Photo by Guinevere Lorenz
When it opened in May, Cobalt Smoke & Sea offered a fresh approach with both its menu and atmosphere. In the recent "Best New Restaurants" feature, we noted, “The smoked meats–meet–seafood premise is bold but not as audacious as the bespoke sculpture of a pygmy sperm whale.” And we didn’t even mention the eye-grabbing ginkgo trees, placed inside and out.
Photo by Kevin A. Roberts
After the inaugural chef left, owner Bernadette Faasen discovered that semi-retired chef Brian Hale was available. “Brian has the kind of firepower we need all around,” Faasen says. “The kitchen staff is completely on board with his plans, and the customers light up when he stops by the table.”
As Hale noted in a prior interview, he was “a high-profile chef, a corporate chef [at The Chase Park Plaza]. I got some accolades. I was on MTV, did a movie, opened my own place, but eventually my priorities changed,” which is when he became a freelance chef-for-hire.
When he was executive chef at Monarch, the restaurant “turned the St. Louis restaurant scene on its head,” he said—and, Hale adds, he’d like to do it again.
“Everything I need to make that happen is there,” he says of Cobalt, praising Fassen's vision, the space, and an “extremely well-equipped kitchen.”
Photo by Guinevere Lorenz
Burnt ends with Yakiniku BBQ Sauce. sesame soba noodles, braised leeks, and baby bok choy
Photo by Guinevere Lorenz
Hale's plans are to keep and tweak some of the most popular sellers, such as the duck fat burger, chicken wings, and burnt ends (the restaurant's signature dish), as well as crab cakes, which will now include such add-ins as basil and vanilla.
Over the next two weeks, the chef plans to introduce a winter menu, which will include pan-seared scallops with creamed winter corn, collards, and frizzled bacon; and pork belly with Korean BBQ sauce, sriracha honey cornbread, and candied orange. Hale is especially excited about a smoked duck confit mac and cheese (pictured below), the cheese sauce flavored with the essence of smoked pork bones.
Courtesy Cobalt Smoke & Sea
The new in-house charcuterie program (including duck bacon) is in process but several weeks away, Hale adds, and new beef offerings, such as skirt steak, have already been well-received.
The must-try dessert? A sangria poached pear with Amish smoked blue cheese and two sauces, caramel and crème anglaise.
Armed with “some good hands in the kitchen” (including former Cardwell’s at the Plaza pastry chef Ellen Farrell), Hale hopes to take the next step with moving the restaurant forward. “I got back into day-to-day operations for semi-selfish reasons,” he admits. “But at 53, I feel I’m allowed to do that."
