Knowing the temperament of good southern folk, I anticipated sitting down with this truly talented gentleman and I was not disappointed. Chef Poe has not become a jaded 'city slicker' after all. Even though it has been many years since his last visit down home. Poe says, "Last time I went home was about 7 years ago, but now friends and family have been swarming Boston over the previous 7 weeks."
It seems many home-towners are proud of his growth and numerous
accomplishments. He tells me that family and friends alike have trekked up to New England for a tasting visit. I'm a bit jealous as I can usually only get my mother to visit from Florida if it's above 70 degrees in Beantown. C'est la vie!
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| Chef Brian Poe near his impressive beers-on-tap. His latest venture (Estelle's) keeps pace. |
The hostess and service staff at The Tip Tap Room were all very hospitable and took great care of me and other customers before and after the interview. There was tremendous authenticity behind their smiles and warm service.
I arrived during the upswing of after-work dinner service on a Tuesday evening. The bar was full of patrons as were the tables around it.
After discovering (truthfully: I stalked the menu before my arrival) the game meat of the day was ginger coffee and rye whiskey marinated kangaroo, my anticipation for dinner skyrocketed. Plus, there was a cute little girl (friend to the Poe family) who was gutsy enough to sample the kangaroo, how could I then resist the challenge?
The Tip Tap Room boasts an interesting daily rotation of creatively prepared game meat tips (turkey, elk, antelope, alligator, etc.). Wash them down with new or favorite beer on tap or, as is my personal preference, a nice scotch/whiskey and consider your day made.
Chef and I sat near the front entrance. He courteously greeted guests as they retired for the evening.
This interview was conducted in late October 2012.
DrFoodie: So. Macon, Georgia born. Military brat?
Chef Poe: No. Not a military brat…a carpet brat in fact. My dad was in the textile industry for (a company which eventually became West Point Stevens)
DrFoodie: You've had an acclaimed, expansive career, but I've read that it all began with grandma?
Chef Poe: Yes. She was a great cook and she would cook for everyone after church at her house. Even for up to 50 people. There was a farm, lumber yard, and catfish pond. Farm cooking-it was great!
DrFoodie: You seemed to have stumbled upon cooking as a career by cooking for the Auburn University Conference Center as a student. Elaborate on that for us.
Chef Poe: When I left for college at Auburn, I was going for landscape design and as I worked with people in the Auburn/Opelika area, I wasn’t sure if it was something I wanted to do for the rest of my life. For some reason the food industry seemed more exciting and seemed to offer more opportunities.
DrFoodie: So teaching, a passion we both share, how would you describe your experience as a Culinary Instructor at Newbury College?
Chef Poe: My maternal grandfather , grandmother, and aunt were all teachers. My grandfather was the superintendent of schools. What I like the most about teaching is that people in the kitchen may have been in the kitchen for 25 years, but when you come across young students who are just about to go out into the cooking world, they are eager and excited. You see the passion and you see the excitement and that’s what keeps a balance of the long days. Like the seasoned athlete versus the young athlete. When young chefs begin to cook with me, they first learn my way of cooking and the way I expect flavors to come together. After awhile, I allow them to develop their way of cooking.
DrFoodie: Any plans to teach cooking classes at any of the restaurants?
Chef Poe: We’ve tried it in the past, but things can be so very loud. I haven’t yet found the right time but it’s great having the open kitchen because I can do demonstrations for the cooks in the kitchen by preparing as they observe. They can then take that dish out to the floor. Before we opened up, that’s exactly what we did, 30 people would watch me from the window.
DrFoodie: Just backtracking a bit, I became curious about the start of your professional culinary career when I realized you were working in ATL during the 1996 Olympics, how did that affect you?
Chef Poe: Well, I was in a hotel working on the outskirts of Atlanta, but it all was still very much going on around us. (What was most interesting) was that it was the first time I’d been exposed to such a variety of cultures in one building working together and living in surrounding apartment buildings. That’s one my very favorite parts of the industry- the diversity. At the hotel, there were 17 different languages spoken. That’s cool. I’d never been exposed to that before Atlanta.
DrFoodie: Speaking of regions in which you’ve cooked and lived, with so many within
the states and abroad, what would you
say was/were your favorite(s) in which to forage for local ingredients?
Chef Poe: Scottsdale. Because it provided the most. For example, while I was there it was the 2nd largest producer of lettuce. California was unique. There, you can get produce right out of the ground. Especially in wine country. Here (Boston) we have two good farms that provide the same experience and because it’s so diverse here, I can go spicy at Rattlesnake and Southern in the South End (the new Estelle's Southern Cuisine), only to come back to whatever I’d like to do here (at Tip Tap Room). It's good for a hyperactive chef like myself.
DrFoodie: How do you feel the New England palate accepts traditional
southern foods and influences?
Chef Poe: It’s like what we’re going through with the Mexican food movement. You’ve gotta get it exact, like Angela’s Café in East Boston, who does it very, very well.
I think that’s what we are going to try to do in the South End- do it well.
For example, I do not do Mexican at Poe's Kitchen, but I will use Brazilian influence and add a New England component . One way is to incorporate the two influences or to do them exact and see who will pick up on it. Some people may not have grown up on grits and it may not be your thing, but can identify good grits.
DrFoodie: Sure, so you’ll introduce them to the dish, perhaps.
DrFoodie: So, wine country was unique. Do you find that you are able to visit New England vineyards? Maybe Rhode Island, perhaps?
Chef Poe: I have and I like them, but each region has its own smell, its own flavor, its own style. For example, Northern California, Argentina, Chile, all very different from one another.
DrFoodie: Where do you find you go most in New England for continuing education
in the culinary world? Or where do you hang out during free time?
Chef Poe: I recently drove through Vermont and up into Canada. I thought that was a terrific stretch. I love upstate NY and absolutely love the North Shore.
DrFoodie: Regarding incorporation of the local foods concept into your cooking now- ok, maybe not the kangaroo- how focused would you say you are on this?
Chef Poe: I recently drove through Vermont and up into Canada. I thought that was a terrific stretch. I love upstate NY and absolutely love the North Shore.
DrFoodie: Regarding incorporation of the local foods concept into your cooking now- ok, maybe not the kangaroo- how focused would you say you are on this?
Chef Poe: Simple, elegant flavors and loving dishes is what we do.
DrFoodie: You have Southern American influence, can you tell me a
little bit about Estelle’s?
Chef Poe: Well, I have a great chef, Eric Gburski, on board. He’s great because 1. He knows how to cook and 2. He knows what I’m talking about.
DrFoodie: Culinary trends. What
do you love, what do you hate. Past or
current?
Chef Poe: I’m gonna say there’s not one that I hate, it’s not one that
I love. I do, however, find trends interesting. I have reached that age as a chef where I can
say, “I’ve seen that one come through” but I don’t have a problem with the resurface
of a trend. I like to see that stuff and I think it’s fun to see a trend
resurface and to see what comes with it.
Like, I’m doing antelope meatloaf these days. Meatloaf can be trendy. It’s fun to see what all the talented chefs
in the city can do to recreate dishes.
DrFoodie: Simple or complex, how would you describe your style of
cooking?
Chef Poe: Here (Tip Tap Room), I’m going for simple, quality ingredients. At Rattlesnake, we went more complex, because we needed to get food on the map in that building, in that space. In a way, I’m glad we did, but in other ways I’m not because now we can’t go back. For instance, we had a foie gras truffled lobster burger with kobe beef and house cured whiskey bacon. When we did that we weren’t that busy, now it can be challenging to keep that momentum.
DrFoodie: Do you cook for your family?
Chef Poe: I do. It's been busy over the past 4 months, but my wife is very proud of what I'm doing so when she comes in she's glowing and on the same token, poor thing, she didn't know it, but she was the guinea pig. What I like about cooking at home is no one's looking. You can have a glass of wine and put on some jazz.
As he continues, Lydia Shire's husband, Uriel Pineda, leaves for the evening after he and Chef Poe butchered a goat together. I tell Chef, "As a vet, I want in on that. I think I can break down a goat pretty well." He chuckles.
Chef Poe: Well what's interesting is, when I first started cooking, I wanted to learn more about butchering so I went over to Auburn's veterinary school and a Veterinary Neurologist walked me through things. It was a lot of fun.
DrFoodie: How important is being eco-friendly to you?
Chef Poe: It's very important and I am still figuring it all out. The chef who really has it figured out is Jose Duarte of Taranta. He's won awards for it.
(Chef Duarte has won the 2008 City of Boston Green Business Award, the 2011 Massachusetts Recycling Award)
What I like to see is: with the garbage program comes the recycling program as does my oil program. They now come with those things in place. I'm doing all of that correctly. I also call people up for assistance when needed. Not only do programs such as this save me thousands per month on utility bills, they are our reality and it's the right thing to do.
DrFoodie: Great!
What are your thoughts on television cooking competition shows?
Chef Poe: I personally am not going after them. I am all about cooking right now. I do appreciate that now, I feed well educated diners. Because of tv shows, diners have become more willing to try new things. The television chefs I've met are amazing people and I'm not at all star struck, but they're really smart chefs!
Chef Anne Burrell was here a couple of weeks ago. She's so genuine, real, and a good person. And it's not because tv stardom, we talked about yelp, food, cooks, etc.
TV chefs really know ingredients amazingly well. I've openly said this about Chef Anthony Husbands, who's a friend of mine. He can break a dish down into great detail, down to the scientific reactions. For me, it's not that I am any less intelligent, but I am more along the lines of "I like this flavor and it goes well with this." I more so get caught up in the emotion, in the flavors that go well together.
Right now, I am focused on good food, high quality ingredients, and not fame or fortune.
DrFoodie: You're a purist.
Chef Poe: I want to cook and that's where I want to be right now.
DrFoodie: Speaking of accolades, when I say James Beard, what are your thoughts?
Chef Poe: It's an incredible program and the Grammy for chefs. I am proud of friends who've been both nominated for and earned the award.
DrFoodie: I am the foodie who does not like to cook, but am buying cookbooks like crazy lately. It's becoming a bit of an obsession. What are you top 3 cookbooks?
Chef Poe: I never follow recipes directly out of cookbooks, but I do admire and use for reference, Trotter and French Laundry. While I'm not into molecular gastronomy, I do know that science is the root of cooking. Chefs out of Chicago are doing great things. (I agree!). To me, cookbooks are like playboy magazines. You get ideas and move on. One book I recommend to all staff and my students is Becoming a Chef. It covers what it takes to become a chef, the composition, the house. It speaks to taking the stairs versus the elevator.
Learning to cook is like taking music lessons. You learn the scales, then the progressions, and only then do you begin to write music.
And on that note (no pun intended), take a trip with me on my the food journey at Tip Tap Room.
Clearly, the highlight of the evening for me was this new protein which hadn't yet graced my palate: Kangaroo.
With the atmosphere abuzz with locals, esteemed chefs, restaurant owners and tourists, I settled into my seat with a full view of friends and colleagues enjoying the company of one another and receiving attentive service.
As silverware clinked against plates in the dining area and the kitchen bell boasted of numerous orders, I anticipated my meal while mulling over the simple, yet impressive menu just in case things had changed from my internet stalking just hours before.
I decided not to be coy and went for the kangaroo out of the gate. A hearty meat with the flavor and mouth feel of grass fed cattle, the kangaroo, marinated in ginger coffee and rye whiskey, was quite a pleasant surprise. I expected a sort of flimsy beef steak imposter, but alas, this well-charred, hearty piece of meat was as satiating as any filet mignon or porterhouse.
Ginger-Coffee and Rye Whiskey Marinated Kangaroo
Served over a cheesy gruyere loose polenta cake which brilliantly mellowed the whiskey-coffee sauce, these ingrediens were a match made in heaven. I would have enjoyed a bit more greenery on the dish. The warm greens were simply a tease, but the focus was very much so on the meat and I can't fault the kitchen for that.
Be still, my beating heart!
Cheese & Cracklins
Fried Goat Cheese Balls with Duck Fat Fried Prosciutto “Cracklins”
Grilled Asparagus Tips and Carrot Ginger Puree (sauce)
I'm almost vain enough to believe this dish was created just for me...almost. Ginger, goat cheese, duck fat, prosciutto...seriously, who doesn't love ALL of those things?!?
Perfect, lightly fried goat cheese spheres in all of their creamy, sharp glory, were placed upon a base of bright pureed carrots and aromatic, fresh ginger and asparagus tips (of course).
As if not close enough to Heaven, a couple of thinly sliced prosciutto pieces were fried to an audible crisp in duck fat (the foodie crack cocaine of 2012) and scattered throughout the dish. Pork AND duck- is it possible to go wrong with this combination? I think NOT!
Autumn Salad
A beautiful salad with maple roasted pecans, roasted pumpkin, blue cheese crumbles, tossed in cranberry-sage vinaigrette.
For dessert I enjoyed the tart, cool Lemon Souffle with delicate lavender streusel and hibiscus tea jelly. Not your typical souffle, this dessert was solid and crisp- cool and bright on the palate. Not a souffle requiring pre-ordering. Who can't appreciate that?
I intend to head back to Tip Tap Room for more of whatever Chef Poe creates in the kitchen over the next couple of weeks. Won't you join me? Or, tell me about your TTR experience in the comments section!
The Tip Tap Room
138 Cambridge Street
Boston (Beacon Hill), MA
www.thetiptaproom.com
Disclaimer: A portion of the meal was provided gratis by The Tip Tap Room
