In contrast, “spicy” deviled eggs crackle with fried sopressata, but they’re on the same frequency as many first-time Zoomers: mute. The promised heat is elusive.

Like a lot of their peers, Schlow and Johnson are big on testing what they’re selling in boxes. Not every dish passes muster. The saucy, super-crunchy chicken wings Johnson created early on were good at the source but went limp in transit. Order the appetizer now and you find wings improved by a hit of chilies and brown sugar and double roasting. Neat touch: lightly pickled celery, for extra tang, along with a crumble of blue cheese. Buffalo, you’ve been warned.

Schlow says Johnson’s “passion and compassion” were deciding factors in selecting him over other chefs who auditioned for the job. So was his “clean” cooking, says Schlow. “There was nothing superfluous on the plate.”

Johnson says, “It’s a challenge to do things simpler,” rather than hide behind a lot of bells and whistles.

The proof is in the eating. At Glover Park Grill, pasta means housemade cavatelli and sweet lump crab in a barge, er, bowl strewn with toasted breadcrumbs, lemon zest and parsley. The richness of the dish is tempered by some kick, from crushed red pepper. Braised short ribs come with escorts of parsnip puree and grilled carrots, their earthiness heightened with a drizzle of coffee oil.

See a pattern? While the food is familiar, it tends to come with a little something or other to make it stand out. Steak, cooked the color you specify, is richer for its brush with bearnaise butter, and shrimp and grits, one of Johnson’s prize dishes, shines in part because the shrimp is merely kissed by the heat of its pan. Roasted red peppers and an orange shellfish emulsion lend color to the classic, which is staged in a blue bowl for even more flourish. Are we tired of Brussels sprouts yet? I’m charmed to see them as they’re served here — sliced, fried, tossed with sherry vinegar — alongside an inches-thick pork chop near a swab of sweet potato puree.