FSR June 2023

CHEFS & INGREDIENTS CHEF PROFILE

tzatziki, pickled turnips, sumac onions, moroccan garlic crunch, and puffed farro from the farm to charred swordfish with satay sauce, noodles, peanut crunch, bean sprouts, pickles, and herbs. Wise’s team also offers whole-grilled branzino with herb relish, campari tomatoes, shaved fennel, and grilled lemon. “I’m a firm believer in pushing every thing to the limit,” Wise says. “You want to push people out of their comfort zone in a sense of, everyone can get the same ingredients I can. You as a consumer can

sion in his preferred cooking method, which sparked Wise’s imagination to what was possible. When many restau rateurs were shutting down operations and hunking down in homes, Wise was dreaming up new concepts—then open ing them. In early 2020, Wise launched Cardellino, an Italian chophouse with handmade pastas and pizzas inspired by Wise’s South Jersey, Italian influences. Next up was Wise Ox, a quick-ser vice retail butcher and sandwich shop with artisan-style meats, which debuted

how to be better and operate better. I do a lot of soul searching in that fash ion,” Wise adds. Rare Society offers cuts of dry-aged ribeyes, wagyu, and other retro steak house classics like Oysters Rockefeller, snow crab legs, and Caesar salad (one of Wise’s favorites on the menu). Indul gent touches like seafood towers com plement a progressive cocktail program plus a playful dessert selection. Following a warm reception to the first Rare Society location in San Diego’s uptown area, Wise and his team ven tured into North County with a second location in Solana Beach. “I might be the brainchild behind a lot of this stuff, but I can’t do it without [my team],” he says. “I’ve got to give them the tools to succeed, and affirmation is a big one we’re learn ing this year that makes the difference on why people want to show up and work these long hours.” The through-line between all of his concepts (aside from Mr. Trustee) is the wood-fired grill. At Rare Society, signa ture meat boards showcase a variety of the restaurant’s 30 to 40-day dry aged steaks, as well as a selection of the kitchen’s favorite prime cuts. Wise and his team opened the third Rare Society location in July 2022 in Santa Barbara, and in February, opened a fourth store in Mill Creek, Washington—marking the concept’s first expansion outside of California. As far as future growth goes, Wise wants to open 15 more Rare Soci ety locations throughout the U.S. over the next five years. When asked what he thinks the key element to creating and growing a suc cessful restaurant group is, Wise says “don’t deviate from your plan. If you have a plan and it’s working, stick with it and see it through. Learn from your mistakes and failures. Just be aware, and write everything down.” “You have to partner and work with a group of people that share your vision, and give them the freedom to be them selves,” Wise adds. “You’ve got to believe in what you do and treat people with respect at the end of the day, but still hold people accountable.”

MATT FURMAN

AT RARE SOCIETY, THE MENU RANGES FROM DRY-AGED RIBEYES AND WAGYU TO OTHER RETRO STEAKHOUSE CLASSICS, LIKE OYSTERS ROCKEFELLER AND CAESAR SALAD.

go to a farm and grab the same tomatoes, same everything I’m getting, but I would like to create something that they don’t normally do at home.” Wise continued to push his own boundaries by opening a “big sister” con cept to Trust—Fort Oak in Mission Hills, California. A U-shaped bar seats 23 peo ple and circles around what was once an old Ford dealership showroom, while the exhibition kitchen seats 16 at a coun ter with a view of the culinary action. While Trust focuses on more elevated comfort food plates, Fort Oak is more of a raw bar with seafood and composed entrees, Wise explains. The restaurant has received numerous accolades, like a Michelin Plate Award. Fort Oak’s sophisticated menu and Mid-Century design signaled a progres

in September of the same year in North Park and also offers a monthly meat sub scription. Then came Mr. Trustee Cream ery, a walk-up ice cream window adjacent to Cardellina. Spearheaded by Wise’s executive pastry chef, Jeremy Harville, Mr. Trustee is open every night and offers small-batch, artisanal ice cream with unique flavors like cereal-themed Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Lemon Meringue Pie. Yet, Wise’s journey wasn’t without challenges. A boilermaker bar concept folded after just a year, but inspired what Wise considers perhaps his great est invention—Rare Society, an homage to vintage Las Vegas steakhouses, which he first opened in November 2019. “I’ve learned a lot in three years, and this year, I’m really drilling down on

JUNE 2023

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