Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/648009
W I N T E R / S P R I N G 2 0 1 6 | 8 5 "If you've ever lived here, you know you never want to leave," says Collins, whose resumé includes six years at Chez Panisse with Alice Waters and Gilbert Pilgram (now co-owner of Zuni Café), time on the line with Clark Staube at industry favorite eatery Full of Life Flatbread in Los Alamos, and a stint as Executive Chef for Lido in Shell Beach. Midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles on California's picturesque Central Coast, the town of Arroyo Grande was known, until recently, for ranch- ing and good surf, but not so much for cuisine. Collins changed all that when he returned to convert a long-forgotten commercial building on its main thoroughfare into Ember, a neighborhood bistro with serious street cred that has shifted the town's culinary landscape since opening in 2013. Heartfelt, rustic, and personal, Ember boasts a loyal clientele and a routine waiting list by 5 p.m. In recent months, dishes have ranged from Spanish-style octopus with romesco sauce, Padrón peppers and lemon aïoli, to grilled ribeye stacked on roasted potatoes and tangy garlic confit under a blanket of warm avocado chimichurri. "I always wanted a restaurant based on communality, not just seasonality," Collins says. To that end, Ember features an open kitchen so he can chat with guests and watch over the dining room. The staff is hand-selected by Collins, who has turned over just two cooks and one server in two years. Chef Brian Collins could have opened a restaurant in any major California city. Instead, he chose his Central Coast hometown of Arroyo Grande, population 18,000. The warm, open layout of Ember restaurant. Chef Brian Collins chatting with friends and guests from the kitchen. "I always wanted a restaurant based on communality, not just seasonality."