Joe Rolle and Daniel del Prado
Daniel del Prado describes himself as "very weird". This makes me quite excited to see what he brings to the eating scene with not one, but two new restaurants he's in the process of opening. Of course, he's not doing it alone. The former Burch Steak chef de cuisine has culled a pretty stellar crew of veterans for his endeavors, including chefs Joe Rolle (pictured above left, with del Prado) and Sam Miller to tease out a few. Get ready for what's coming!
The former Upton 43 spot will become Martina.
#1: MARTINA
Though the plan was to launch BBQ first, it's now apparent that Martina, the Argentinian seafood restaurant will open first. It's taking the former Upton 43 space in Linden Hills, and hoping to open within the month. "This place is going to focus on seafood, but really it's a beautiful mix of Argentinian and Italian, like my parents," del Prado told me this morning. A lot of people would think fired meats when they think Argentinian, "but that would be too easy. We want to be different, though of course there will be lots of wood fire cooking."
The space will be slightly changed up, with dark green tones, and a mix of elements to give it a hi-lo feel. "People in Argentina don't have cabins, they have estancia, like a ranch where you have a mix of clay or earthenware pieces alongside marble. It works!" The hi-lo concept will carry through the whole place, "We want to be affordable and approachable, with only a few things over $20. It will be fun! In Argentina, everyone is paid once a month, so on the 29th of the month we all eat gnocchi with a dollar bill tucked underneath for luck. It's just potatoes, eggs, and cheese, so it's a dish we eat when we're running low on cash!" And yes, he's planning on bringing that tradition to Martina. The Italian influence, of his mother, means a lot of pasta. "So I had to get the best pasta chef in the city, and that's Joe Rolle." Rolle, for his part, was more than thrilled to sign on and has been bowled over with the food that del Prado has been planning. "I ate this side dish of grilled Portobellos and I was blown away. It was 100 times different that I thought it would be, and it's just a side dish, " Rolle said.
The menu will be, del Prado says, big. "Isaac Becker, who is the most genius man I know, has always gone against convention and done what he feels. When people say restaurant 101 is to keep the menu small, I look at Bar La Grassa and Burch, and I say: let's go big. I want people to be able to come in two times a week and find something different to eat." And there will be new things to eat, one of the dishes that he's excited to introduce is a blowfish tail dish, that you eat with your hands. "It's like a cross between chicken wings and frog legs," Rolle laughed, "and there are actually quite a few things that can and should be eaten with your hands on this menu." They kept laughing and telling me: It works, can't wait till you see it!
The team also includes Sam Miller, who opened Tilia in the neighborhood and has worked around some of the best kitchens in town, and Teddy Kordonowy who helped open Lowry Hill Meats. Also in the mix is Marco Zappia who will be manning the bar program at Martina. They plan to have a full bar and lots of wine.
Under much construction, the former Marathon station will become Diamond BBQ.
#2: DIAMOND BBQ
The second spot, which was originally going to launch first, is the barbecue joint that will open this year at the corner of 54th and Penn, in the old Marathon gas station. But again, think weird. "There's a lot of great barbecue happening right now, but I want to do something a little different. It's going to be more Tex-Mex flavored and be loose and fun. We're going for an 80's/90's vibe with bright colors, you know Miami Vice! I like things that are outdated, and to bring them back, " del Prado said. "A lot of people are looking at finer dining Mexican right now or super authentic Texas barbecue, but I'm loving the feel around Austin you get with all the Tex-Mex flavors." So we can expect things like escargot and beef tartare, but with a Tex-Mex signature. Fear not, there will be meats. They have two giant smokers going in, so that will clearly be a part of the plan. So Miami Vice Tex-Mex invades south Minny. I don't know if I could be more excited to find out what that means!
I'm saying it right now: weird is good, weird is welcome, especially from this crew. Look for Martina to open hopefully within a month or so, and Diamond within the year.
