Restaurant 1833 relaunches with all new Jason Franey menu, cocktails and wine starting Monday.

For years Jason Franey has laser-focused in on the kind of plates and presentation that involve tweezers and lots of negative space.

Now he's been unleashed to bring that same sophistication and execution to just about anything he wants, from ribs to Buffalo-style hot sauce.

Which means this is going to be fun. 

Tons of other updates and upgrades are happening as Restaurant 1833 (643-1833), aka 1833 2.0, readies for its relaunch after a week closed.

Its rebirth happens Monday, March 23.

Tables have been redone. Fresh paint splashed all over the place. The ample patio has been revisioned with more plants (and more food service). New uniforms have arrived. Sexy new plates and bowls have the entire team enraptured.

More importantly, pastry visionary Ben Spungin is back full-time from time spent launching and guiding Rose.Rabbit.Lie for parent company Coastal Luxury Management in Las Vegas. New wine point man Bernabe Luna is well on his way to assembling a list that impresses with its finds and its price points. And GM-cocktail whiz Kyle Beauregard has a revamped spirits program prepared to pounce.

But it's Franey's game that will prove most compelling.

To wit, check out what he's doing with baby back lamb ribs.

He braises them with a combination of serrano peppers, fish sauce, shallots and more and gives them a crust of coriander and guajillo pepper—plus onion and garlic which have been caramelized and dehydrated to the point where they're dry but still retain a little chew. After the ribs roast, they receive a glaze from a more intense version of the braise and the bones are removed.

They're then wrapped in French puffy dough called feuille de brick and fried in clarified butter and served with a cousin sauce of the glaze.

Like an egg roll only not at all. And, like, daym. 

Franey has also developed some Buffalo-style sweetbreads in a complex symphony of a smoked mango sauce lifted by arbol chile, wasabi, worcester, soy, garlic, onions and black pepper, among other ingredients.

He's crafted a burger with two super thin 3-ounce patties given a crust and rare interior by a sear in beef fat on the plancha in the evolving kitchen, plus a milk-and-honey bun done on the premises daily that's brushed with brown butter and toasted—with steak fries made from potatoes baked then fried and dusted with dehydrated sauerkraut.

The point is the imagination and precision remain, just the canvas for masterpieces is now much bigger, and includes comfort food.

"I can be super creative with approachable stuff," says Franey, a veteran of Canlis in Seattle and Eleven Madison Park in New York. "Ten years ago I wouldn't have wanted to do a burger."

The biggest head-turners on the menu, though, are a whole other animal.

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“With these changes Restaurant 1833 will be like a brand new restaurant all together," says co-owner David Bernahl.

But in so doing, they're going back to the past, and specifically Gallatin's, the storied restaurant that famously occupied the place for decades. 

As a tribute to Gallatin’s restaurant, Franey will offer a Gallatin Throwback menu offering "whole beast" like a whole suckling pig, whole roasted king salmon and wood-fired baby goat.

The menu runs $410 for parties of six or more and must be pre-ordered a week in advance.

“I’m having so much fun with this menu and love being able to cook the food I’ve been trained to do,” says Franey. “It’s such a pleasure to work with the local ingredients here in Monterey and get creative with the things I genuinely like to eat.”

While Franey accidentally steps in wet paint and everyone from gardeners to contractors swarms 1833 in advance of tonight's friends-and-family soft opening, their PR peeps sent out some more information on what's to come. 

Here's a quick peek, with more on what Spungin, De Luna and Beauregard are up to:

Also in the kitchen at 1833, Corporate Pastry Chef Ben Spungin has been crafting a new pastry menu rounding out Chef Franey’s cuisine. Spungin brings a local focus with a playful punch to desserts such as a Butterscotch Trifle with butterscotch pudding, banana rum soaked vanilla cake, almonds, whipped cream and meringue; and a “Cookie Jar” presentation offering a variety of treats, sweets, and cookies.

Complementing the new menu, new Wine Director Bernabe De Luna Lopez has created a new wine list that emphasizes hard-to-find esoteric wines offering a mix of affordable varieties along with the high-end gems expected from the 1833 cellar. With experience in organizing award-winning wine events such as the renowned Masters of Food & Wine in Carmel, Lopez was also the opening wine director at RN74 in San Francisco. At 1833 he will pay homage to the pioneers in Monterey and Santa Cruz mountains highlighting the birth of great wines produced in the early 60s, 70s and 80s featuring small verticals of Pisoni, Lucia, and Chalone, among others, while rotating and supporting some of the many newcomers. 

Known for creating innovative and award-winning cocktails since its inception, 1833 will introduce a revamped cocktail menu to channel the 1950s and 60s Gallatin era. As a collaborative effort, 1833’s bar team has created a new spring cocktail list featuring bright, vibrant flavors of the season to balance with Chef Franey’s cuisine. The bar will feature fernet, amaro, bitters and barrel aged cocktails all made in house. Cocktail highlights include a No Whey made with a whey byproduct from Chef Franey’s housemade ricotta, balanced with cognac, lemon and simple syrup to create a sweet, salty and nutty cocktail; and the Iberville Street Sazarac made with Sazarac rye, Lillet Blanc, grapefruit, Peychaud bitters and an Absinthe rinse.

Restaurant 1833 will continue their famous tableside service with a martini cart focused on perfecting the art of the cocktail. The team has created a well thought-out array of high-quality ingredients such as house pickled onions for the perfect Gibson; olives stuffed with locally made blue cheese; and a range of other olive varieties that pair together with select vodka and gin profiles for the ultimate craft martini. The hand selected small batch spirits featured include St. George All Purpose Vodka, Venus 01 Gin from Santa Cruz, and Aviation Gin from Portland.