I was in the neighborhood the other day, so I stuck my head in over at Hartnell to see how things are coming together at Restaurant 1833 in the old Stokes Adobe.Restaurants chief Gary Obligacion was his usual ebullience despite what he described as a steady diet of “curveballs” in getting the place ready.
“Every time we do anything,” he grinned, “we find something that we have to replace.”
It was a surreal thing seeing its gradual reinvention in action—like seeing Grandma get a massive makeover. The outside’s no longer pink, the piles of cement in the driveway testify to how much has been excavated from the kitchen's unexpected trenches. The kitchen is another impressive animal already, with the oven moving into the back, a couple of walls coming down to open up communication and work space, and smoothed floors. Obligacion adds that Chef Tim Mosblech has consulted constantly.
“The kitchen’s built for speed,” Obligacion says.
Nearby, the bar is coming together beautifully. Though the original lift-off date has come and gone, and despite the fact that CLM co-owners Rob Weakley and David Bernahl would like “to see it open yesterday,” from the looks of it, the explosive opening week is still weeks away.
Nibble more things 1833 by checking out a recent post on the opening.
