Open almost 11 months now, Weathered Souls has been a brewpub in license only. Though Co-founder/owner Mike Holt, Co-founder/Head Brewer Marcus Baskerville, and Co-founder/Production manager Seth Parker have been open since last fall, they lacked a menu. A kitchen they had, it was a chef they lacked though that has now been solved.
Over the last week, they've introduced a light menu available consisting of a charred board, soft pretzel, flatbread, truffle fries and chips with house-made salsa, and last evening the guys at Weathered Souls gave us a preview of what might be in store for the full menu down the road, as well as showcasing their new chef's James Makuch's talents. Hailing from Florida, Chef Makuch is a self-taught chef with a few culinary influences. "I was influenced mainly by three people, my father, Brady Kilpatrick, and Heath Higginbotham," says Makuch. "My father was always cooking something new for our family every dinner and always experimenting with new things. Chef Brady was the one who laid a solid foundation for me and Chef Heath turned me into the chef I am today. To me, these three are the greatest chefs in the world."
The courses were simple yet elegant consisting of an Amuse-bouche of Stacked Beet Salad; a delectable appetizer of pan-seared scallops paired with their citrusy Test Bach 002 IPA; followed by Filet Mignon with fingerling potatoes and Haricot Vert paired with an Imperial Stout aged in Remmy barrels; all topped off with a perfectly sweet and tart Blackberry Cobbler Sorbet paired with their Strawberry Kettle Sour. Will their final menu be so elevated? "To an extent yes." says Seth Parker "Although the menu will definitely be approachable for all pallets," Parker advised the menu is still being finalized and they hope to unveil it in the next few months. Look for kid options as well and an expanding appetizer menu down the road.
