At Emerald Mallard, SC Bread Boy crafts French cuisine with maximalist attitude

“It’s simple,” chef Lance Ebert started, before describing a dish that no normal person would ever consider to be, in any way, simple. Like how to butterfly a whole rockfish and cook it over a yakitori grill, fanning it smoothly with Japanese oak to infuse the lean fish with flavorful smoke without overpowering it. Or the process of cutting nickel-sized coins of perfect summer cantaloupe, vacuum-sealing and freezing them with liquid nitrogen in order to break the fruit’s cellular walls and concentrate its flavor into tiny bites of the “best melon you’ve ever tasted.” You know, simple stuff. 

These components harmonized with a smoky tomato sauce vierge and bitter white frissée in a dish at Ebert’s new French bistro, Emerald Mallard, inside the former Humble Sea Tavern in Felton. Ebert has already been at the tavern since January as SC Bread Boy, his 4-year-old pop-up known for smash burgers and cannoli. But they gave the space a new name earlier this month to reflect Ebert’s focus on French cuisine. 

Ebert and SC Bread Boy moved into the space earlier this year in partnership with Humble Sea Brewing Company, which leases the building – the old Cremer House in Felton’s historic downtown – and manages the bar and front of house. The move breathed new life into the space, which had been shuttered for five months after Humble Sea suddenly closed the 1½-year-old restaurant in August 2023. And it finally gave Ebert a permanent home after years of pop-ups at restaurants and breweries.

Seven months later, Ebert is still offering the baseball glove-sized smash burgers ($18-$22) that earned him a devoted following, with lacey edges that flop seductively out of the bun. But access to his own kitchen and a growing staff – he now employs eight people – allowed Ebert to incorporate more and more French dishes, eventually creating the bistro that had been lurking in the back of his mind for years.

“It was always in my mind, wanting to do a bistro and French food. I love smash burgers and, for a while, I only had time to do smashies, but now we’re merging both with our own space,” he says. 

French cuisine can bring to mind delicate, restrained dishes, but the menu at Emerald Mallard is the opposite of demure. Ebert filtered the highly disciplined techniques through a maximalist lens, creating dishes that feel kinda punk rock. The crisp crust of croquettes ($20) breaks to reveal tender duck meat, and is finished with slices of mortadella, Parmesan and crushed pistachio, on tangy Dijonnaise and sweet, smooth parsnip puree. The classic steak frites ($38) includes a 12-ounce prime New York strip sourced from sustainable Stemple Creek Ranch, smothered in a shimmering sauce au poivre, the peppercorns releasing their spicy, floral aromas. 

Other dishes are more quietly elegant, like the caviar egg ($25), a poached egg quivering inside a porcelain egg cup, topped with a dark spoonful of caviar and French sea salt, dusted with powdered chives, and served with a buttery slice of brioche griddled in wagyu beef tallow. 

Caviar is one of the decadent touches that shows up frequently on Emerald Mallard’s menu – all of it sourced from Tsar Nicoulai, a sustainable American caviar company based in Northern California. It’s a luxury Ebert loves, and one he uses with egalitarian intention. “We do it because caviar is sexy. And I wanted to bring it to normal working-class folks like myself,” he says. “I want everyone to be able to come in and enjoy something that they never thought they would be able to get unless they’re at a three-Michelin [star] $800 tasting menu.”

If it sounds heavy on animal products, Ebert will be the first one to tell you – it is. While there are vegetarian and vegan dishes, he’d rather stay true to his own culinary style and ethos rather than cater specifically to certain dietary preferences. “There are vegetarian and vegan dishes but I don’t create the dish thinking of specific people’s eating restrictions,” he says. “The dishes are dictated by what our farmers and fisheries and other vendors are doing.” Some of the items on the menu can be modified, too, he says.

That mentality of using what’s available seasonally and making use of every part of the animal is not just sustainable; it’s also very French. As a result, country fare like terrines, pates and liver mousses are a frequent addition to Emerald Mallard’s menu. Ebert hopes to eventually sell those creations, along with house-fermented pickles and other jarred foods, to-go at through its bakery, now open on Sunday mornings with bread crafted by head baker Isabella Cantek, and cannolis. 

“There is some pregame to know what we’re going to put on the menu the week prior, but the fishermen and farmers are the ones that really write our menu,” says Ebert. “They come in and say, ‘This is what we’ve got.’ And I’m like, great, time to cook.”

6256 Highway 9, Felton; emeraldmallard.com. 

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