Following the departure of Andrew Bell for Bistro 31 last fall, Bolsa - the happy-go-lucky farm-to-table place in Oak Cliff - finally has a new executive chef: Joel Harrington took over the kitchen about three weeks ago.
He returns to Dallas after three years in New York, where he served as kitchen director at Red Rooster, chef Marcus Samuelsson's restaurant in New York. Prior to that he was executive sous chef at the erstwhile Charlie Palmer at the Joule; he also served for eight months in 2011 as executive chef at Stephan Pyles and as chef de cuisine at Fearing's. He has already added several new dishes to Bolsa's menu.
Shinsei has a new executive chef as well: Jeramie Robison. Robison comes via Austin, where he was chef de cuisine at Uchi. Prior to that, he was executive chef at Cinq at Colombe d'Or in Houston. His resume also includes stints at the Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek (under John Tesar), Fishtail in New York and Tesar's in the Woodlands, just outside Houston.
Tracy Moore Rathbun and Lynae Fearing, Shinsei's owners, are in the midst of redecorating the upstairs dining room in preparation for the early March planned launch of a new izakaya (Japanese bar snacks) menu, which they'll offer 5 to 7 p.m. weekdays. He'll be "tweaking" the regular menu as well, says Rathbun.
"We are so excited to have Jeramie as a part of the Shinsei team," she adds. "He brings a young and fresh perspective to the kitchen and his passion for Asian cuisine is contagious!"
