Tony Messina, who’s lived in sunny Los Angeles for the past few years, did not appreciate the snow that was falling when he landed in Boston ahead of the holidays. But the chef, who originally hails from East Boston and was named Best Chef: Northeast by the James Beard Foundation during his tenure at Boston’s illustrious Uni, was nevertheless thrilled to be back in his hometown in a new role: Consulting chef and partner at the neighborhood’s Cunard Tavern.
“This East Boston is a very different East Boston than I grew up with, and I think it’s all changing for the better,” says Messina, who signed on with restaurateur Philip Frattaroli of Filmark Hospitality to reimagine the menu at the group’s East Boston gastropub.
After weeks of long-distance menu development, hiring a local chef de cuisine and engaging in some fast-and-furious training around the holidays, 20 new dishes from Messina are now on the menu at Cunard Tavern. There’s more to come, including a completely revamped brunch menu later this winter.
The partners’ shared Italian American heritage colors many new dishes on the current menu (see below), such as grilled broccolini with an ingenious pepperoni vinaigrette, smoked mozzarella and basil; fried provolone with arrabbiata sauce; and "Homage to Jeveli’s Chicken Parm," a large plate inspired by Eastie’s bygone original red sauce eatery.
But Messina and chef de cuisine Nathan Wester are also taking cues from around the world to offer eclectic dishes meant for sharing. “I think the best way to describe it is more of a fun gastropub than anything else,” Messina says. In his first kitchen-leadership role, Wester highlights Cunard Tavern's new lobster poutine, doused in a a Singapore-style black pepper gravy; as well as the grilled street corn and the winter citrus salad blanketed in fragrant, Thai-style herbs.
Wester briefly overlapped with Messina at Uni and has been seeking mentorship from the toque ever since, he says, even flying out to L.A. and down to Texas to do pop-ups with Messina. Wester has also worked at Aquitaine, Menton and Mooncusser, and cites the latter's chef Carl Dooley as another culinary adviser. “I’ve been working in and around Boston just learning everything I can from the best chefs I can possibly find,” Wester says, adding, “I’m very excited to be taking the reins of this place with two great mentors” in Messina and Frattaroli.
The opportunity to be part of something in a place that “will always be home” is exciting to Messina, as well. He is fully rooted in L.A. now with his wife, who works in the television industry, and their young daughter; including opening new concepts there. One project in the works is “a sports-backboned restaurant” called The Pawn Shop, with a newly formed entity called the Big 3 Restaurant Group. (If that sounds Boston-coded, that’s because it is. “As a matter of fact, both my business partners are also from Massachusetts,” Messina says.)
But despite the distance, the chef wants his daughter to grow up feeling connected with Boston—and having a home-away-from-home at Cunard Tavern is just the ticket. “I love what Phil’s doing with this building,” says Messina, describing the new-build in Jeffries Point that houses the restaurant as well as its roof deck bar, residences and The Point Barre and Yoga studio. It’s built on the site of a one-story woodworking warehouse that was owned by Frattaroli’s grandfather. “It’s a place I grew up with,” Messina says. “My mother has Phil’s grandparents’ furniture in the house. It’s a very strange six-degrees-of-separation I’m living in real time.”
Located just a block from Eastie's Piers Park and its postcard view of Boston Harbor and the city skyline, “I’d love to be able to activate it a little bit more,” Messina says, “and make East Boston more of a focal point in the city.” So, get excited for roof deck season, he's saying.
In the meantime, check out Messina's new menu, now on at Cunard Tavern.
