“There is nowhere to hide with pasta. It is the most honest type of cuisine. It’s three simple ingredients. There is honesty in its simplicity.” – Chef Rodney Einhorn
Article & photography by Fitz
Rodney Einhorn, Executive Chef and Owner of Terrapin in Virginia Beach, runs a quiet kitchen. Does that sound strange? Has reality food television programmed your brain into thinking high drama moments, shouting matches, and expletives are the way kitchens are supposed to operate? Well, next time you’re near the oceanfront, stop in and check it out for yourself. Einhorn and crew are on display seven days a week in Terrapin’s open air kitchen, quietly making some of the best food in Virginia Beach. As Einhorn explained it to me, “I hate being the loud angry guy. That’s not who I am. When we are at our best, we are in sync. It’s about eye contact in our kitchen, less about shouting, or even about talking sometimes.”
STARTING AT 11AM, CHEF/OWNER RODNEY EINHORN BEGINS ROLLING OUT PASTA TO BE PAIRED WITH EXPERTLY SOURCED INGREDIENTS AT TERRAPIN.
Both for his reserved demeanor and his grasp of technique, Einhorn, over the years, has impressed and influenced several Hampton Roads based chefs. Maybe, most notably, two younger chefs who are in the process of pushing our food scene in a more progressive direction, Ian Hock (Esoteric, Virginia Beach) and Kevin Ordonez (Alkaline, Norfolk), have spoken to us glowingly about Einhorn’s technical prowess. In part, Einhorn’s technique garners so much respect due to his insistence on paying such dogged attention to detail and seeing missteps as an opportunity to learn. “It’s about attention to detail in my kitchen and I can be a control freak”, he told me. “It sucks to catch mistakes and have to redo dishes but that’s what you have to do. It’s about refining your technique and always learning more. If you do fuck up, you can learn from it.”
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For some time now, while Terrapin has been a major player in shaping food for the better in Virginia Beach, Einhorn has been most concerned with mastering pasta making. He holds himself to a lofty standard when it comes to crafting pasta. It’s a standard rooted in his respect and admiration for that cuisine. As Einhorn explained, “Five years ago, if you had asked me if I knew how to make pasta I’d have said yes, but really I didn’t. Maybe a year ago, I started to know how. I am constantly learning. There is nowhere to hide with pasta. It is the most honest type of cuisine. It’s three simple ingredients. There is honesty in its simplicity.”
THERE MAY NOT BE ANYONE DOING MORE PASTA FROM SCRATCH AT A SINGLE RESTAURANT IN HAMPTON ROADS THAN EINHORN AT TERRAPIN. IF BY CHANCE THERE IS, ONE THING IS FOR SURE: YOU WOULD BE HARD PRESSED TO FIND SOMEONE DOING IT BETTER.
It may have been inevitable that Einhorn would feature pasta so prominently at Terrapin. As he put it, “I cut my culinary teeth on pasta.” The Culinary Institute of America graduate did so by starting his career under Angelo Serpe at Pasta e Pani before going on to advance his skill set, first at Le Cirque in 2000 and then spending some formative years at The 39 Degree Lounge in The Sky Hotel in Aspen Colorado. From talking with Einhorn, his time out of state learning techniques and broadening his approach to food seems to have been more substantial in terms of shaping him into the adept chef he is today. However, it seems more than a bit plausible that had he not initially worked under Serpe, a Naples born chef making his restaurants pasta in-house from scratch, Einhorn’s deep admiration and interest in pasta may not have come to be as significant.
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Creative, Fresh, Seasonal! For More on Eat An American Bistro visit eatbistro.net
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These days, when Einhorn comes into Terrapin at 11am to begin making pasta, he sees it as being in his, “[…] happy place,” he told me. He’s thinking about how the noodle will hold the sauce as he begins working the pasta with his hands. He’s contemplating the perfect “mouth feel” for the noodle while flour glides from his fingers down to the table. As he begins to shape the pasta with his index finger, he’s considering rest times (at least a minimum of 18 hours at Terrapin) for the pasta so the, “[…] protein structures can bloom.” Einhorn’s passion for pasta has become so considerable in fact that if he could, he told me he would, “[…] only do pasta at Terrapin.” With a smile, however, he quickly let me know he doesn’t have a million dollars so that wouldn’t be in the immediate future.
CHEF/OWNER OF TERRAPIN RODNEY EINHORN
There may not be anyone doing more pasta at a single restaurant in Hampton Roads than Einhorn at Terrapin. If by chance there is, one thing is for sure: you would be hard pressed to find someone doing it better. Einhorn at Terrapin, since the mid 2000s, has helped define the standard for what’s possible for food locally. He’s done so by combining great technique with a passion for true local sourcing and a love for scratch cooking. Einhorn’s pasta program at Terrapin however may just be his finest single contribution to our food scene. It’s one of the best examples of scratch cooking available in Hampton Roads today.
For more on Rodney Einhorn and Terrapin visit them online HERE
Terrapin is located at 3102 Holly Road Virginia Beach, VA 23451
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