Friday, March 12, 7:00 pm
Members $90, guests $115

Historians among us may remember 1913 as the year the Sixteenth Amendment was added to the Constitution, giving us a national income tax. But on the foodie dateline, there was a far more momentous development: it was in 1913 that Jack Rosenstein opened Jack’s Oyster House. Ever since, the restaurant has been a gathering place for politicos, celebrities, and residents who appreciate its unrivaled ambiance and service. Years ago, the eatery was taken over by Jack’s grandson, Brad Rosenstein, who went about bringing the restaurant, now a local landmark, into the 21st century. When you first walk in, you may not notice the changes; in fact, much about the place remains delightfully the same as it ever was, from the tuxedoed waiters to the Albany street scenes that adorn the walls. But one bite of chef Dale Miller’s food and there will be no mistaking that this isn’t your grandfather’s Jack’s.

“What has changed—and changed for the better—is the food,” Doug de Lisle wrote in The Record. Taking over the kitchen at Jack’s must have been a daunting task. How to change the menu at a 90-year-old dining institution without alienating the regular clientele? Not only did Miller, one of only 60 Certified Master Chefs in the country, manage to please the restaurant’s existing customers, but he attracted a whole new set of diners as well. As William M. Dowd of the Times Union wrote in his four-star review, “Miller has successfully walked the fine line between maintaining what has proved successful for generations and responding to modern tastes.”

It is not a surprise that a chef who started his own baking and catering business at the age of 12, got his first job in a restaurant kitchen by 15, opened his first restaurant by age 26, and now has a fistful of honors, knows how to assure success. After graduating with high honors from the CIA, he held executive sous-chef and chef positions at The Raindancer, a high-volume steakhouse in Amsterdam, New York, the Albany Marriott; and Tavern on the Square in Schenectady before opening Stone Ends Restaurant in Albany, where he was owner and chef. He joined Jack’s Oyster House as executive chef and managing partner in 1997, and he cooks superlative American food with international touches. He’s earned rave reviews. “Miller has turned the good food of Jack’s into memorable food,” de Lisle wrote.

We know that Miller will feel right at home at the Beard House. After all, legendary venues are his specialty.