Changes at The Butcher Block
How long does it take to get the wrinkles out of a new restaurant?
No, it’s not a rhetorical question, could someone tell me? And for that matter clue in the folks at The Butcher Block. The Northeast Italian eatery meets gastropub has been open almost five months now, and sitting at the bar listening to chef Filippo Caffari last week it was clear the place hasn’t quite reached the same sweet spot that the tender-as-a-peach short ribs have. Chef Caffari, who presumably doesn’t manage the front of house, mused to the bartender about the inexperienced waitresses — maybe not the wisest thing to say with a patron sitting next to him.
In any case, if the chef wants to send the waitresses to boot camp, it won’t be the only noticeable change The Butcher Block has seen.
First up, the wings. The original palette of 29 flavors has been pared back to 14. Apparently all the ingredients needed to make 29 sauces from scratch was just taking up too much darned room in the small kitchen. This is a shame since the whole reason I stopped in last week was to continue on my quest to try all the wing flavors (from which I had taken something of a hiatus).
You can also forget about stopping into The Butcher Block to satisfy your late, late night appetite. It was originally open till 4 a.m. on Friday and Saturday but will now be closing up at 2 — still plenty late, but it will be Taco Bell for you if you’re still hungry after that.
If you’re stopping in for a seat at the bar, you’ll now be a little more comfortable. The bar, which had been about four or five inches too tall has been chopped down to the right height.
And gone is bartender Ben, who had made sitting at the too-tall bar worth it with his stories and obvious passion for food and drink. I know Ben had been looking to do some serving in addition to bar duties, which may be a symptom of an unfortunate layout at The Butcher Block, that leaves the bartender acting as a host all night and probably lacking in tips.
This marks the end of my Butcher Block wing reviews; I didn’t review every flavor I tried and with them paring back the number of flavors it doesn’t seem worth the effort anymore.
Hopefully The Butcher Block can get its kinks worked out; I really want to see my neighborhood succeed as a food destination.