It’s been the better part of a year since Neal Wavra announced the opening of Field & Main in Marshall. Since then, the former innkeeper of Ashby Inn opened his own consulting firm, FABLE Hospitality, helping wineries and restaurants with drink menus and front-of-house service. Now, with Field & Main set to open late this summer, Wavra is making moves.
Wavra hired his fellow classmate from the Culinary Institute of America Anthony Nelson, most recently of Nashville‘s Lockland Table and Silo, to run the kitchen of both Field & Main and a take-out sandwich spot next door, Riccordino’s.
Wavra grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and misses the meaty sandwiches of his youth. The shop, named after his grandfather, will sell the classics: meatball, Italian beef and sausage sandwiches plus Chicago-style hot dogs with the proper toppers: mustard, onion, pickle relish, dill pickle spear, fresh tomato, sport pepper and—”the key,” says Wavra—celery salt. And, he emphasizes, “no ketchup.”
“We’re trying to use the whole animal,” says Wavra. To make this work, Field & Main will take the premier cuts, and because the two places operate out of the same kitchen, the unused meat will turn into the meatballs and sausages sold at Riccordino’s.
Wavra isn’t strictly staying traditional, though. For those looking for a meatless option, he’s toying around with a carrot subbing in for the hot dog. The carrot will be smoked and offered with the same toppings. “Maybe pickling it?” he adds. There’s still time to mess around. // Field & Main, 8369 W. Main St., Marshall
