Once Kirkland Tap is running to his satisfaction, Mr. Maws hopes to return to spending most of his time at Craigie. But it will no doubt be different, and his trepidation over not knowing exactly how different is obvious. "You definitely feel like you're a little further away from your original love, the original motivation, the original passion that got you into this in the first place."He vows to loosen his grip on the restaurant's menu enough for Mr. Dooley to establish a voice of his own, raising the prospect that Mr. Maws could one day cook a dish created by someone else in his own restaurant's kitchen. "Some of the responsibilities I'm going to share," Mr. Maws said, "and I'm O.K. with that."But O.K. may not be the same thing as "at peace."
Kirkland Tap is in Somerville, a short walk to Harvard Yard and more than a mile from Craigie. On a Sunday night two weeks after its opening, the restaurant looked with its bar and communal tables filled and the rock music at full blare like a successful distillation of the influences that inspired it. The mismatched flea market stools and merely functional dinnerware nodded to the London gastro pubs Mr. Maws fell for in his younger years. So did lapel-grabbing dishes like the melting swordfish chops and the char-blackened salmon head plated with radishes, lime wedges and arugula, both echoes of more elaborate Craigie preparations.And Mr. Maws proclaimed himself unperturbed by the sight of customers who came only to drink at the bar.
"I wanted to create a place where people would come to hang," he said. "The food is good, but it's not the only thing."Still, the chef's mood soured as a buttermilk panna cotta arrived at a table in front of him. He seized it angrily and marched it back to the kitchen, where he presented it to Mr. Scampoli with a clenched jaw."It wasn't right," Mr. Maws said later. "I couldn't let that one go. But I know, in the future, I'll have to." Investigators said the massive apartment fire in southeast Charlotte Tuesday was caused by a pan that overheated and ignited grease.Nearly 30 people lost their homes at Ashley Place apartments and fire officials said the damage will likely cost $250,000 to fix.