Tuesday night, November 9, just shy of 6:30 p.m., Kitchenbar looks like it’s in the weeds. The place opens for business in minutes, but servers are still scurrying about to drop flatware on tables, tie aprons and huddle up for a final confab before service. Soon enough, the groups of people waiting in the cool air outside are guided to tables, and the 10-day-only run of Tampa’s newest – and briefest – restaurant begins its opening night.

Kitchenbar is the brainchild of Jeannie Pierola, the superstar Tampa chef who made her biggest splash at Bern’s and SideBern's. Hell, she basically made SideBern's what it is today. Or, at least, what it was up to about two years ago. That’s when creative differences saw her split from the Bern’s empire and head off on her own. Bay area foodies waited with bated breath. And waited.

Pierola did some consulting gigs – at De Santo (now defunct), at Gaspar’s Grotto, and a few others – but most folks assumed she was biding her time until the right spot opened up. On the other hand, she may have simply been enjoying life away from the hardcore rigors of the kitchen. But she’s a chef; she needs to cook her own food. That’s where Kitchenbar comes in.

This article appears in Nov 11-17, 2010.