{"id":7607,"date":"2013-04-02T16:54:37","date_gmt":"2013-04-02T23:54:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/?p=7607"},"modified":"2013-04-10T13:10:37","modified_gmt":"2013-04-10T20:10:37","slug":"full-circle-chef","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/2013\/04\/02\/full-circle-chef\/","title":{"rendered":"Full Circle Chef"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Chef<\/a>
Chef Craig Jimenez<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Chef Craig Jimenez has consulted in some of the most successful kitchens in town, and now, back to experimenting<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Sparks flew in 2007 when Craig Jimenez\u2014then just 26-years-old\u2014was 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\u2019s massive metal and fabrication shop at the experimental restaurant concept in Barrio Logan.<\/p>\n

Jimenez, a San Diego native, is most known for his executive chef roles at vanguard haunts Neighborhood Ale House<\/a> and Craft & Commerce<\/a>\u2014the former is where his love affair with craft beer began.<\/p>\n

Jimenez and Consortium Holdings\u2019 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\u2019s sliders. When the restaurant closed, Tafazoli snagged its chef along with some of Basile\u2019s presentations like the street taco holders, and even the chairs from the bar.<\/p>\n

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\u2014his passion.<\/p>\n

\"DSC_0141\"<\/a>
Roseville Cozinha in Liberty Station<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been on a crazy journey these past few years. Craft is a huge highlight\u2014so was was Henry\u2019s Pub. To me, our city needs as much help as it can get. I don\u2019t discriminate. If it\u2019s a small, dinky shop and someone\u2019s too good for it, I\u2019m not. Food needs to be shared and done right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alves, who was in the market to re-concept his Liberty Station restaurant, Joao\u2019s 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> a hit, one of the first things he did was eradicate all the watered-down macros and implement a craft-driven beer program.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019re just going to keep rotating the selection,\u201d explains Jimenez of the plan. \u201cThere are so many great beers out there.\u201d Right now, there\u2019s a changing lineup of 15 brews from Cismontane to Iron Fire plus some of San Diego\u2019s Old Guard breweries as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith 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\u2019s getting on the same page here.\u201d<\/p>\n

So what\u2019s next? \u201cEventually, there will be a lot more one offs, and beer dinners,\u201d Jimenez says.<\/p>\n

Become a fan of Roseville Cozhina on Facebook<\/a> for promotions and events updates; though a date hasn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring this time of recession, beer was good buffer. There\u2019s so much value and flavor in a pint, and it\u2019s interesting, because brewing was like some kind of lost art. Beer is responsible for bringing in that hug the city needed,\u201d Jimenez says. \u201cLooking at where our region was just three years ago\u2014it\u2019s changed a lot. And not just restaurants\u2014with people buying locally. Now farmers are able to provide a more consistent product. The money stays here, which is great.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"DSC_0162\"<\/a>As for the food offerings at Roseville, Jimenez emphasizes that he wasn\u2019t brought on to reinvent the wheel. With his guidance, Alves came at him with a first draft menu that Jimenez is refining.<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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,\u201d he says. \u201cSuccessful restaurants are doing a few things right, with de-cluttered menus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alves ran with it. He bought a wood-burning oven to bake pizzas and roast veggies. It\u2019s also where one of the most popular dishes\u2014whole roasted shrimp with parsley, and garlic\u2014reaches 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\u2019t. 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe think of it as auditions. If something doesn\u2019t sell, we take it off the menu.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jimenez tells\u00a0West Coaster<\/em>\u00a0that the juniper-brined, bone-in pork chop is also a hit\u2014but we already knew that from experience\u2014along with the cioppino. If you go for the pork chop, the creamy mashed potatoes aren\u2019t to be missed. We had to order an extra side.<\/p>\n

The flavors are clean and distinguishable, portions beyond generous\u2014small plates? Huh?\u2014and the atmosphere is chill, but still undergoing some changes to transform it into more of a communal ale house.<\/p>\n

There are specials every night of the week but Saturday; on Mondays, there\u2019s 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\u2019s 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\u2019s Farm and other local purveyors.<\/p>\n

\"DSC_0149\"<\/a>Like any artist, Jimenez has a body of work that defines his style and identity. Some of his dishes and concepts reappear\u2014he takes what works and builds on it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m hired to execute others\u2019 visions,\u201d he says. \u201cAt the end of the day, if they want to do a hot dog, I\u2019m gonna make the best damn hot dog.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, he\u2019s not stopping there. While Jimenez is wearing the executive chef\u2019s coat at Roseville, he\u2019s 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\u2019s back to the Barrio, and full circle for the impassioned chef whose big smile and laughs are contagious.<\/p>\n

\u201cSan Diego is small. You see who respects you, and who keeps their word; it\u2019s a good sense of community in the end,\u201d he says. \u201cSeven years later, and I\u2019m off to a good start.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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\u2014then just 26-years-old\u2014was 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, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1030,1029],"class_list":{"0":"post-7607","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-san-diego-beer-beverage-news","7":"tag-chef-craig-jimenez","8":"tag-roseville-cozinha","9":"entry","10":"has-post-thumbnail"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","wps_subtitle":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pdtr4y-1YH","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7607","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7607"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7607\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7607"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7607"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}