Cauliflower – Bottarga / Anchovy / Hyssop
This might be my personal favorites of the “Uh oh, we need to get another item on the menu stat!” series. Usually this happens when an integral ingredient becomes unavailable. In this case – as in the previous post – the versatility of cauliflower saved the day. As opposed to the sensuous nature of the [...]
Ossetra – Quail Egg / Cauliflower / Lime
Not all of our ideas work. I had been doing a version of crab with caviar, lychee, and lemongrass which had been getting good reviews from guests. The crab and lychee made good sense to me, but I wanted to see how the caviar would hold up to it without the unctuous crab. In short, [...]
Benton’s Ham – Fontina / Butternut / Cocoa Nibs
This course came to me on a Sunday afternoon while suffering on the couch with a 104 degree fever. Though I had no desire of thinking about food and tried pushing this idea out of my head, I knew that it had legs and would hit the menu. I brought the ham in from Benton’s in Tennessee [...]
Sardine – White Eggplant / Tomato / Piperade
San Sebastian Sardine / White Eggplant / Zucchini / Tomatoes / Piperade One from the vault that was on the menu during the summer shortly after we opened. A couple of others from shortly after we opened I just ran across on the hard drive that will be posted soon.
Still Life – Snails / Royal Trumpets / Black Garlic
This course made a brief appearance on our menu. And although it was very enthusiastically received, I never really sunk my teeth into it (metaphorically speaking). The idea was born out of asking whether snails are from the water or the land. From there I formulated the idea of creating the dish as a setting. [...]
Black Sea Bass – Salsify / Onion / Sherry Vinegar
This photo was taken back in January by one of our diners and I just stumbled across it while looking for something to post. Black sea bass was very gently poached in a beurre fondue seasoned with sherry vinegar. Salsify enters in three variations: cream, braised with pearl onions and sherry vinegar, and as the [...]
Smoked Char Roe – Katsuobushi / Tapioca / Coconut Milk
As always, if you are here looking for information on EL Ideas, please see the sidebar on the right. A couple of other notes before getting into this post: The last couple of dishes I’ve posted have been of items currently on the menu. That is going to come to an end as I have [...]
Apple – Peanut / Bacon / Parsnip
This course began as a pre-dessert and was first introduced on the evening of our second Anti Restaurant Week engagement. The idea for this was born from my favorite personal snack and one that has kept me fed throughout all of my travels: Granny Smith apple smothered with Skippy peanut butter. From the time I was a [...]
Gin & Juice
Before getting into the post, for those of you landing here to find out information about EL Ideas, please see the side bar on the right. For those interested in the post, continue on down… With my mind on an oyster and an oyster on my mind. It is startling to me how many of [...]
Spanner Crab – Smoked Char Roe / Cucumber / Grapefruit
As far as I know, spanner crab is the only pre-cleaned crab meat that arrives at the door in a raw state. Coming from the waters around New Zealand, they feed off shrimp and scallops take the ocean floor and take on those characteristics in flavor. As the meat comes in raw, we have more [...]
Pata Negra – Cana de Cabra / Espelette / BLiS Elixir
This preparation started out simply enough from our friends at Mercat a la Planxa who were kind enough to bring us some shavings of their Pata Negra when they came in to dine with us. We loved it so much that we decided to get a ham ourselves to see where we could take it. Though [...]
Anise Hyssop – Brussels Sprouts / Pecans / Sprecher Root Beer
There are many places that inspiration for a new dish is born, but for myself, this is the first time that one was born out of a dream. What makes it more unusual, is that it is rare that I remember dreams in the first place… and if they are ever involving food, it has [...]
Anti Restaurant Week in Review
One evening a couple months ago, I posted an update on Twitter that I was enjoying a pot pie that had been spiked with some fresh black truffles that were gifted to me. It was about 1am, but the taste of the comfort food combined with the luxurious aromas of the truffle was enough for [...]
2 Variations on Skate
Skate Carrot Puree Purple Carrots Veal Heart Amandine – Brown Butter Powder / Almonds / Lime / Parsley Quince Puree Chanterelles Charred Parsnip Meuniere – Brown Butter Powder / Lime / Capers / Parsley
It’s So Good I Could Lick the Plate…
It must be noted that the idea of plate licking came from Bill Talbott, our dining room manager. It hasn’t been often in my career that culinary inspiration comes from the front of the house, but Bill has now contributed to two separate courses.
Rooibos – Pumpkin / Pear / Pomegranate
Gingerbread Rooibos Custard (tea from Rare Tea Cellar) & Aromas Kabocha Squash Puree Brandied Pears Pomegranate
Spanner Crab – Chorizo / Coconut / Cilantro Root
Spanner Crab / Avocado / Coconut / Chorizo / Heart of Palm / Macadamia Nut / Thai Guava / Cilantro Root / Taro
Chicken Liver – Huckleberry / Onion / Oaxalis
Fried Chicken Liver Caramelized Onions Emmenthal Huckleberries Apples Oaxalis
Tasmanian Trout – Caviar / Anise / Zucchini Blossom / Finger Limes
Variations of Tasmanian Trout (all flash smoked for 1 minute) Tartare Cured Zucchini Blossom Filled with Mousseline Flash Cooked Shavings Crispy Skin The Rest Finger Limes in Pernod Pudding Shrenke Caviar Wild Fennel Blossoms Fennel Shards Fennel Leaves Golden Beet Puree
Matsutake / Snails / Watermelon / Yuzu Ponzu
Japanese Matsutakes Sea Beans in Virgin Sesame Oil Quail Egg Yolk Soba Noodle Crisp Borage Snail Dumpling in Rice Paper Yuzu-Ponzu Pudding Bourbon Aged Soy Sauce Watermelon Pickled Watermelon Rind Arancha Shiso
Mirai Corn – Several Preparations / Avocado / Carambola
Buttered Corn Milk Tamale Corn Fritter Corn Silk Freeze Dried Corn Krenke’s Black Popcorn Corn Shoots Charred Avocado Carambola Cilantro
