously telling me all week that I would be on Garde Manger by looking at me everytime he addressed the crew–and I was ecstatic that my friend, confidant, fellow BIC graduate, and Virginia Park Sous Chef Ryan Rayburn would be on my team. However, my excitement was short lived as the absence of some employees saw Ryan moved to Oven. "You pissed that I put you here?" Chef Neill approached me as I began to acclimate my station. "Not at all, I knew I'd be Garde Manger. I love Garde Manger." Garde Manger is often looked down upon in kitchens, "the cold side" is sometimes home to the lesser skilled employees and in many restaurants is little more than a salad tosser. But not at Bond Street. Garde Manger is the art of preservation and presentation, it's what I loved most in culinary school and what I studied closely under as the TA for Chef Wagner, a CEC and Garde Manger instructor, and it's what I spent many weeks in Italy studying. I was even more excited when Neill told me I would be doing all the pastries and desserts for the restaurant too. I love the art of food and revel in the chance to experience it whenever and however I can. This past Tuesday and Wednesday we had the chance to run through service as we executed the entire menu over the course of two days for the entire front of the house staff and I was honored on Wednesday when Chef introduced me to the front of the house, "This is Kathryn, she's made the dessert you are about to try and she's done a way better job than I could ever do...I'll let her explain what it is," I know, I know what you are thinking, yes, he calls me Kathryn and I'm working on it! I responded, "Hi, I'm RYN, and I do Garde Manger and Pastries here and what we have for you to try is a Salted Caramel Fudge Brownie..."
But now, on to more important things, what you've all been waiting for: the food.
Our menu is quite different than others I have worked on. It consists of five sections "Bites," "Salads," "Sliders,""Fork and Knife," and "Sides" it's not one of those huge menus that take an hour to read. No, it's a simple one paged menu, but it is full of a wide variety of brilliantly executed dishes. Our dessert menu will be a few really delicious, really satisfying specialties that we will sit on the table, allowing us to alter it as the seasons change and palates develop. Our "Bites" consist of modern and innovative twists on some old classic such as Chicken Ceasar Bites- a white bread crostini with chicken mousselline flavored with capers and tarragon, topped with ceasar-dressed julienned greens and a grana cheese crisp or our Tuna Tartare, dressed with soy sauce and sambal, topped with wasabi cream, toasted sesame seeds, and micro-cilantro. We support local with our Firefly Farms Goat Cheese Croquettes. Then there are not so traditional Bites like our Foie Gras PB & J- a piece of crispy brioche with peanut butter and blackberry jam sauce, shaved pear and mache topped with a hot piece of seared foie gras. Buonissimo! Each Bite comes with three or four pieces, conducive to sharing, as is the theme of our menu. Our Salads section has four great choices but I think my favorite has got to be our BLT salad, crisp iceberg, maytag blue dressing, cherry tomatoes and applewood smoked bacon, a take off the old classic wedge salad. The "Sliders" section is a great take on some classic favorites, and some new things you may have never tried. The Bond Street Burger is a beef burger topped with sharp chedder, grilled red onion, tomato jam and the option of foie gras butter for an extra two bucks."Fork and Knife" consist of some really unique plates including our version of fish & chips- with house made old bay tater tots and two-bite pieces of fresh white fish with salt and vinegar slaw or our Lamb Meat Balls- an ode to greek food, with it's preserved-lemon and tomato chutney topped with grated feta cheese and served in its own jus.
Our Sides round out the menu with classic favorite with Chef Neill's twist- house cut fries with old bay and house made apple-tomato ketchup or choose the Cauliflower & Cheese Gratin with lots of filling deliciousness. Check out our entire menu here and come visit us this week at our grand opening on Thursday, October 20, kitchen's open from 4PM until 11PM and the bar full of wonderful house cocktails stays open until 2. I hope to see all of you there and bring a friend because Bond Street Social wants you to come and EAT. DRINK. SOCIALIZE.
Keep an eye out for more news from Bond Street Social, and as always...
SPINGERTI...
Amo cucinare,
Ryn
For the past two weeks I have had the pleasure of helping to prepare for the launching of a new restaurant that hopes and promises to be a new Baltimore mainstay. Breaking Bond Street Social has been a brilliant experience in learning a new chef, a new cuisine, a new theory on food and a new way of doing some old favorites. Our first day consisted of arriving at 9AM, meeting the other cooks, and filling out paperwork. Our second day consisted of scrubbing the kitchen top to bottom and discovering the mess that DuClaw left behind some two years ago. But, on the third day, the tomb was opened! The kitchen looked good, things were getting organized and food deliveries were coming at a steady pace. That's when "from here on out" started. We started as just one group, Chef Neill Howell doled out recipes to each of us and told us to do what we could. I came in early and stayed late when we needed, as I always do. One night Chef turned to me, "You haven't got something to do?" "Like what?," I said,"this IS what I do."
Chef Neill, a native of Essex, England, is tall and good-looking, sporting a charming accent and a penchant for mockery. By the end of week one he had already told me--in much more elegant and subtle ways-- that I talk too much and was rather "upbeat" which I took to mean irritating. However, now when I try to stifle myself he asks me, "whats wrong?" and suggests that I had partied too hard the previous night, but the balance is slowly gaining and I feel a real connection to this guy, to these guys...to the entire braintrust behind Bond Street Social. There's a special relationship that develops in this situation, for all of us giving ourselves to this place, dedicating our days, and nights and mornings, and the entire capacity of our brains to one ultimate goal of successfully launching patrons to "eat. drink. socialize."
Bond Street Social was born of this idea, that a restaurant is not a place to shovel as much food as possible into your mouth as fast as possible and then go home, but rather that a restaurant--that food--is meant to be shared among friends, eaten leisurely with beverages that compliment the food and enhance the experience, and that it should be done in a place that is relaxing and beautiful, inviting and warm, and above all, sociable. There is a copper penny lane entrance way leading into a wonderfully earthy, not-in-the-least-prententious, fire-centric main room with deep rusty red walls, some adorned with cages lined with raw stones that look plucked from the seaside somewhere near Soverato, Calabria. I love this place. Its gorgeous deep brown almost black wood tabletops contrast and compliment the cold flat concrete floor while metal "tiles" finish off the front of the bar. It's just the kind of place you want to sit down with a few close friends on a chilly autumn night and share great food by the fireside. The centerpiece is a big floor to ceiling fire pit in the middle of the main room, surrounded by a brushed brown metal cage.
The braintrust behind Bond Street Social consists of Mike, John, Max, Shane and CJ, all who work tirelessly while still maintaining their shiny footwear and neatly quaffed styles. They are all supportive, interactive, and excited. They always want to try what's cooking and have put all of their faith into Neill and his crew that we will deliver the top notch food that Bond Street Social will soon be known for.
This week, we all got assigned to our stations. Chef Neill passed out packets of recipes and told us each where we would be, "Garde Manger- Ryn, Val, and Ryan." I wasn't at all surprised to be on Garde Manger,–in fact, Neill had been subconsciously telling me all week that I would be on Garde Manger by looking at me everytime he addressed the crew–and I was ecstatic that my friend, confidant, fellow BIC graduate, and Virginia Park Sous Chef Ryan Rayburn would be on my team. However, my excitement was short lived as the absence of some employees saw Ryan moved to Oven. "You pissed that I put you here?" Chef Neill approached me as I began to acclimate my station. "Not at all, I knew I'd be Garde Manger. I love Garde Manger." Garde Manger is often looked down upon in kitchens, "the cold side" is sometimes home to the lesser skilled employees and in many restaurants is little more than a salad tosser. But not at Bond Street. Garde Manger is the art of preservation and presentation, it's what I loved most in culinary school and what I studied closely under as the TA for Chef Wagner, a CEC and Garde Manger instructor, and it's what I spent many weeks in Italy studying. I was even more excited when Neill told me I would be doing all the pastries and desserts for the restaurant too. I love the art of food and revel in the chance to experience it whenever and however I can. This past Tuesday and Wednesday we had the chance to run through service as we executed the entire menu over the course of two days for the entire front of the house staff and I was honored on Wednesday when Chef introduced me to the front of the house, "This is Kathryn, she's made the dessert you are about to try and she's done a way better job than I could ever do...I'll let her explain what it is," I know, I know what you are thinking, yes, he calls me Kathryn and I'm working on it! I responded, "Hi, I'm RYN, and I do Garde Manger and Pastries here and what we have for you to try is a Salted Caramel Fudge Brownie..."
But now, on to more important things, what you've all been waiting for: the food.
 |
| Foie Gras PB&J |
Our menu is quite different than others I have worked on. It consists of five sections "Bites," "Salads," "Sliders,""Fork and Knife," and "Sides" it's not one of those huge menus that take an hour to read. No, it's a simple one paged menu, but it is full of a wide variety of brilliantly executed dishes. Our dessert menu will be a few really delicious, really satisfying specialties that we will sit on the table, allowing us to alter it as the seasons change and palates develop. Our "Bites" consist of modern and innovative twists on some old classic such as Chicken Ceasar Bites- a white bread crostini with chicken mousselline flavored with capers and tarragon, topped with ceasar-dressed julienned greens and a grana cheese crisp or our Tuna Tartare, dressed with soy sauce and sambal, topped with wasabi cream, toasted sesame seeds, and micro-cilantro. We support local with our Firefly Farms Goat Cheese Croquettes. Then there are not so traditional Bites like our Foie Gras PB & J- a piece of crispy brioche with peanut butter and blackberry jam sauce, shaved pear and mache topped with a hot piece of seared foie gras. Buonissimo! Each Bite comes with three or four pieces, conducive to sharing, as is the theme of our menu. Our Salads section has four great choices but I think my favorite has got to be our BLT salad, crisp iceberg, maytag blue dressing, cherry tomatoes and applewood smoked bacon, a take off the old classic wedge salad. The "Sliders" section is a great take on some classic favorites, and some new things you may have never tried. The Bond Street Burger is a beef burger topped with sharp chedder, grilled red onion, tomato jam and the option of foie gras butter for an extra two bucks."Fork and Knife" consist of some really unique plates including our version of fish & chips- with house made old bay tater tots and two-bite pieces of fresh white fish with salt and vinegar slaw or our Lamb Meat Balls- an ode to greek food, with it's preserved-lemon and tomato chutney topped with grated feta cheese and served in its own jus.
 |
| Lamb Meatballs |
 |
Keep an eye out for more news from Bond Street Social, and as always...
SPINGERTI...
Amo cucinare,
Ryn
