Chef Craig Jimenez has consulted in some of the most successful kitchens in town, and now, back to experimenting
Sparks flew in 2007 when Craig Jimenez—then just 26-years-old—was promoted to his first executive chef role at The Guild, where modern gastronomy met funky plate-ware, all designed by owner and artist, Paul Basile. While guests ate, they could literally look in on Basile’s massive metal and fabrication shop at the experimental restaurant concept in Barrio Logan.
Jimenez, a San Diego native, is most known for his executive chef roles at vanguard haunts Neighborhood Ale House and Craft & Commerce—the former is where his love affair with craft beer began.
Jimenez and Consortium Holdings’ Arsalun Tafazoli met at The Guild; in between meeting with Basile on custom designs for his newly opened Neighborhood, Tafazoli would stop into the restaurant for Jimenez’s sliders. When the restaurant closed, Tafazoli snagged its chef along with some of Basile’s presentations like the street taco holders, and even the chairs from the bar.
Though The Guild had a loyal following of adventurous eaters, it was ahead of its time, especially location-wise. But by the time it closed, Jimenez had fed all the right people, including Michael Alves, who gave the chef a jingle after the nationally swooned-over Craft & Commerce grew to unimaginable success, steering Jimenez back to consulting—his passion.
“I’ve been on a crazy journey these past few years. Craft is a huge highlight—so was was Henry’s Pub. To me, our city needs as much help as it can get. I don’t discriminate. If it’s a small, dinky shop and someone’s too good for it, I’m not. Food needs to be shared and done right.”
Alves, who was in the market to re-concept his Liberty Station restaurant, Joao’s Tin Fish Bar & Eatery, knew just the guy to do the job. With Jimenez on board to make the Portuguese and Italian-influenced Roseville Cozinha a hit, one of the first things he did was eradicate all the watered-down macros and implement a craft-driven beer program.
“I think we’re just going to keep rotating the selection,” explains Jimenez of the plan. “There are so many great beers out there.” Right now, there’s a changing lineup of 15 brews from Cismontane to Iron Fire plus some of San Diego’s Old Guard breweries as well.
“With the experiences I had at Neighborhood, I learned a lot about beer and how to diversify it, which is really cool because Mike is listening to my suggestions and getting them in. Everyone’s getting on the same page here.”
So what’s next? “Eventually, there will be a lot more one offs, and beer dinners,” Jimenez says.
Become a fan of Roseville Cozhina on Facebook for promotions and events updates; though a date hasn’t been set, this month, the restaurant will host a dueling beer dinner between Ballast Point and Iron Fire. Brewers from both camps will present four courses each, with pairings.
“During this time of recession, beer was good buffer. There’s so much value and flavor in a pint, and it’s interesting, because brewing was like some kind of lost art. Beer is responsible for bringing in that hug the city needed,” Jimenez says. “Looking at where our region was just three years ago—it’s changed a lot. And not just restaurants—with people buying locally. Now farmers are able to provide a more consistent product. The money stays here, which is great.”
As for the food offerings at Roseville, Jimenez emphasizes that he wasn’t brought on to reinvent the wheel. With his guidance, Alves came at him with a first draft menu that Jimenez is refining.
“I told Mike a year ago that Craft & Commerce is nothing special: Its food is simple and consistent. You make all five or six ingredients the best you can get, and make it affordable,” he says. “Successful restaurants are doing a few things right, with de-cluttered menus.”
Alves ran with it. He bought a wood-burning oven to bake pizzas and roast veggies. It’s also where one of the most popular dishes—whole roasted shrimp with parsley, and garlic—reaches sweetness that sizzles. Rustic, oven-toasted bread comes in handy to sop up all the delectable juices that tender potatoes at the bottom of the skillet haven’t. The expansive kitchen is a playground, Jimenez says, where he can grind meat, make pates and just have fun nailing down the dishes that will stay.
“We think of it as auditions. If something doesn’t sell, we take it off the menu.”
Jimenez tells West Coaster that the juniper-brined, bone-in pork chop is also a hit—but we already knew that from experience—along with the cioppino. If you go for the pork chop, the creamy mashed potatoes aren’t to be missed. We had to order an extra side.
The flavors are clean and distinguishable, portions beyond generous—small plates? Huh?—and the atmosphere is chill, but still undergoing some changes to transform it into more of a communal ale house.
There are specials every night of the week but Saturday; on Mondays, there’s a burger and beer combo special and on Tuesdays, if you order a pizza, any craft beer is $3. For an affordable date night, there’s a $20 per person, three-course menu available on Thursdays. Happy hour runs from 3 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and Sundays from 3 p.m. until close. Expect a little something different on each of these nights, as Jimenez stocks his kitchen with seasonal ingredients from Suzie’s Farm and other local purveyors.
Like any artist, Jimenez has a body of work that defines his style and identity. Some of his dishes and concepts reappear—he takes what works and builds on it.
“I’m hired to execute others’ visions,” he says. “At the end of the day, if they want to do a hot dog, I’m gonna make the best damn hot dog.”
Still, he’s not stopping there. While Jimenez is wearing the executive chef’s coat at Roseville, he’s been working on a project of his own for the past 10 years that is starting off as a soup dumpling stall called KAEN Come Eat Now at the Public Market. It’s back to the Barrio, and full circle for the impassioned chef whose big smile and laughs are contagious.
“San Diego is small. You see who respects you, and who keeps their word; it’s a good sense of community in the end,” he says. “Seven years later, and I’m off to a good start.”