Though he spent most of his 20s following Phish on tour, these days, sous-chef Jason Vincent jams out in the kitchen at Logan Square's Lula Cafe. Next month he gets the nod as executive chef of the Lula team's new, but still un-named restaurant in Pilsen. Though Vincent's training includes time at the molecular gastronomy-tinged Arzak in San Sebastian, Spain, he plans on eschewing strange combos like deep-fried chocolate in favor of simple, seasonal fare familiar to fans of Lula.
What's the best Chicago-related advice you've ever been given?
I've only lived here for four years, but my roommate when I moved here, John Peters (formerly exec at Powerhouse, currently sous chef at Alinea), said you want to be competitive but friendly. You don't talk badly about other restaurants (in Chicago). This is the Midwest, not New York. We want to borrow stuff like bowls and dishes from other restaurants. You never want to feel uncomfortable walking into a place. The dudes who are around here are all doing such a good job and the Midwestern customer can be fickle, so why hate on anyone for doing a good job or at least trying.
Where would you send me to eat if I came to your neighborhood?
Kuma's is awesome. Lately I've been trying their special ever since they tried their City Council burger with the foie gras. I trust those guys. I really like Irazu, which is closer to where I used to live. In Pilsen, where the new restaurant is, Honky Tonk Barbecue is crazy good. We just stumbled into that place.
What would we be surprised to know about the new restaurant?
We got some new toys, like a turning spit. We're really going to blow your mind and do spit-roasted foam with every course. Nah, just kidding. Compacting our menu and compacting our hours, we're going to be more focused and look at everything more closely in terms of turning over the menu. Not that we don't at Lula, but we operate all the time for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and so much time is spent on service and prep, so we have a lot of different directions. We're really focusing on seasonal and craft-based stuff at the new place. We just canned all kinds of summer and spring produce in the basement. The experience is going to be really warm. So many restaurants spend so much money and you sit down and you're alienated by the service and the grand show. At least I am. I want people to feel they can come in and get a pitcher of wine and burger for the money in their pocket.
That's a good point, the recession has made more "casual" and "warm" dining more attractive, hasn't it?
Yeah, that's not why we're doing it. It's more about what eating out means to us. I just read Alice Waters' (of Chez Panisse) new book and she talks about how they had a retreat after they were opened for a few years and she paid for the staff to have butchering lessons and things like that. She gives a speech about how Chez Panisse is not here to make money. Sure, you want to support your livelihood, I want my kids to be able to go to college, but you cover your costs and put some money in the bank. But you're not here to get rich. For example, I want to do grilled foie gras at the new place, but we're going to charge less for it, because I want more people to try it. It might be the only time someone will get to try it, and that's great to be able to give people that experience.
As sous chef, you've been behind the scenes. What's your philosophy on cooking?
You know there's that saying a well-dressed woman should take off one accessory before she leaves the house. I believe that. We don't need to have truffles on everything and hike up the cost. You want to make it taste good.
So, no micro-greens just for color.
The last thing you'll ever see in the Pilsen spot is micro-greens.
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