VERO BEACH — One of the more stylish nightspots to open in downtown Vero in years debuted last weekend with a menu as meat-forward as its name: Swine & Co. Kitchen and Bar.
What was once the Tuscan-themed exterior of Avanzare, at the southern end of the 14th Avenue arts district, is now an industrial-chic slate gray. Inside, in two rooms, long wood tables seat from 6 to 14, with bare-bulb chandeliers for lighting.
Evocative of farm-to-table but free of any new-food taboos, the menu of Swine & Co. is in the hands of chef Mike VanBuskirk, former chef of Cobalt at the Vero Beach Hotel and Spa, and one-time sous-chef in charge of the kitchen at the Orchid Island Golf Club.
A graduate of Indian River State College Culinary Institute, VanBuskirk worked under Orchid’s executive chef Chris Sozio, an 18-year veteran of John’s Island Club and graduate of Culinary Institute of America.
VanBuskirk came to the attention of husband-and-wife Nick and Angela Novak and their longtime friend Johnny Scharr as they sought a fine-dining chef for their new 14th Avenue space.
It’s a space that would make a professional restaurant design firm proud. After the trio got the keys to the building last Valentine’s Day, they raised the low ceiling with plywood sheets painted black, laid distressed wood planks as siding behind the bar and put in a patinaed concrete floor.
Seamless black chalkboards that cover much of the wall space have been put to excellent use by the calligraphy and imagery of Scharr, whose artistic talents were clearly underutilized at Riverside Café, where he tended bar for many years, and the old Black Pearl restaurant, where he was front-of-house manager.
Under “Shareables” and “Supper,” the farmhand-friendly fare includes hanger steak, smoked brisket and Kansas City-style “burnt ends,” the blackened snippets from the narrow end of the brisket.
“Handhelds” include short rib sliders, a pork stack sandwich with green tomato, and the “company” burger: a mix of pork and brisket in the patty, topped with bacon jam and barbecue sauce. Sides are mostly southern-themed: succotash, collard greens, and dumpling mac and cheese. But there are salads, including one with quinoa, and meatless offerings including ratatouille, shrimp and grits, and fried catfish on a cornbread and cream puree – a favorite at the soft opening.
That all gets cooked up in a closed-off kitchen in the back, outfitted with a 10-burner stove and some smokers for the barbecue meats.
The logo, a simple outline of a pig with lettering beneath, was designed by Angela Novak.
The name, which appears in foot-high letters across the bar room, is a tongue-in-jowl reference to the Novaks’ other establishment, Filthy’s Fine Cocktails and Beer.
That bar, popular with a younger crowd, features live music and creative cocktails, including some they bottle on premises.
Swine & Co. won’t have live music but the sound track will skew toward blues and indie rock – “geared for any age group,” the owners say.
Wines by the glass come in three categories: tasty, interesting and delicious, priced accordingly ($6, $9, $12). By the bottle, wines start at $22 and go up to $65.
Tending bar at Swine is Jacob Turner, son of well-known retired firefighter Toby Turner. Jacob is a three-year veteran of Filthy’s. “He just has a clear vision on cocktails,” says Angela Novak, who developed a drinks menu with Jacob that includes advanced mixology tools like a centrifuge and liquid nitrogen.
“We use the centrifuge to separate liquors that are poured into a chilled glass,” explains Novak, who saw the technique on a visit to craft cocktail bar Booker and Dax in New York’s East Village.
The Novaks, parents of an 8-month-old boy, Sawyer, both moved to Vero at age 3; they began dating in high school and married in 2013. “We met at Big Apple Pizza out on SR 60,” says Angela. “Nick was a delivery driver and I was a server.”
The restaurant is open seven days a week from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.