Amuse Bouche – Flash Poached Scottish Salmon in Lime Oil; Olive in 3 Forms, (and of course) Cardoons
Salmon is one of those items I have deemed a restaurant like ours unfortunately cannot be without. Despite being happy with the quality of the fish (farmed Scottish) I really am tired of looking at it. But what can I do? It’s one of our best sellers. And though our preparations have changed several times [...]
Amuse Bouche – Calve’s Tongue, Cardoon Gratinee, Nisa Cheese, Nicoise Olives
The latest in the ‘No Amuse Leaves Without a Cardoon’ series. The calve’s tongue was slow cooked in water with a mirepoix and herbs for about 1.5 hours, peeled and then diced. The Nisa cheese is a sheep’s milk cheese we are currently featuring on our cheese presentation. The perfection of this Portugese cheese from [...]
Amuse Bouche – Snails in Phyllo Purse, Wild Mushrooms, Creamed Cardoons, Parsley
A quick note on the Israeli posts below… I don’t envy journalists in the least! What an incredible pain in the ass to have to write on a deadline. These posts were done for Chicago Magazine’s, The Dish. So now that the postings are done, it’s time to get back to the regularly scheduled programming. In [...]
Amuse Bouche – Veal Sweetbread, Cardoons, Prosciutto, Sherry Vinegar Caramel
I believe to be a good chef, the cooks you have in the kitchen should occasionally go home and bitch to their spouse or friends about the bastard they are working for. I thought this amuse would do the trick with the sweetbreads and their tendency to ‘spit’ oil as they are cooking. I thought [...]
Amuse Bouche – Quail, Cauliflower Cream, Truffled Cardoons, Fuyu Persimmons
Although quail is the protein in this amuse, the real star to me is the under-utilized cardoon. As a matter of fact it has been like pulling out teeth sourcing them out. I can’t for the life of me understand why they are not more sought after by chefs. With a flavor that is a [...]
Prime Bone-In Beef Tenderloin – Marrow Crust, Truffled Cardoons, Pena Blanca Cheese Sauce
This is a special we ran tonight which may get menu consideration. Cardoons – a winter stalk that looks similar to celery and has a flavor which can be compared to a cross between celery and artichoke – are a favorite of mine and are not very well known here in the states. I love [...]
