Foodie Chap With Chef Mike O'Brien of 'The Monk's Kettle' In San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) - Chef Mike O'Brien is the executive chef at The Monk's Kettle and oversees all culinary aspects of the restaurant where good food and good brews make happy table mates.
He was most recently the opening chef at Mikkeller Bar where he also founded the Mikkeller Sausage Company. He had previously worked at Perdition Smokehouse, and The Trappist locally in the SF Bay Area. He moved here from Washington, D.C., where he had worked at Cityzen at the Mandarin Oriental, and Birch and Barley and Churchkey after graduating from Johnson and Wales.
Chef O'Brien will continue to evolve the menu at Monk's Kettle, although he will maintain a similar style and menu format as well as dedication to featuring dishes that work well with craft beer.
Chef Mike will be serving up The Monk's Kettle offerings at Outside Lands - August 5th, 6th & 7th. On the Outside Lands menu their famous cheese pretzels & Bratwurst in a bun. They expect to serve more than a few thousand customers every day - that's a ton of sausage and even more pretzels.
I met with Chef at The Monk's Kettle recently for our Foodie Chap chat. He made Penn Cove Mussels served with Alagash White Beer - a perfect pairing for a delish dish. The recipe is below.
See you at Outside Lands at the The Monk's Kettle spot in Beer Lands and if music is your jam enjoy these headliners at the three day food-beer -wine & music festival:
- Friday: LCD Soundsystem
- Saturday: Radiohead
- Sunday: Lionel Ritchie
Cheers, Liam!
- 1 pound Penn Cove Mussels
- 1 tablespoon minced shallot
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 pinch red pepper flake
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 6 ounces Belgian Style Wit Beer
- 2 ounces Chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon basil chiffonade
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions:
- First, make sure your mussels are clean and the "beards" have been removed.
- Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium high heat, add shallots, garlic and red pepper flake to the pan while the oil is heating up. Once the oil is hot add the cleaned mussels and salt, toss the mussels in the oil and place back on the heat. Add the beer and stock, and bring to a boil. Cover the pan and allow the mussels to steam for a few minutes. The mussels are cooked once the shell is wide open. If any do not open, discard them. Finish with the basil and butter.
Serve with some crusty bread, a side of fries and a Belgian beer, of course.
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