Meet the Chef/Owners: Hogfish Bar and Grill

A hogfish is a type of fish typically found off the coast of Florida with a long pig-like snout that can grow to three feet long and live for up to eleven years. Despite being a die-hard seafood lover and numerous trips to Florida, I had never heard of the fish until I drove down Lancaster Avenue and saw the signage for a new restaurant opening up (I actually thought the fish was made up). After sitting down with the triumvirate behind , I walked away with a new found appreciation for the fish and the men who are bringing it to the Main Line.

Co-owners Mike Scartozzi and Ed O'Neill (of O'Neill's Auto Body not the current star of Modern Family) have been friends for so long that they literally can't remember how they met and regularly finish each other's sentences. Scartozzi and O'Neill attended Upper Merion High School and Radnor High, respectively and have both owned and operated businesses along the Main Line for decades. While Scartozzi has over 25 years in the restaurant business (he is the past president of the Pennsylvania Restaurant Association), O'Neill is a relative newcomer to the hospitality industry but has proved to be a quick-study in all aspects of food and wine.

The goal in opening Hogfish Bar and Grill was to bring the Floridian experience to the Main Line. The owners wanted their guests to enjoy the delicious fish and produce found in Florida (the two are frequent visitors to the Sunshine State). O'Neill introduced hogfish to Scartozzi when the two were on a trip to Florida. The vendors that the restaurant uses ship fish directly two to three times per week ensuring that the fish is always fresh and never frozen. Not surprisingly, hogfish is the most popular fish on the menu with the kitchen preparing close to 300 pounds of hogfish in a given week. The tropical fruits that appear throughout the menu are also seasonal produce from Florida.

The two men have been successful in previous ventures because they inherently understand that high quality service and commitment to their customers is the most important thing. They stress that their "elegant but casual" restaurant offers something for everyone. While the menu is 95% fish, there are also alternate proteins, soups of the day and even a burger.

Bob Donovan is the man behind the menu at Hogfish. He participated in an extensive apprenticeship program at a hotel in Washington DC nearly 30 years ago and has been cooking professionally ever since. This Manhattan native spent years working under the top chefs in New York. He has cooked at legendary restaurants including La Cote Basque and Le Cirque. He is a chef classically trained in French technique who has spawned his own style of lighter, more heart healthy cuisine. He prefers bright fruit relishes and salsas to the heavy artery clogging French sauces he made for years. He loves to grill and steam his fish rather than fry it and when asked what his favorite thing to cook is, he replied "fish and soups..."

Donovan grew up cooking with his mother and was "making pot roast by the time I was 13". He was working in restaurants before he could legally drive and his time in New York City was not for the faint of heart. His previous bosses used to "cut off my chef coat buttons" and unleash all sorts of physical and verbal abuse. They made "Gordon Ramsey look like a pussycat". 

Donovan and Scartozzi met while Donovan was working at General Warren Inne years ago. The two stayed in touch and Donovan was brought in to helm the kitchen. While the chef has cooked for such notable stars as Sylvester Stallone, Robert DeNiro, Dolly Parton and Tom Jones, he strives to bring the best quality food he can to everyone who steps into his restaurant.

Hogfish Bar and Grill opened in early July but has already garnered a small following with some people coming for multiple meals in a single week. All three men love food and view it "as an adventure". They radiate a warmth and sense of welcoming that is impossible to fake and I truly enjoyed speaking with them. Stop in for lunch or dinner and be sure to keep an eye out for the house rules: relax. relax. relax. It's nice to have a seafood oasis where the food is good, the people are friendly and the wine list affordable (most bottles are 40 dollars and below).

Click here for the Hogfish Bar and Grill website.

Click here for the lunch menu, click here for the dinner menu.