Boxing Room To Serve Creole Fare From Justin Simoneaux

As we wait on Boxing Room, the new venture from Absinthe owner Bill Russell-Shapiro to open in the hollowed out Citizen Cake space on Grove and Gough; news comes over the EaterWire that 25-year-old Justin Simoneaux has been named executive chef for the project. Recall Simoneaux was formerly chef at Moss Room and before that, CoCo 500. And while the 2009 San Francisco Chronicle Rising Star prepared Mediterranean-inspired plates at his last gig, he'll be getting back to his Louisiana roots at Boxing Room -- a nice change of pace from the usually locally sourced, figs, beets, yada yada. Simoneaux was instrumental in Moss Room's admittance to the Chron's Top 100 Restaurant list in 2009 and this three-star Bauer review.

As of today, you'll find him working with Adam Keough at Absinthe until he moves across the street later this year to get cooking on the new Cajun-, Creole- and California-inspired deal. Interestingly, Zach Pacheco has also left the Moss Room, where he was GM, to take on the interim role of Assistant GM at Absinthe before becoming GM at Boxing Room.

EaterWire: Citizen Cake To Become Boxing Room [~ ESF ]
AcademyWire: Moss Room's Chef, Plus a Resy Update [~ ESF ]
Justin Simoneaux, Rising Star 2009 [~ ESF ]
The Bauer Top 100 of 2009 [~ ESF ]
Week in Reviews: Moss Room [~ ESF ]
Absinthe Has New Chef Adam Keogh, Formerly of Mina Restaurant Group [~ ESF ]

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