New chef makes Main St. Provisions menu more approachable

Be assured, foie gras fiends: Fatty isn’t going anywhere.

At Main St. Provisions in the Arts District, even as a high-profile new chef introduces a more approachable menu, the foie gras supplement remains, a portion of luscious lobe to ravish the roast chicken or house blend burger, the bone-in ribeye or slices of warm sourdough.

“It’s a staple,” said Kim Owens, owner of Main St., explaining why the foie gras would stay in the picture.

“We’ve been getting a lot of filet mignons with the foie on top, a lot of duck with the foie on top,” added Patrick Munster, the new chef, who came aboard two months ago from One Steakhouse in Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. “I just want to get up and say, ‘Well played.’ ”

If foie gras and crudo and smoked duck breast represent one wing of the Main St. menu, Caesar salad with pumpernickel croutons and roast chicken bedded in braised greens and pumpkin cheesecake trimmed with brittle represent the other — dishes added by Munster to make the restaurant’s elevated comfort food (with international accents) more ecumenical.

“What does that look like?” the chef asked. “Ingredients people are comfortable with. Dishes that are going to be home runs that I know people are going to accept.”

What’s more, “because the Arts District is such a walkable neighborhood, you get a lot of walk-in traffic,” Owens continued. “We want to keep some of the eclectic, some curveballs in there to keep things interesting, but make it more approachable to guests walking by.”

Main St. has always been a community-minded restaurant; the new approach aims to expand the community appeal.

How the new chef came aboard

The partnership of Owens and Munster has been a decade in the making, in a sense. Ten years ago at a party, “we were riffing back and forth about what a restaurant should be, building that perfect restaurant. We both thought it would be great to work together,” Owens said.

At the time, Owens was with Del Frisco’s steakhouse, just east of the Strip, and Munster was chef de cuisine at SW Steakhouse in Wynn Las Vegas, and neither was thinking of leaving. But this year, chef Justin Kingsley Hall told Owens he would be leaving Main St. for medical reasons. The restaurant needed a new executive chef.

“I had known Patrick for 15 years. I got to know his cooking style and what he’s passionate about; he takes care of his people. I had an insider view,” Owens said. She offered Munster the job in July; he accepted a day later.

The offer came at the right time. After six years at One Steakhouse and 10 years at SW before that, Munster was ready for a change. “Coming from Kim, it was an easy decision. If it hadn’t been Kim, there was always another steakhouse chef job out there for me,” Munster said. “I knew what Kim could do.”

Steakhouse veterans bring the beef

The new menu at Main St. nods toward the extensive steakhouse experience of the chef and the owner.

There’s a shrimp cocktail built with shrimp from Oishii, a company recognized for its sustainable aquaculture. Oysters on the half shell are anointed with housemade hot sauce. Butter-whipped potatoes — “when they’re done correctly, there’s nothing better,” Munster said — hook up with filet mignon, a New York Strip or a double cut bone-in ribeye.

The steaks, all new to the menu, are supplied by Western Reserve Beef, a Nebraska source for humanely raised livestock from independent farmers and ranchers. “I’m really happy to put the steaks on the menu. It’s a great purveyor I’ve used for many years,” Munster said.

Risotto to the fool the palate

Elsewhere, short ribs are paired with kicky gremolata, or served as dumplings wetting their bottoms in roasted shallot jus. The roast chicken features smoked leg and thigh. A fish fry being planned might showcase beer-battered black cod, smoked paprika fries and house tartar sauce, “out the door,” Munster said.

“I love doing things that are shareable because I like to eat like that.”

The plant-based fall risotto — butternut squash, battle born mushrooms, sage — deserves mention. The mushrooms are something between a trumpet and an oyster, and the risotto draws on the improvements in plant-based ingredients in the past decade.

“I couldn’t have made this risotto taste this good 10 years ago,” Munster said. “The plant-based Parmesan, the plant-based heavy cream — we fool people every night.”

Cocktails and beer … maybe roe?

Cocktails and beer at Main St. have received a refresh, too.

A gently floral Sage Advice unites Spring 44 Gin, Absolut Elyx Vodka, and Dolin Blanc vermouth infused with lavender and sage. Bar Hill Gin, honey and ginger house syrup and fresh lemon link arms in a Buzzy Ginger, its juniper botanicals balanced by honey sweetness.

Main St. neighbors in the Arts District are supplying new beers, like Mexican Lager from SerVehZah taproom and Guava Ginger A Go-Go from Able Baker Brewing, Mosquito Bite lager from Hudl Brewing and a hefeweizen with hints of pineapple out of Tenaya Creek Brewery.

“We have this new fall menu for people to try, then cocktails, then move into wine and beer or into the dessert. Which is nice, because I want guests to ride all the rides,” Owens said.

And that includes riding the Arts District.

“I don’t even know if the entire valley knows how cool this neighborhood is,” she said. “You can show hop, bar hop, restaurant hop, a little shopping in between. Get a haircut, get a tattoo, get some caviar. We’ve talked about adding caviar.”

It will be the new foie gras.

Contact Johnathan L. Wright at jwright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ItsJLW on Twitter.