By Mia Finley
“By the end of this summer, over 90 percent of the menu will have changed,” says Ricardo Planas, chef at Union Street Public House since last month.
After studying at the French Culinary Institute, Planas worked at New York’s Tavern on the Green, Red Sage, Jean-Louis Restaurant at the Watergate and Café du Parc at the Willard Intercontinental Hotel.
“I firmly believe that this neighborhood is going to allow me, as a chef, to take some chances,” Planas says. He aims for interesting flavor twists on simple ingredients.
Though only a few weeks in, he is already tinkering with new recipes: Chesapeake rockfish with a mint gremolata, smoked corn succotash with local summer beans, corn and crab stuffed mountain trout and a marinated strawberry dessert with sorbet, balsamic glaze, black pepper and mint.
An emphasis on relationships between vendors will push the menu in a more locally sourced direction. Planas’ collaborations include serving desserts from Maribeth’s Bakery, goat cheese from Firefly Farms for heirloom tomato tarts, beef from farms in the Blue Ridge and produce from Path Valley Farms.
Some things will stay—traditional burgers and the fish and chips are crowd favorites—but Planas stresses the importance of elevating Union Street’s food reputation. “For me, the food will be different. We need to remind our neighborhood that it’s a restaurant,” he says. “Yeah, we have a fun and busy bar, but it’s first and foremost a restaurant.”/ Union Street Public House; 121 S. Union St., Alexandria
