The story below is from our January/February 2024 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!
Learn more about Chef Ted Polfelt, the work he does in our region and the exciting flavors he's bringing to Salem through his restaurant menu at Brood Restaurant & Bar in our Season 2 podcast kickoff:
Brood Restaurant & Bar defines an American bistro sensibility in Salem.
John Park
Chicken Schnitzel
Chef Ted Polfelt wanted to open the kind of neighborhood eatery that diners can visit once a week, with warm service and an approachable yet creative menu. With Brood Restaurant & Bar, which opened last summer in Salem inside the former Blue Apron Red Rooster, he’s succeeded on all fronts. Especially the menu, which marries American classics with European flair and global pantry touches to create a decidedly American bistro sensibility. Think: Belgian-style mussels and frites with herb aioli, braised beef short ribs with mustard jus and lobster pasta tossed with sherry cream and festooned with a pistachio-lemon crumb.
John Park
Ted Polfelt and one of his co-owners, Crenshaw Reed
Much of the space’s layout and rooster-themed décor remains intact, which in turn inspired the eatery’s name. “Brood came into context because it’s a family of chickens; our family works there and we wanted a restaurant where our staff feels like family,” Polfelt says. “It really just embodies community and family, which is what we wanted to create.”
More specifically, Polfelt, and his co-owners, including Lindsay Polfelt, his wife, and Crenshaw Reed, with whom he’s worked in hospitality for over 20 years, wanted to create a place that highlighted the best aspects of the restaurant experience for both employees and guests. Although Polfelt’s own schedule skews heavy on the work quotient—he’s also the Executive Chef at Roanoke Country Club and a full-time instructor at the Al Pollard Culinary School at Virginia Western Community College—he was adamant about creating a work-life balance and positive environment for staff. From the outset, he chose to operate Brood Tuesday through Saturday to give employees two full days off. After hiring team members, he offered them gift baskets. “We wanted to make them feel special, just like we would our guests or anyone else,” Polfelt says. “It was really important that I had people who wanted to work there. I want them to want to come to work. Because that’s going to translate to what they do and how they interact with guests and what they’re cooking.”
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John Park
The Pink Bowtie
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Mussels
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Crème Brûlée
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John Park
Korean Pork Spare Ribs
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John Park
The salmon is a prime example of a dish that underscores Brood’s philosophy and menu themes. It’s an approachable fish that lends itself to creative, seasonal iterations but is still simple enough for diners to recognize and for the staff to execute during a busy dinner service. In early fall, Brood’s salmon dish was glazed with an herb-infused honey redolent of cardamom, star anise and rosemary and garnished with a peanut crumb and fennel pollen. It was paired with a chilled rice salad spiced with Vadouvan, a sweet-smoky masala that complements the raisins studded throughout. To reflect the winter season, it’s hit with a maple glaze and walnut crumb and served with a warm Hoppin’ John rice and black-eyed peas dish, a nod to the traditional Southern New Year’s Day dish that’s eaten for good luck.
John Park
The Southern influences reflect Polfelt’s roots: He grew up in Roanoke, attended Patrick Henry High School, landed his first kitchen job at Brambleton Deli and started his career as the executive chef at 419 West. But Brood’s European-leaning inspiration, chef-driven techniques and international spice profiles more closely reflect Polfelt’s participation in culinary competitions, which has afforded him the opportunity to travel and inspired his seminal work leading up to representing Team USA at the IKA/Culinary Olympics in Stuttgart, Germany, this year. (Read more about the Culinary Olympics in Anthony Giorgetti’s feature on page 44.)
The Chicken Schnitzel is a must-order dish that reflects Polfelt’s culinary know-how and multi-cultural approach. It features a crisp yet light breaded chicken cutlet reminiscent of a typical German or Austrian schnitzel but is dolloped with a tangy Alabama White Sauce and flanked by vinegar-braised collard greens and cheesy heirloom grits (sourced from local outfit Gracious Grains). It all adds up to the kind of well-balanced dish that really sings when you combine all the components in each forkful. (Polfelt’s oldest daughter has Celiac disease, so the Chicken Schnitzel is made in a dedicated gluten-free fryer and is denoted as 100% gluten-free on the menu along with several other dishes.)
John Park
Sour Cream & Caramelized Onion Dip
Don’t sleep on the pork spareribs, which owes its excellent char and toothsome bark to chef Josh Wasky’s barbecue talents. He starts by braising the meat, then chills it down and coats it before frying it, yielding a crackly exterior that easily yields to the fall-apart-tender meat within. An early version of the dish paid homage to Buffalo wings with blue cheese crumbles, celery and celery leaves and a Buffalo sauce spiked with Old Bay Seasoning, a nod to Wasky’s Baltimore roots. This winter the spareribs have taken on a Korean barbecue style profile and are plated with chives and chili oil, but the Buffalo version will return for spring-summer.
For a sweet ending, follow one server’s suggestion to combine two desserts: Pair the Belgian waffle bread pudding with maple vanilla sauce with a scoop of homemade banana pudding ice cream. It evokes the kind of warm-meets-cool vibes that’ll keep you coming back for more, week after week.
The story above is from our January/February 2024 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!