Cinder Has A Chef, Part Of A Menu And An Opening Date

We’ve been watching developments at Cinder for quite a while now. And while we always knew this was going to be Teddy Sourias‘s ode to the cider and sour beers that have been firing the craft brewing scene lately, we didn’t know a lot more than that.

Until now.

For starters, Sourias (BRU Craft & Wurst, U-Bahn, Uptown Beer Garden) has an opening date (of sorts). As of yesterday, construction was moving quickly, the pizza oven had been delivered, and the furniture was starting to arrive. Right now, Cinder is looking at an opening in the first or second week of November in its home at 1500 Locust Street.

Second, Cinder has a chef. Jonathan Petruce (who went to work at Uptown Beer garden after the closure of his Petruce et al) will be in the kitchen, and his menu will be focused on “elevated versions of casual favorites.”

Yes, that phrase means almost nothing. It let’s us know that he won’t be rolling sushi, sure, but not much more than that. So thankfully, we also have some details on the menu, which will focus on four key areas: wood-fired pizzas from that brand new oven that just arrived, cheese and charcuterie, mussels (based around the offerings on the tap list), and small plates.

More specifically, we know this–a few specific dishes that Petruce and his crew have been working on:

• An al pastor Pizza with marinated pork shoulder grilled over fire, tomato-red pepper sauce, mozzarella, diced pineapple and jalapeno, finished with fresh cilantro, radish, pecorino and extra virgin olive oil. Yeah, I think the radish is a little strange, too, but I’m willing to give it a try.
• A pistachio pizza with bechamel sauce topped with mortadella, shallot, pistachio and rosemary.
• Saison Mussels which we have a picture of up top. In addition to the shellfish, there are chickpeas, dried apricots, garlic, shallot, saffron, oregano, butter and a saison broth.
• A Tuscan kale salad because this is 2016 and, by law, every menu must have kale on it.

Everything else is still up in the air as hiring and menu testing continues. And it’s the same deal with the beer list(overseen by Alex Bokulich), though we do know that there’ll be 32 lines broken up into six categories–8 wild ales, 6 farmhouse and abbey ales, 6 ciders, then another dozen lines split between the crisp and the malty. Bokulich had this to say about the way things are coming together.

“What has evolved from our months of late-night brainstorms and Odyssian text threads is a concept that hybridizes our favorite elements of Belgian beer bars, wine bar/pizza kitchens, and good old American Craft gastropubs. Our beverage and food programs are anchored with what we believe to be ‘proven winners’ that will keep folks coming back on a regular basis, but interspersed with creative and adventurous offerings that can challenge even the most discerning of palates. The addition of Petruce will help with our end goal as we design something sophisticated and exciting that we can all be proud of.”

Cinder [f8b8z]