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The new chef will add modern twists to the old school restaurant's menu, but chances are he'll avoid the touchy subject of foie gras for now.
We haven't heard much from Atwater Village's Tam O'Shanter since their earlier this year when its executive chef Mark Kalenderian left after an online rant where he threatened to turn the bones of ananti-foie gras advocate into stock. Looking to put the messy incident in the past, the circa 1922 restaurant has brought a new leader into the kitchen, and he's adding some new dishes to the classic menu, according to Los Angeles Magazine.
Juan Escamilla, the Tam's new chef, will freshen up the menu with seasonal and pretty trendy, yet delicious offerings like porchetta, avocado toast and Scottish salmon with butternut squash puree. Escamilla will rotate 4 or 5 special menu items like these on a weekly basis, and there will even be, gasp, kale and other locally grown veggies at the old, dyed-in-the-wool Scottish pub. But, fear not, you'll still be able to get classics like the signature Toad in the Hole, prime rib and creamed spinach.
And while there will be rotating specials on the menu like roasted bone marrow—non-human, we trust—there's no word if foie gras is completely off-limits. But, we suspect we won't be seeing it there any time soon.
Before taking up at the Tam, Escamilla previously worked at Pasadena's Union, Beverly Hills' Bouchon and Electric City Butcher in Santa Ana.
The Tam O'Shanter is located at 2980 Los Feliz Boulevard, Atwater Village, 90039 (323) 664-0228
