Chef Regis Jansen who has been the chef at REX 1516 since it opened earlier this year is stepping down due to medical reasons. Jansen has been battling Cystic Fibrosis and is leaving his position to focus on his health.
Jansen says he is “incredibly grateful for the opportunity and support owners Jill Weber and Evan Malone have given me. Being part of the REX 1516 launch has been a true highlight in my culinary career.”
Jansen’s former line cook at 1601 and sous chef at REX 1516, Justin Swain will take over in the kitchen.
Chef Regis Jansen is rolling out his new menu at Rex 1516 tonight. Check out the Scotch duck eggs, beignets stuffed with chaurice and shrimp, topped with jalapeno jelly. Then go with the double cut pork chop with rosemary grits as an entree. Also check out some of the cocktails which have also been updated for fall.
Trey Popp enjoys the Southern cooking of chef Regis Jansen at Rex 1516, especially during the brunch hours.
Rex is best at brunch. The Monte Cristo sandwich is a small miracle: Swiss and pepperjack melting into smoked ham and fig preserves between lofty slices of brioche, the whole caboodle having been battered and deep-fried. And when I popped in one weekday for a profound bowl of lunchtime pulled-duck jambalaya, I found myself ordering an even more surprising soul-soother. Remember the $3 pint? It’s back! And as PBC’s Newbold IPA, no less.
Okay, so there have been a couple of delays. But we now have it on excellent authority that Rex 1516 will be opening for dinner service at 5pm tonight.
So with that in mind, here’s a quick look at the space, the kitchen, the crew hard at work and some of the food.
Of special note: That plate of shrimp and grits? One of the best I’ve had in quite some time. Even tasting it cold, after we were done shooting all the pretty, pretty pictures, they were still some of the best grits I’ve had in quite some time. And do you know why? Because chef Regis Jansen (who you can see in the video assembling said plate) comes to Philly by way of Alabama and knows his way around a bowl of grits. And that’s the thing with grits: You can’t cook them well if you’ve never tasted them prepared well–something Jansen knows in his bones.
His are phenomenal. Something to keep in mind if you decide to drop in at Rex tonight.
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Chef Regis Jansen who has been the chef at REX 1516 since it opened earlier this year is stepping down due to medical reasons. Jansen has been battling Cystic Fibrosis and is leaving his position to focus on his health.
