101 Restaurant creates new menu

An eye-catching, perfectly pan-seared duck breast paired with a divine grain called farro, fresh cranberries, and delectable golden raisins served with a rich demi glazed reduction decorated a table in the middle of the room.

Six-hour slow cooked short rib laid gently atop whipped mashed potatoes, with roasted brussel sprouts adorned with bacon and carrots were on the left side. Aromas of the vegetables, poultry and seafood combined to create a sumptuous experience.

On Tuesday, 101 Restaurant owners Adam Corey and Ryan Grindler showed off their new menu, which will be debuting in August, exclusively for the Tallahassee Democrat. They consider the new items to be Southern comfort with an upscale twist.

Corey and Grindler didn't have any pressing reason to change the menu. Patrons didn't complain and the restaurant was doing well. They wanted to be adventurous and to provide a dining experience unique to Tallahassee. The restaurant will only retain two items from its current menu. The popular Buffalo Chicken Pizza and Spinach Dip will stay; everything else will go.

"The old menu was good, but it was time to evolve," Grindler said. "We needed to get ahead of the industry. We want to make Tallahassee the next Austin, Texas, and it starts with great food."

101, located on 215 W. College Ave. #101 in the Kleman plaza, has become an attraction for diners of all backgrounds with its double happy hour, live music, and fun environment. But the owners at 101 wanted more than being another face in the restaurant crowd. Their goal is to boldly lead the food revolution in an ever changing market.

It's a total overhaul and shift in concept.

"We didn't want to be complacent," Grindler said. "You can't sit still in this business; you have to be willing to be innovative to succeed in this game."

Leading the charge of innovation is new executive chef, Jason Bruner. At 32, Bruner is internationally known and locally respected. He graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. The chef is the son of a commercial fisherman and grew up in New Orleans. From culinary school he's traipsed around the globe learning how to cook.

"I wanted to get better at Asian food, so I studied at a school China," said Bruner. "Then I decided to go to Italy when I got ready to learn Italian food. When I want to learn something I go to the source."

Bruner, who has also worked in Spain and Hawaii, is bringing his international experience to Tallahassee. He wanted to be closer to the Gulf Coast where he believes some of the best seafood exists.

"I can get oysters for my Buffalo oysters right from Apalachicola," Bruner said. "We get them fresh off the boat and hold them less than four days, when we say it's fresh we aren't playing around."

Those oysters are cajun battered, tossed in a homemade buffalo sauce, drizzled with bleu cheese dressing and fresh Gorgonzola. Being served on the half shell makes it as visually appealing as it is delicious.

Upgrading the menu didn't come cheaply. 101 has spent over $125,000 to remodel the kitchen to make it more efficient. The owners changed the stoves, refrigeration system and even the china. Nothing will be the same once the new menu is introduced.

"They let me come in like a new coach taking over a football team," Bruner said. "When I took the job, they entrusted to me to get rid of dead weight and cultivate the people who wanted to stay."

Running a restaurant is like being a musician, those who can last are able to reinvent themselves and the ones who can't adapt are one-hit wonders.

"This change hasn't been easy," said Grindler. "But now we feel we have something special here, and it will only make the Tallahassee better."

Everyone of the new dishes offered will have at least one major element from a business — a fisher or a farmer — that distributes within a 100-mile radius of Tallahassee. They're eschewing frozen vegetables and protein from far away places for a more farm to table approach. Cheese will come from Thomasville, Georgia, mushrooms from Quincy, tomatoes from right outside Tallahassee. Not only is 101 making the restaurant scene better by remaking the menu, it's also strengthening the economy by buying local.

"There is so much good stuff growing around here, and we need to use it," Bruner said. "Stuff from here is shipped all over the world, so why shouldn't we have it in our place."

The restaurant's audacious menu will combine influences from around the world with the best local ingredients the state has to offer. It will blend a fine dining experience with a casual environment.

"We want a guy with a polo shirt and jeans to feel comfortable sitting next to a legislator in a suit," Bruner. "And we want both of them to get a meal they can get in a white table cloth restaurant while drinking a cold beer and laughing."

IF YOU GO

Location: 215 W College Avenue #101 in the Kleman plaza

Hours: Monday-Saturday 11 a.m.-2 a.m, Sunday 10 a.m.-12pm

A few of the new menu items

•Rock Shrimp Mac n' Cheese — three cheese blend, apple-wood smoked bacon bits, topped with Parmesan cheese and rock shrimp

•Buffalo Oysters — Cajun battered oysters tossed in a homemade buffalo sauce and served with blue cheese dressing, Gorgonzola crumbles and micro celery

•Cedar Plank Salmon — Grilled wild salmon, encrusted with Parmesan cheese and served with garlic mash, baby carrots and broccoli.

•New York Strip — Grilled to perfection and served with sauteed oyster mushrooms and roasted sweet potato.

•Seared Sea Scallops — Brussels sprouts, bacon lardons and roasted fingerling potatoes