After spending almost two decades running kitchens, mostly in New York City, where he was born and bred, chef Steve Zobel in April 2011 packed up the family and relocated to South Florida for better weather and a change of pace. After less than a year on Fort Lauderdale Beach at the Atlantic Resort & Spa's East End Brasserie, he was, in his own words, "miserable." He said he had "done the corporate-hotel thing for a really long time," mainly at Triomphe, a longstanding French restaurant in New York's Theater District. Zobel also worked in New York at Sign of the Dove and Contrapunto, in addition to stints in New Orleans and Martha's Vineyard. East End Brasserie seemed to be his boiling point. As an August New Times review revealed, cold, hard economics were forcing the brasserie to compromise its upscale menu by adding mass-appeal items like chicken wings and happy-hour specials. Read the full review on
d.b.a/cafe.
