Just got off the blower with Leigh Jones from Jonesy's EatBar (a self-proclaimed gastropub that I loved despite the label when I reviewed it back in May), and she let me know that things are again changing over at her half-eponymous restaurant.
Chef Matt Brown, who came on late last year, is out and chef Brendan Doyle (most recently ex of Campo de Fiore) started up in his place last night. What had inspired this change? "Kinda the same thing that always happens with my chefs," Jones said. Brown "wanted to do fancier foods."
Doyle, meanwhile, is thrilled with the chance to do some simple "global comfort food." Jones explained that while the Jonesy's favorites (like the cheese fries pictured above, and the Lamby Joe sliders) will still retain their places of honor on the board, about half of the menu will likely change under the new command in the kitchen -- changes that will make the EatBar somewhat more farm-to-table in orientation (something Doyle is very committed to) and somewhat more seasonal (something that the Jonesy's regulars have been asking for for a long time).
No word yet on exactly what new things will be brought onto the menu -- Doyle has only had the gig for about 24 hours now, after all. He seems like a good guy, a humble guy, truly inspired by food and by the chefs who have come before him, so I can't wait to see what he does now that the kitchen is his.
"I've loved all my chefs for different reasons," Jones said as we were wrapping up. "But I really fucking love this guy."
Here's that everyone else at Jonesy's -- those on both sides, customers and staff -- soon share that sentiment.