Last night marked the soft opening for Varga Bar, where Chef Evan Turney (pictured at right) is at the helm. If you don’t know, you better know, because he has run four — count ‘em, four — kitchens on Spruce Street. The young chef-star was kind enough to sit down with Collin Flatt to talk food, liquor, and pin-up girls.

Read the deetz after the jump.

When I walked into the space that once housed Azul Cantina, I couldn’t have been more surprised by the transformation. Gone are the overly blue walls, blue bar, and tight space, replaced by stark black and white paisley upholstery, and a muted two-tone cool grey interior. Adorning the ceiling were recreations of namesake Alberto Vargas‘ famous pin-up models, directly above a shiny new black bar that was built from the ground up, with a 20-tap system along the back wall. Nothing that once existed as Azul seems to have made the trip to Varga Bar. I admit, I was a fan of the blue cheese guacamole and the flautas, as well as the luscious drinks, but all of the inconsistencies that plagued the last incarnation of the 10th and Spruce outpost will no longer be an issue. Evan Turney and George Anni will see to that.

“The man is amazing,” Chef Turney remarks about his business partner, the aforementioned Anni. “Things go wrong in a restaurant at the worst times, and George does it all. He can fix anything, and get the right people to work for you. People respect him because he respects them. I couldn’t be happier working with him.” And the proof is in the proverbial pudding. Anni and Turney have worked together on 2 other very successful ventures in Valanni, and one of my personal favorite BYO’s in the city, Mercato.

“When I worked at Audrey Claire with my sister [sibling and also superstar Marcie Turney], it was kind of a thing. We were that team. And it was great when we started out, but once she went on to Twenty Manning, I kind of did my own thing, and started working with George. She’s a great chef, and really successful, but we would always have been attached to each other in people’s minds. Food is in my family. My grandfather owned a place called ‘The Spot’ back in Wisconsin. And my Uncle Burt owned a place right below it called Dirty Burt’s. It’s what we do.”

As we sat outside of the bustle on his opening night, just beyond the doors, we sipped top shelf tequila because we had to. It was that kind of night. By this point, Evan has been up for 6 or 7 days straight, and the nights he did sleep, he says, he stole maybe an hour or two. “I just wanted to get it open, you know? I came in this morning and there were palettes of furniture and growlers, and just random sh*t, and it kind of all hit me. But you push through it, because you came this far and worked this hard.” The hard work has obviously paid off, as the event went well into the early morning. No hiccups, smooth sailing, and drinks flowing. I even caught Anni and Evan sharing a couple of honest “we did it” moments that really cemented the idea of what a good partnership can be in this business.

So what about the menu? “American. I mean American. American ingredients, American concepts. American beer. It’s what we wanted to do. It’s time for it. I’ve done the Mediterranean, I have done the French. And man, I also love cooking Italian food [at Mercato]. But this is what I eat at home. I make wings confit-ed up so they fall off the bone. I like truffling my mac and cheese. And we have two styles of burgers. The regular sliders, and an old school growing-up type burger. When I was young, my mom would mash up the ground beef with the onions and all that crazy stuff and make one of those meatball type deals that would soak through the bread. That’s what our other burger is gonna be,” Turney says in full-on reminisce mode.

When I saw the concept of the SPAM dish originally, I really felt that the menu was pushing kitsch too much, but Chef explained the idea.

“That was definitely family dinner night stuff. We would have SPAM night at home. Dad would put cloves in the SPAM and work it up. So I figured I needed to bring SPAM night here. The one we’re doing is a little more refined, but the spirit is there. Tried it last night, and it tasted like candy. Candy,” Chef repeats with a huge smile.

As we finished a plate of truly spectacular ribs and our third tequila, a smock-wearing, hard-working-middle-of-my-shift Chef Konstantinos from Kanella popped over to congratulate Evan on his launch and wish him luck.

“He’s a great guy. I love just sitting outside his place and talking about anything and nothing with him,” Turney remarked about his new neighbor. He also quipped that they worked together in a previous kitchen, so they already have some history. But with the opening of Varga Bar tonight across from the already successful Kanella, it seems a bright future is assured for both men.

As we finished our discussion with a cold Flying Fish, Evan finally let go of a little stress. “Well, it’s done. And we’re ready. It’s gonna be a good time. Every time you open a new place, you go through the concern of whether people will get it or not, but I think they’re ready.” I’d say. After 3 successful restaurants and a quickly rising star, I am definitely ready for seconds of whatever he’s sending out. Because after all, I’ve always been a SPAM and potatoes kind of guy.

– Collin Flatt

Varga Bar, 10th & Spruce Sts. (215) MA7-5200