Mad Fox Unveils New Dishes, Executive Chef

Before any drastic changes are made to the menu, CEO Bill Madden invited the media in for a tasting of a few new dishes as well as some old ones.

Madden also introduced Andrew Dixon, the new executive chef at Mad Fox. Madden said the two are working on a new menu and hosted another tasting for investors Wednesday.

“We did a little tweak when Andrew started a couple months ago, and now we’re looking at changing a few other things,” Madden said.

The local brewery celebrated two years in the City of Falls Church earlier this month. Madden said opening his own brewery has been a dream of his since graduating college.

Amidst the chatter of happy hour patrons, small plates of new items like flame-grilled Virginia oysters, ahi Carpaccio, mushroom strudel and Dixon’s specialty pasta dish, cannelloni, were served. Waiters served tasting-sized glasses of beer from the brewery like Madden’s Kellerbier Kolsch, at last year's Great American Beer Festival in Denver.

Though it’s already on the menu, the Beer Can Chicken made its way to the table, served over a mashed potato and vegetable medley. Dixon said he roasts the chicken for 40 minutes between 550 and 600 degrees and unlike the name of the tender, sweet and tangy scrumptious dish it insinuates, something’s missing from the recipe.

“We don’t use cans of beer,” Dixon said. “We actually use the Kolsch.”

While Dixon plans on changing some things, he won’t be changing the Sunday brunch. For now, Dixon will continue tweaking and creating things in his laboratory—the kitchen—and continue getting inspiration from his trips to local grocery spots like the Falls Church Farmer’s Market. The Northwest native said he tries to buy as many of his groceries locally because he gets to meet local vendors and find out what people in the area like.

“My target is to have the menu changed by the second week of August,” Dixon said. “Now we have a better idea of what the people in Falls Church want.”

Got a restaurant in Falls Church to recommend? Have a dish or two you want us to try? Email Local Editor Andre Taylor at andre.taylor@patch.com to have us come out and write up your favorite or most popular dishes.