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| Courtesy of Savvor's FB page. |
The anticipation for the opening of Savvor Restaurant & Lounge in the space where District Lounge once resided in the Leather District was great! Ever since hearing through the grapevine from one of my favorite Boston bartenders, Jill Caron (Savvor's resident drink slinger), that the cuisine would be Caribbean/Gulf Coast Southern focused, I was intrigued. The neighborhood could certainly use a fresh idea. There are even rumors of a future 'speak easy' style space which when mentioned, causes owner Eddie to chuckle a bit (hmmm?). I'll keep ya posted!
I interviewed Executive Chef Carey Dobies just before a private Super Bowl party that I was invited to hosted by owner Eddy Firmin, former co-owner of the now closed Blue Wave Restaurant & Lounge, one week prior to their soft opening. We enjoyed a few bar bites, but the soft opening is what I most anticipated...and my expectations were thoroughly met and exceeded.
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| Chef Dobies showing off a 20+ ounce 60 day dry aged ribeye steak that I ordered! |
Chef Carey Dobies is a pragmatic chef with an intriguingly creative palate. He says of his palate:
After a few minutes of chatting and touring the kitchen and prep space, I wanted to hit the town with him and just eat. The two dishes he is most proud of on the menu?
"I feel like my palate is much more sensitive to salinity. If
that's such a thing. I can tell when it's just right.
I'm also a big fan of astringency."
"It's a toss up between my shrimp and grits or the Quail and
Waffles. The shrimp are head-on with a leek mousse injected into the brains.
And, the grits are from Anson mills. Both can be out of peoples comfort zones
especially if you don't like to see faces on your food or if you've grown up
eating instant grits. The Quail and waffles, simply because of the quail. I love
quail. I love Blueberries and Quail. I love waffles. I love chicken and waffles.
Why not all of them together? Same concept, different approach.
I do wish
people would just tear into the quail like fried chicken. That's the fun juxtaposition of that dish. Quail is thought to be elegant, served with dainty
sides, and fruit- centric, heavily reduced sauces...
Just jump in there! Tear it up with your hands! It's a
little, delicious bird, enjoy it with some waffles! No need for a fork and
knife..."
Chef Dobies' idea of a good meal includes some
of the sexiest places in the Northeast where I have also personally enjoyed a meal or two--- Martin Picard's Au Pied de Cochon in Montreal, Quebec where I fell in love with the foie gras poutine featured on my "Battle of the Poutine-Montreal Edition" and the pied de cochon (of course), Belly Wine Bar in
Cambridge, Mass, where Robert Grant has served up amazing dishes featuring offal as well as great house made sausage and charcuterie, and Toro in Boston’s South End - Chefs Bissonette and Oringer's always packed, outstanding tapas bar with amazing eats.
In fact, Chef Dobies was inspired by Chef Robert Grant's charcuterie skills when they worked together at The Blue Room. During our interview, he shared his latest creation - hickory smoked, un-aged duck ham!
It cut like butter and tastes like heaven.
It cut like butter and tastes like heaven.
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| The duck ham is now featured on Savvor's menu under "The Larder" section. |
We began out interview with a tour of the kitchen. Everyone in the kitchen will learn and prep all dishes. It's a smart move to keep some reciprocity in a business where staff can be so transient. Laura, a sorely underutilized kitchen talent from her previous post will be primarily responsible for hot appetizers, stocks, soups, sauces, and purees...the life's blood of the kitchen.
One soup that absolutely blew me away with its punch of flavor and heartiness was the Roasted Garlic Soup with catfish, mussels, and fingerling potatoes.
The roasted garlic soup was simply terrific. It was everything a soup should be, full of great, fresh ingredients, creamy and rich with perfect seasoning. I am not particularly a fan of catfish, but it was a complete afterthought.
The New England Style Gumbo, though a wonderful idea in theory, was poorly executed with undercooked rice and over cooked pulled chicken. Chef expressed that the funky hybrid rice used (Charleston gold x Basmati) can be temperamental. It is milled and sent directly to him from Ansol Mills.
I am looking forward to giving it another chance.
The idea for even creating a bold New England-style gumbo that was presented more like a deconstructed gumbo verses a classic roux-infused mixture, speaks to the culinary character of Chef Dobies - an Ohio native raised in Florida and having spent some of his adult, professional life in New Orleans. His early life boasted of his grandmother's Polish cooking.
He now brings high and lowlands to your palate throughout his menu. A chef who grew up eating perogies, rice and beans and empanadas as much as he barbequed with his dad and made homemade apple pie with brown butter ice cream (at only 13 year of age) is bound to bring it in the kitchen!
He recalls one of his all time favorite meals consisting of
seared pompano with Tasso ham, lobster butter and lobster consume, which he cannot cant eat anymore because he has since developed a shellfish allergy. He says he will never forget it and it's the reason why, even though he can no longer taste these dishes in the kitchen, but can still execute.
Case in point:
We move on down the winding stairs to the prep kitchen. The space is huge and outfitted with what looks like a brick barbeque gill and all. Everything is spiced to perfection at Savvor.
Chef Dobies is pretty anal about his spices and their organization in the kitchen. The one and one half walk-ins where beautiful meat is dry aging is the same. The double ribeyes are bag aired for five weeks and air aged for three weeks.
There are several lovely dishes that were presented at the soft opening's full menu hour that has endured the past month. They live amongst many other tasty treats.
The Crispy Pig's Skin Cracklin served with dried pear mostarda is one and the out of this world Crawfish Hushpuppies served with spicy hollandaise for dipping! the hushpuppies are crisp spheres with soft, moist, buttery warm centers filled with tender morsels of crawfish.
One soup that absolutely blew me away with its punch of flavor and heartiness was the Roasted Garlic Soup with catfish, mussels, and fingerling potatoes.
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| Roasted Garlic Soup with catfish, mussels, and fingerling potatoes. |
The roasted garlic soup was simply terrific. It was everything a soup should be, full of great, fresh ingredients, creamy and rich with perfect seasoning. I am not particularly a fan of catfish, but it was a complete afterthought.
The New England Style Gumbo, though a wonderful idea in theory, was poorly executed with undercooked rice and over cooked pulled chicken. Chef expressed that the funky hybrid rice used (Charleston gold x Basmati) can be temperamental. It is milled and sent directly to him from Ansol Mills.
I am looking forward to giving it another chance.
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| New England style gumbo- Clams, Pulled chicken, Morcilla (blood sausage AKA boudin noir), Okra, Hybrid rice |
He now brings high and lowlands to your palate throughout his menu. A chef who grew up eating perogies, rice and beans and empanadas as much as he barbequed with his dad and made homemade apple pie with brown butter ice cream (at only 13 year of age) is bound to bring it in the kitchen!
He recalls one of his all time favorite meals consisting of
seared pompano with Tasso ham, lobster butter and lobster consume, which he cannot cant eat anymore because he has since developed a shellfish allergy. He says he will never forget it and it's the reason why, even though he can no longer taste these dishes in the kitchen, but can still execute.
Case in point:
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| Giant prawns and creamy grits. The heads were filled with whipped liver mouse and roasted leeks. SO GOOD! |
We move on down the winding stairs to the prep kitchen. The space is huge and outfitted with what looks like a brick barbeque gill and all. Everything is spiced to perfection at Savvor.
Chef Dobies is pretty anal about his spices and their organization in the kitchen. The one and one half walk-ins where beautiful meat is dry aging is the same. The double ribeyes are bag aired for five weeks and air aged for three weeks.
There are several lovely dishes that were presented at the soft opening's full menu hour that has endured the past month. They live amongst many other tasty treats.
The Crispy Pig's Skin Cracklin served with dried pear mostarda is one and the out of this world Crawfish Hushpuppies served with spicy hollandaise for dipping! the hushpuppies are crisp spheres with soft, moist, buttery warm centers filled with tender morsels of crawfish.
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| Crawfish hushpuppies with spicy hollandaise dipping sauce. |
The Bay Scallop Crudo was not only beautiful in presentation, but a refreshing few bites on the palate as well.
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| Bay scallop crudo served in a scallop shell with green papaya, pickled mango, and shaved celery stalk and greens |
Chef will take full advantage of the fresh seafood New England has to offer. After moving to NYC to attend the Culinary Institute of America, he moved on to New Orleans to complete an externship at at GW Fins, a 300 seat, old warehouse turned seafood mecca of restaurants in the French Quarter. At GW Fins, chef prepared seafood which was butchered daily by the in-house fish monger. Once he moved to Boston to pursue his career, he worked with greats like Michael Schlow (Tico, Alta Strada, Cavatina, etc.) and Todd Winer (The Met Bar(s) and Soon to open Pastoral).
Other light seafood bites include oysters which you can order on the half shell with a refreshing cucumber mignonette and fresh horseradish or have fried to perfection and served with an earthy celery remoulade.
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| Scallop Crudo |
Other light seafood bites include oysters which you can order on the half shell with a refreshing cucumber mignonette and fresh horseradish or have fried to perfection and served with an earthy celery remoulade.
Chef Dobies seems obsessed with on over-the-top (in size) meat items and I am not complaining.
The "Giant Chicharron" is a prime example next to the massive 20+ ounce, bone-in, double ribeye steak which he has since reduced.
The double, bone-in ribeye was shared with about three other people and I still had enough for lunch the next day. It was cooked to a perfect medium rare over stewed greens, red eye gravy, and black-eyed pea ragout.
The only thing that missed the mark were the cheddar biscuits which were way too overdone. It was mentioned to one of the cooks and on my next visit to Savvor, I could not as for more perfect buttery, soft biscuits.
Chef Dobies is open to constructive criticism. I missed the hard opening due to an event I attended in Brooklyn, but when asked about constructive feedback received after opening night, he stated,
The "Giant Chicharron" is a prime example next to the massive 20+ ounce, bone-in, double ribeye steak which he has since reduced.
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| One Giant Chicharron, fried garlic, beer, bourbon glaze with grilled tortillas and pikliz |
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| Ribeye served over stewed greens, black-eyed pea ragout, red eye gravy with garlicky cheddar biscuits |
Chef Dobies is open to constructive criticism. I missed the hard opening due to an event I attended in Brooklyn, but when asked about constructive feedback received after opening night, he stated,
"Yes I did. This is why I like working with Eddy and Courtney. They both have great palates, and they offer honest criticism. I
readily accept any if it's going to help grow our menu and our business."
He went on to say,
"I'm very optimistic because of the first night. Lots of
people came in and enjoyed the food, and the responses I received when I was
dropping off the two dishes was great. Some people weren't feeling it
because they expected burgers, or chicken fingers. This isn't that place."
And I am certainly glad that it isn't. We have enough of those places!
If you're looking for another burger joint, Savvor may not satisfy your desires, but if you are in search of a little oasis of culinary nirvana slightly off the beaten path, this just might be your new favorite hangout.
Some of Chef's inspiration in print comes from cookbooks such as,
"Harvest to Heat" by Darryl Estrine, et. al
"The Encyclopedia of Cajun and Creole Cuisine"
"Au Pied de Cochon" by Martin Picard & Anthony Bourdain
and
"Smoke and Pickles" by Edward Lee
In life, he says his inspirations include,
"My late grandmother, and my late grandfather. They never got
to see me get this far. I wish they could have."
I'm certain that his two sons, who reside in Western Massachusetts also serve as inspirations. His time spent with them includes lots of playing and eating pancakes at IHOP! Can't beat that!
Consider that one of the newer menu items includes an absolutely delicious Yaka Mein...a delicious bowl of quality ingredients and bold flavors that perhaps serves as a nod to the neighboring hood to which it is prepared.
If nothing else, it certainly speaks significantly to the mind and heart of the chef as he is just as interested in Southern/Caribbean style food as he is Asian cuisine.
When asked about his favorite type of cuisine (ethnic or technique-wise) to prepare and/or eat, Chef Dobies answered with an enthusiastic,
" I really love Japanese. The preparations are very rustic, but require a lot of finesse to get just right. Take a look at all of the cool shit they do in Izakayas nowadays! However, at 2 a.m. falafel or schwarma is better than sex."
Ummm, so, I need to follow-up with chef on where he goes for falafel and schwarma...I'm on the case peeps!
Wondering if people would consider his Yaka Mein part of the 'growing trend', being that following trends are not his priority,Chef Dobies offered,
"You may say that the "Yakamein" is contrary to
that, but I've really been thinking about that for months. Even before it
seemed like ramen was this HUGE thing. I just like to cook what i think is
good."
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| Yaka Mein: lo mein noodles, oxtail, tasso ham, 5:10 egg, bean sprouts, green onion, Old Bay seasoning, slurping patrons! |
I imagine that to create a menu like this, you must spend the majority of your time pondering upon of creating your next great dish. When not spending quality time with his children or lovely girlfriend (a Pastry chef for famed Flour Bakery), chef describes his go to meal after a long day as, " For real? Golden Grahams with lots of milk and a beer or an entire pint of peanut butter cup Ben & Jerry's ice cream."
Speaking of sweets, Savvor will eventually develop a fantastic desserts menu with great minds in the kitchen like Abbey from Centre Street Sanctuary in Jamaica Plain. Savvor also acquired an amazing chef trained in fine dining, Nick, hailing from the same location. I am just as excited about the team that has been formed as I am the food coming out of the kitchen and the out of this world bourbon selection and cocktails created by Jill Caron!
One of my favorites thus far, with Jill knowing my bitter-prone palate pretty well, was the Cynar Sour with Angostura bitters polka dots.
A bonus sent out on my last visit was the off menu charcuterie plate with pickled cucumber slices, okra, mussels, duck ham, and prosciutto.
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| Charcuterie plate |
When I brought up price points versus quality in light of trendy food, Chef Dobies openly shared his opinion:
"I'm looking forward to when minimalistic plating and break
your wallet dining begins to die. You can eat so well for so cheap, and I feel
like it's an affront to a guest to make them pay $38 for a dish that only cost
$7 to produce. I remember eating a tuna dish that was literally a lightly
pickled cucumber, with micro greens, and tuna tartare. It cost $21! Pomp and
circumstance has its place, but not in this economic climate. Feed people well
and they'll come back. "
The kitchen and overall, the staff, takes great consideration of the feedback received from guests. The menu is continually being tweaked and guests are more than welcome to openly share their thoughts, so don't be shy.
It has been an extreme pleasure getting to know the folks at Savvor and experiencing the great hospitality, food, and cocktails. I can't wait to see what the future holds for the team and will be cheering them on every step of the way!
Disclosure: A portion of these meals was provided at no cost. The opinions above, however, are my own.
It has been an extreme pleasure getting to know the folks at Savvor and experiencing the great hospitality, food, and cocktails. I can't wait to see what the future holds for the team and will be cheering them on every step of the way!
Disclosure: A portion of these meals was provided at no cost. The opinions above, however, are my own.
