Chef Steven Musolf, whose sultana-studded celery-root soup we found paradisiacal at the Downtown-Berkeley sports bar Meridian, just sent us an email with the sad news that he’s left his post:
“The restaurant is suffering from the current economy and the owner has decided to change the concept to a lower-end college sports bar. I was asked to stay but declined due to the conflicting vision of where the restaurant should go conceptually. Chicken wings and nachos just aren’t my idea of high-end food. I really don’t want my name attached to the restaurant any longer.”
“By the way,” he adds, “they haven’t changed the whole menu (which seems a little disrespectful).”Â