Jeff Mahin, the chef behind Stella Barra Pizzeria and Santa Monica Summer House, has had quite a ride when it comes to cuisine. “I grew up on a fast food diet, then branched out in the world.” He’s bopped around to domestic and international locales, and has worked in Michelin starred restaurants. But one day he decided no more fine dining. “I got burnt out on serving $400 meals and the ego that went with it; it wasn’t for me anymore,” he tells us. Instead, he became a chef/partner at Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises and started opening restaurants in his native Southern California, Chicago and now North Bethesda. Santa Monica Summer House is open, while Stella Barra is slated to debut Feb. 12. Both are in the new Pike & Rose complex (11580 Old Georgetown Rd).
Vegetables are more interesting to Jeff than meat. That’s why you’ll find pies like this one at Stella Barra Pizzeria that start with six cups of spinach and kale that cook down and crisp up like a magic trick once they hit the oven. Carnivores can get their fix too, with pizza toppings like sausage and bacon candied in bourbon. The space is handsomely outfitted in wood, brick and leather couches you’d expect to find in a speakeasy. What draws the eye, however, is a mounted Shinola bicycle that was gifted to the restaurant by the company. Jeff’s love of cycling can be seen elsewhere in the design.
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