Each guest within the Deepwood dining room is welcomed with an amuse bouche. It is to be a seemingly simple token of our appreciation for the opportunities to host you as our guest as well as a playful gesture to tickle appetites and build anticipation for the meal to follow. A little morsel, one bite, smaller than a hors d’oeuvres.

The amuse, though not technically on the menu, is without doubt, one of my favorite items. I truly admire and am hungered by the collaboration of our kitchen; chef’s classic technique, Colin’s modern creativity and the curious spirit of David, Mike, Matt and Andy (the crew) are ultimately my favorite components to the menu. Together Chef Brian and Colin develop a nightly amuse bouche for the dining room as well as soup presentation for both the dining room and tavern. Highlights to the amuse bouche creations include asparagus and crab terrine in saffron gelee, date wrapped in house cured duck proscuitto (David’s creation), duck confit with local kumquat & raisin marmalade as well as grapefruit supreme on fennel salad. It is clear that these little bites are exploding with creativity, and while there is quite a bite of thought & time as contributing ingredients, there are reminders to us not to take ourselves or our food to seriously. As the first impression, the amuse is to be a straightforward and honest reflection of the kitchen. It’s the little things in life.

See our lunch menu below the cut!

Beverages
PANNA small 4 large 7
PELLIGRINO small 4 large 7
ICE TEA 2
HOUSE-MADE LEMONADE 2.5
cranberry, tomato, white grape, grapefruit, pineapple, orange juices 3.5

APPETIZERS

CHILLED OYSTERS ON THE HALF SHELL *
1.50 each
(Wellfleet, Massachusetts)
citrus cocktail
DUCK CONFIT SPRING ROLL 5
poached plums, plum-apricot reduction
LOBSTER CAKE 10
fresh maine lobster & jumbo lump crab
bellini sauce
TOMATO GAZPACHO 6
citrus smoked prawn & avocado

SOUP & SALADS

CHEF’s SOUP CREATION 5

WARM SPINACH SALAD 7
baby spinach greens, roasted mushrooms, warmed bacon vinaigrette,
sunny side quail egg in brioche

THE OAK 5
red and green oak leaf lettuces,
candied red onions, currants, orange segments, spiced pecans,
blue cheese vinaigrette

signature oak salad with grilled chicken paillard 10
signature oak salad with grilled salmon 12

chef: brian pawlak sous chef: Colin vent

SANDWICHES
All selections are presented with cape cod kettle chips

HOT PRESSED SMOKED SALMON 9.5
Camembert, dill mayonnaise, candied red onion, mache, country bread

HOT PRESSED BRIE 9
brie, tomato, spiced pepper-peach compote, pumpernickel bread

GRILLED HAM & CHEESE 10
Black Forest Ham, Gruyere cheese, whole grain mustard, country bread

AMERICAN BURGER* 10.5
Half pound
American, blue, cheddar or gruyere cheese
dijon mayonnaise, house-made tomato ketchup, onion marmalade

ENTREES

SLOW BRAISED RIBS 12
Baby back rack in honey barbeque sauce, tavern fries

SHRIMP COBB 14
Smoked shrimp, roasted corn, diced tomato,
asparagus tips, hard cooked egg, tarragon potatoes,
peach vinaigrette

STEAK AU POIVRE* 18
peppercorn dusted shell steak, TAVERN FRIES, cognac demi

FETTUCCINE & MUSSELS 12
house-made pasta
spicy sausage, roasted tomatoes, manhattan clam sauce

NEW ENGLAND FISH FRY 14
beer battered filets, “chips”
coleslaw, house-made tarragon malt vinegar

kindly refrain from the use of cellular phones
* the consumption of raw or undercooked meats, poultry, seafood, shellfish or eggs
may increase the risk of foodborne illness

“Don’t reinvent the wheel; make it spin faster,” writes DeepWood owner and chef Brian Pawlak (formerly of Z Cucina) on DeepWood’s blog-loaded website. Pawlak and partner Amber Herron have followed that advice by elevating the conventional into something flirting with brilliance.

Thank you, Columbus Alive, for the review! Read it here: Already in Deep

proudly opens its doors

Grand Opening: Monday, June 23rd

We look forward to hosting you as our guests!

Reservations: 614-221-5602 or deepwoodrestaurant@gmail.com

(menu below the cut or download it here.)

Dinner
Monday-Thursday 5:00-9:00pm
Friday & Saturday 5:00-10:00pm
Sunday Closed

Lunch
Begins Tuesday, July 22nd
Tuesday-Friday 11:00am to 3:00pm

APPETIZERS
Oyster cream 12
leeks, yukon gold potatoes, applewood smoked bacon,
gewurztraminer cream
* Tuna & beet tartars 10
gingered tomato compote, lavash, almond vinaigrette dressed microgreens
Scallop wellington 14
scallop wrapped in spinach & pastry
bed of wild mushrooms, foie buerre blanc
Duck Confit Ravioli 10
Housemade duck confit & truffle cheese raviolis
spring onion broth
Tasting of Salmon 9
Citrus vodka cured with candied lemon zest
pastramied with pickled cucumbers
traditional garnishes
Chef’s Soup Creation 6
accompanying garnish
Warm Spinach Salad 7
baby spinach leaves, roasted mushrooms, warm bacon vinaigrette
Sunny side egg in brioche
The oak 6
red & green oak leaf lettuces
candied red onions, currants, orange segments, spiced pecans,
blue cheese vinaigrette

ENTREES
Slow poached maine lobster 42
corn risotto, English pea puree, mache
(out of the shell)
Bacon wrapped monkfish medallions 24
cauliflower au gratin, wilted arugula, orange-caper buerre blanc
* Long Island Duck 23
seared Breast, confit spring roll
arugula with poached plums, plum eau du vie
* Vermont rack of lamb 32
Coach Farm goat cheese bread pudding, spinach with currants & pine nuts
lamb jus
roasted chatham cod 25
potato risotto, Napa saute of cabbage, grapes & spring onion
* filet mignon 32
truffled potato galette, grilled asparagus
cambozola blue cheese demi
Gnocchiette  22
petite hand rolled gnocchi, spinach, citrus prawns
vanilla-saffron cream
* Long bone veal chop 38
succotash of sweet corn, potato & fava beans
tarragon cream, natural veal jus

DESSERTS

BLUEBERRY BRIOCHE BREAD PUDDING 8
rosemary-thyme anglaise, peach coulis

CHOCOLATE SOUFFLE 10
creme anglaise

CHEVRE CHEESECAKE 8
citrus goat cheese, spiced nut crust,
Muscat reduction, sugared green grapes

T’s COOKIE PLATE 6
assortment of Mom’s cookies
chocolate chip, oatmeal, molasses spice

CHIMAY SPICE CAKE 8
Chocolate coated. plum ice cream, candied kumquats

PANNA COTTA 8
frangelico panna cotta, strawberry-rose gelee
hazelnut pirouette

dw tavern

APPETIZERS
* chilled oysters on the half shell 11
Wellfleet, Massachusetts
citrus cocktail & cantaloupe citronette
boston baked beans 7
Spiced pork belly, maple creme fraiche, “dough dads”
grilled scallop 7
spiced watermelon, pomegranate buerre blanc, molasses drizzle
* steak tartar 9
prime beef, cornichons, red onions, Dijon mustard
petite salad, country toast points
OPTIONAL: cracked raw quail egg
Duck confit spring rolls 7
poached plums, plum-apricot reduction
Lobster Cake 13
fresh Maine Lobster, jumbo lump crab,
peach tempura, bellini sauce
Tomato Gazpacho 6
smoked prawn, avocado creme fraiche
The oak 6
red & green oak leaf lettuces,
candied red onions, currants, orange segments, spiced pecans,
blue cheese vinaigrette

ENTREES
Grilled salmon 18
roasted spaghetti squash, parmesan tuille,
tomato-caper-onion relish, balsamic reduction
Vegetable tile 14
zucchini & summer squash layered with ricotta, parmesan reggiano, balsamic- tomato sauce
mozzarella brulee, olive oil poached tomatoes, basil oil
* seared tuna loin 22
herbed barley, pancetta crisp, crab salad, tomato chutney
Roasted chicken 16
honey glazed breast of chicken
crisped mashed potatoes, glazed baby carrots,
natural jus
slow braised ribs 16
baby back rack in honey-barbeque sauce
roasted corn, tavern fries
Fettucinne & mussels 14
housemade pastsa
spicy sausage, roasted tomatoes, manhattan clam sauce
* steak au poivre 25
peppercorn dusted shell steak, cognac demi,
tavern fries, creamed spinach

* DeepWood is sensitive to all food allergies, please let us know of any dietary restrictions

** Our kitchen does use nuts in dessert and dinner preparations

Chrissy is one of my dearest friends from Easton and from my youth. We shared sleepovers and secrets as girls who grew together from elementary to middle school. We developed into childhood best friends and spent a lot of time in each other’s lives and homes. Chrissy is from an Italian family; her parents always welcomed me in, her grandma contributed to my understanding of cooking and eating as an art (she was the first to get me to enjoy fish, I think I had thirds that first meal) her brother beat me up with same love only a big brother could have for a little sister, and her sister is the force that after fifteen years lead Chrissy and I back together.

Chrissy’s sister now lives in Upper Arlington, where she is building a family of her own. Her husband recently noted an article about DeepWood in the Dispatch and in realizing the connection to Easton, Connecticut sent the piece to Chrissy. Before even mention of my name, Chrissy said she knew if any of her childhood friends were to be opening a restaurant it had to be me. One of the other youthful bonds Chrissy and I share is our connection through food. We were two of the smallest girls in our class with the biggest of appetites — we even developed the idea of purple, our favorite color, pickles as a signature dish to be served in the restaurant that we may one day open.

Over the holiday weekend, Chrissy traveled from Connecticut to Ohio to visit with her sister. She was able to see the development of the space that will soon open as the DeepWood restaurant and we were able to re-live why we were such good friends.

Although purple pickles will not have a place on the DeepWood menu, my love for Chrissy will always have a place in my heart.

In speaking with almost any chef or cook you quickly learn that culinary is a much different art than the skill of pastry technique. I have enjoyed watching Brian and Colin balancing the need to be spontaneous and to create with the responsibility of being exact and methodical. As with most anything, the ingredients of commitment, talent and hard work flavor a successful outcome. The biggest triumph has been to our delight, the rising of the souffle. A dense, lush base of chocolate which is to be aerated with the simple folding in of egg whites seems like an uphill climb both ways or a magic trick, but in just 10 minutes Brian and Colin opened the convection oven doors to a puff of chocolate goodness. Just one bite, okay really three or four, and The Rising is now one of my favorites. (Click to make pictures bigger!)

1. Patience is a virtue. I couldn’t even wait to write this one down. My lack of patience is famous; I’m all about the moment and if I can’t do it now then don’t ask me to do it. It’s a good trait in the kitchen but in life? Not so much. To tell you the truth, for me patience is a goal I’m still trying to achieve.
2. Screaming only hurts my head. He is all over the TV these days. England’s most famous chef, Gordon Ramsey, is probably the epitome of that screaming chef. I started my career as a head chef at the age of 24 and most of the staff was my age or older so I had trouble getting their attention. In trying to bring the level of the food up from sub par to four-star I screamed. And screamed. But over the next couple of years, I developed a way of training my cooks to limit their mistakes and save my aching head. You have to write the menu to the ability of your cooks so my goal was to train them to be better cooks so I could write better menus I found the more I taught them and the better they became ,the less I had to yell. That being said I still yell just not as often. It can be an important tool if I use it more selectively.
3. Knives cut and fire burns. Get used to it. All beginning cooks fear the stove; it’s impossible not to. I know it sounds crazy but you need to burn and cut yourself in order to get over the fear of it all. The kitchen is such a fast-paced environment and fear just slows you down.
4. The customer is always right. My goal as a chef is to take care of the guest to the best of my ability. The worst thing a guest could ever say leaving my restaurant is that I didn’t honor his request and in doing so didn’t honor him.
5. Don’t reinvent the wheel; make it spin faster. It’s important to be creative and be innovative but its equally important to realize that someone else has probably done exactly what you’re doing before. Without paying homage to the past how can we move forward? Learn from the past and look to it for inspiration.
6. Foster a strong bond between waiters and cooks. A long time ago in a small restaurant, I worked the front of house. I was eighteen and the house manager. I was also one of the lead line cooks so it presented an interesting balance for me between the kitchen and floor staff. That’s where I learned how important it is to have the front of the house and the back of the house working together. We’re are all on the same team and we all have the same goal: make our customers happy with a terrific experience and fantastic food.
7. Try hard. If that doesn’t work try harder. I’ve gotten to where I am by following in my father’s footsteps. One of the greatest things he taught me is that with hard work comes success. I’ve been the guy with three jobs in order to learn as much as I could to further my career. Without showing the chef supervising me that I was willing to do more, do it faster and do it for a longer time than anyone else, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Thanks, Dad!
8. I can’t fix everything. Two electrocutions and a near death from a lawn mower blade has inspired me to keep the fix-it jobs to the pros. I’ll stick to what I do well and hire people who can help me with the things I don’t!
9. I love Mexico, especially Oaxoax Though not fluent in Spanish, I’ve managed to learn how to train Mexican cooks who are struggling with their English. In the kitchen I have been blessed with some of the best OaxOaxan (pronounced wohaka) cooks whose work ethic inspires me.
10. If you find yourself falling behind move faster. Speed is one of the most important tools a good cook has. I found my speed came from a stint as a breakfast cook. Let me tell you, there is nothing like trying to make an over-easy egg without breaking the yolk and doing it under breakfast-rush pressure. It takes speed and soft hands — both of which are invaluable skills in the kitchen.

The remodel of the restaurant space started a week and a half ago; in these eleven days the crew of Sagraves construction has removed the previous bar, partially handcrafted the new oak bar, re-structured the lighting design, installed adjusted plumbing, constructed a vestibule and undertaken a detailed schedule of millwork. It is a team that I am honored to work with in bringing our concept to life. A wide plank floor, circular booths, ceiling mural, partial room divide and open air style front window panels still have yet to be part of the transformation, a process we plan to see unfolding in a month’s time.

A process that will close our door on the 6-month creation, development and anticipation of a restaurant and will celebrate the official opening of DeepWood.

NECI is located in the small capital town of Montpelier Vermont about an hour south of the Canadian border. Population varies from four thousand when the state house is in session to two five hundred when it’s not. I visited NECI in 1998 and it was -10 degrees. “OK,” I thought. “This is not going to work.” Fortunately they accept students four times a year and the following March when it was a more respectable 10 degrees I moved in.
From the start the constant attention I got from the teachers helped me improve. I was offered a chance to test out of the first year since I already had a food service management degree. I chose not to because my feeling was that I might miss something. Even the small things are important to learn in the kitchen.

The program was six months at school then a six-month externship where I had to complete six hundred hours. Then back to school for six months and then a second externship. I felt this would give me an edge in the real world because you honestly learn more practical stuff in kitchens because in school it’s all theory. Culinary school is not easy. Something like eighty percent of the people who go to culinary school change their careers within five years. But I’d known that this would be my career since I was fourteen so there was no room for failure.

My externships started in the late fall and went to spring so I headed to Florida twice remembering the -10 degrees weather. I worked first at the Marriott Casa Marina in Key West under Kevin Montoya (who is now running Norman Van Aken’s new restaurant in Key West). The second time I was at John’s Island Club in Vero Beach under John Farnsworth (a former winner of the food and wine top new chef award). The private club was probably the best experience of my life as far as learning to cook. I became fast and accurate. I owe them a thank you for kicking my butt into shape. Especially the Sous Chef Chris Sosio — my god, could he scream! Let just say I was taught a lesson or two along the way.

The thing that has truly changed in the culinary field since I have started is the invention of the super star chef. There is a direct correlation with the food network taking off in popularity and the enrollment spike of culinary schools. When people ask me about the culinary field — even to my line cooks — I tell them to really think about it then stop and think about it again. This field isn’t for everybody and the work can be arduous. It is a thankless, hot workaholic kind of existence so if that’s what you like jump in.

NECI truly did prepare me for the real world the amount of hands on training and the quality of my externships put me far ahead of others graduating. It was beautiful place to live and the people were some of the nicest I have ever met. I will forever be indebted to the school for the amount of knowledge they gave me. The opportunities I have gotten since then would have never been possible without the guidance I obtained there.