(Photos courtesy of One Stop Writing Shop)
If you’re getting that déjà-vu feeling when you look at most restaurant menus, Rosemary and Fox, the new restaurant that replaced Jackalope, will come as a welcome surprise. Executive chef and new owner Josh Podwills, who started working as the chef at Jackalope at the start of 2025, has added an unexpected touch to every dish on his seasonal menu. He bills his fare as modern French-American, but the details give his food a distinctly personal and unanticipated flair.
Take his baked brie with roasted citrus. Not your typical combination. The triple-cream brie is topped with a cognac-forward orange and cranberry compote, pistachio crumble, tiny sprigs of fresh thyme that provide an herbal note, and the faintest flavor I couldn’t put my finger on, but I would swear was a dusting of fennel pollen. Served on grilled crostini with sea salt honey that provides a lingering final note, 
the appetizer was intriguingly addictive in terms of both taste and texture.
Next came the scallops appetizer. If you’re a fan, don’t ever miss Chef Podwils’ renditions — he’s a master. This silky version featured a delicate back note of Applewood smoke and a textbook golden-brown sear. It was served with a sweet roasted corn sauce, an unexpected fire-roasted poblano coulis, and red pepper oil that provided a lingering hint of heat at the back of the throat. It’s just a downright sexy dish.
My dining companion and I split a spinach salad with supremed orange segments. Though I would have preferred a mustardy lemon vinaigrette to the balsamic vinaigrette, which leaned a bit too sweet for me, shaved red onions provided a welcome sharp tang, toasted walnuts hit the texture note, and I loved the creamy chèvre, which is just better than feta.
Next came the entrées.
The beautifully roasted, moist quail was offset by a sausage, blueberry, and goat-cheese stuffing, and served atop a pool of sweet potato purée. Tangy and savory met sweet and fruity, complemented by garlicky sauteed spinach.
Then there was the Applewood-smoked Pendleton Ranch filet mignon topped with roasted bone marrow compound butter and caviar. Say what?! Who knew that caviar is the perfect smoked steak topper? Speaking of smoke, all too often, rather than adding intrigue and nuance, it becomes the dominant flavor. Not here. Rich, butter-forward wild mushroom risotto completed this study in decadence.
We tried two desserts.
I have to admit that the cherry tart didn’t live up to its name or my expectations. The puff pastry crust
tasted like under-baked shortbread. While the salt in the crust countered the sweet, eggy vanilla custard, there just weren’t enough dark, fresh cherry halves to deliver on the promise of a fruit tart.
The brownie, however, was a positive wow. Start with an oozy, warm, dark chocolate brownie. Add salted caramel ice cream and candied hazelnuts. So far, so great. But Chef Podwils takes this ridiculously good dessert to a whole new level by adding a drizzle of fresh blackberry coulis. I had assumed that salted caramel and blackberries wouldn’t be the best of friends. I was wrong. That kind of unexpected pairing is clearly Chef Podwils’ secret power.