Jamie Lynch is a New York native and graduated from New England Culinary Institute in Burlington, Vermont. He has worked at New York Time’s 4 star Le Cirque 2000 Restaurant in The Palace Hotel, Aureole under Charlie Palmer and Daniel Boulud’s Café Boulud, and Touquevillle Restaurant in Union Square. Reflecting on his years cooking in NYC, Jamie notes, “At that time we had an all or nothing approach to cooking, we ate, drank and slept food. It was ether the very best we could do or it was garbage.” Chef Jamie has anchored some of Charlotte’s most notable restaurants such as Blue with Chef Gene Briggs and Barrington’s as Bruce Moffet’s Chef De Cuisine, and garnered many accolades such as being Voted BEST CHEF in 2013, 2014 and 2015 in Charlotte Magazine’s BOB (Best of the Best) Awards.
Chef Jamie recently moved to Charleston in 2015 to serve as Executive Chef of 5Church Charleston. 5Church Charleston is a new restaurant in a historic old church (Church of the Redeemer and Harriott Pinckney House) in downtown’s bustling Market Street district. The restaurant’s elaborate, modern décor features awe-inspiring stained glass windows, a white concrete bar, black leather banquettes, eye-catching chandeliers, large-scale pop-art, and hand-painted written verbiage of Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War” on the church ceiling. The restaurant’s award-winning food, top-rate service and nationally-acclaimed design will mimic its sister property in Charlotte, N.C., which opened in 2012. Be sure to visit for the Sunday Brunch – swoon!
Crispy Szechuan Pork Belly
Chef Questionnaire from Chef Jamie Lynch:
How long have you been cooking?
I started cooking at the age of 16 at a small bar and grill. I have been at this for 24 years.
What is your favorite food to cook?
I really enjoy cooking fresh pasta. Pasta when cooked perfectly is the perfect vehicle to deliver a wide range of flavors to the palate in a most satisfying way!
What do you always have in your fridge at home?
Hot Sauce… all makes and models. It is my favorite condiment by far!
What do you cook at home?
Frozen pizza, if anything at all. I do all of my cooking at the restaurants and there is rarely time for a proper meal at home.
S’mores Trifle
What marked characteristic do you love in a customer?
It’s a toss-up between open mindfulness and patience. The open minded guest can appreciate the fun and interesting things we do with food while the patient guest will understand to cook at an excellent level takes time.
What marked characteristic do you find unappealing in a customer?
Rude or unpleasant. I do not like guests that are rude to their servers or bartenders. Dining out is supposed to be a fun and enjoyable experience.
Tupperware, Rubbermaid, or Pyrex?
Rubbermaid
Beer, wine, or cocktail?
Wine and beer usually – I’m a purist when it comes to booze, so I like my liquor to taste like liquor.
Your favorite cookbook author?
Andrew Carmellini. He taught me everything I know over the years, so I’m biased.
Your favorite kitchen tool?
A heavy, deep welled spoon that holds about an ounce is the most versatile tool.
Your favorite ingredient?
I am very fond of Ramps!
Your least favorite ingredient?
Salmon
Least favorite thing to do in a kitchen?
Leave! I find myself lingering around well after my “shift,” either talking with my staff about food or restaurant experiences they have. Those are the interactions that inspire what I do!
Crab Cakes Poached Eggs
Favorite types of cuisine to cook?
My own style of cooking is rooted in traditional French and Italian technique, but “New -American” is the label that best suites my cuisine.
Beef, chicken, pork, or tofu?
Pork
5Church Lamb Burger
Favorite vegetable?
I was the Entrmettier at Le cirque 2000 and Cafe Boulud, I have a deep affection for fresh vegetables. I couldn’t pick one.
Chef you most admire?
Andrew Carmellini
Food you like the most to eat?
Anything traditionally ethnic. In Charlotte, N.C. we have really good Vietnamese, and one particularly good Korean joint.
Food you dislike the most?
Salmon Roe. It is the seed of salmon, which i can’t stand, so the egg has to be worse.
How many tattoos? And if so, how many are of food?
Too many to count. They have sort of melded into one giant one. None of them are of food items specifically but more tell the story of my life in kitchens through imagery. Broiled Oysters with Polenta and Quail Egg
Yields: 2 servings
Ingredients:
6 oysters, shucked on the half shell
1 cup cooked creamy polenta, preferably Anson Mills
6 quail eggs
6 dashes black truffle oil
1 small black truffle
Bull’s Bay Red Mash Sea Salt
Directions:
1. Preheat broiler in oven.
2. Cut aluminum foil into 8-inch pieces, and twist ends to create rope. Form into circle-shaped holder to hold the oysters in place, and put into oven-proof dish. Set oysters in dish.
3. Spoon ½ -ounce of polenta onto lip of each oyster to create a little dam, then crack quail egg on other half of oyster to completely cover.
4. Place oysters under broiler with 6-8 inches of clearance from heat. Bake until quail eggs are just set, approximately 4 minutes or until the quail eggs.
5. Remove oysters from oven and put a drop of truffle oil. Shave truffles with microplane, and place shavings on each oyster. Sprinkle with Red Mash Salt and serve.
What a year this has been! It started last December, when I was one of the top travel bloggers in the world to visit the White House for a special summit on Study Abroad and Global Citizenship. There was plenty of great food in DC (food trucks! and on the way, Cleveland’s Westside Market!) – a fantastic prelude to this year.
2015 heralded many trips, including a trip to Turkey in May, with Turkish Airlines, weekends at our cottage in northern Michigan (with grilled meats and fresh tomatoes), an epic Canadian road trip – driving from Kalamazoo, Michigan all the way to St. John’s, Newfoundland!, forays into Ohio and over to Stratford, Ontario, and circling back to a cozy Thanksgiving with family that live close by. Here are the highlights. I think you’ll notice that the underlying theme is friends and family – because who else do we want to share meals with?
that popcorn mango creme brulee…
Whilst in Turkey, I had many memorable meals (because, after all, Turkey is known for its delicious cuisine!). From the huge, dripping
Honeycomb at breakfast in Istanbul
honeycomb on our breakfast buffet to freshly baked simits slathered with nutella to roasted chestnuts and corn on the cob to Turkish tea and coffee and freshly squeezed strawberry juice, we did not go hungry. I loved the meals of fresh fish, yogurts, and grilled meats, but the highlight for me was at 360 Istanbul, a rooftop restaurant that served traditional Turkish cuisine with modern twists. I had the kebabs, and a gorgeous salad, but the highlight was the dessert – a creme brulee with mango sauce, salted caramel popcorn, and a nutty caramel ice cream. It was a melange of every taste you can imagine – sweet, salty, umami, smooth, crunchy, syrupy, icy, warm. The view was pure Istanbul, wide-ranging and gorgeous; the company was delightful.
the view from the terrace at 360 Istanbul
Toronto hit my 2015 best food list because of our lunch at America Restaurant, by Oliver & Bonacini Restaurants, located on the 31st floor of the Trump International Hotel and Tower. Our daughter enjoyed a cauliflower macaroni and cheese that she said was the best she’d ever had; Ed had a delicious Wellington beef burger with brisket, slaw, and artisanal bun. I had the speckled trout tartine – this genius dish consisted of grilled piece of house made sourdough bread, with French remoulade sauce, daisy capers and elderberries and leafy greens, finished with pieces of sous vide smoked speckled trout, served rare. This dish? It is one of the best things I have ever eaten – the crunch of the bread combined with the creaminess of the trout and remoulade, and the fresh and pickled accoutrements – it was perfect. We enjoyed a great view, lovely art, and excellent company, including a new friend that felt like family.
Smoked trout tartine at America Restaurant, Toronto
Newfoundland St. John’s gets a three-fer for the nod for favorites, with a plus. The plus is an event we went to on our very first night on the Rock – Food Day Canada. There were chefs from Newfoundland, as well as from all over Canada, each showcasing the best of their restaurants and regions. I can’t even begin to say how great the food here was, but I will say that I have built a healthy respect for the chefs, farmers, and producers that work within the island and the weather to create such imaginative, delicious food. (Interviews to come!) Also, please note that while I have many favorite restaurants in St. John’s, I’ve focused on fine dining for this 2015 roundup.
Tavola Tavola, a small Mediterranean bistro, is located downtown. What the unassuming facade hides is a treasure within. The food, mostly small plates, is a mix of Mediterranean and local. Take, for instance, a dish I’d sampled at Food Day Canada and was delighted to find on the menu: BBQ Smoked pork shoulder with Newfoundland Molasses Baked Beans, a roll of crispy chicarron, and a swoosh of arugula puree.
BBQ Smoked pork shoulder with Newfoundland Molasses Baked Beans, a roll of crispy chicarron, and a swoosh of arugula puree.
Now, let me tell you why this is so amazing. First, the Rock is known for its baked beans. And, as a midwesterner, I can attest to the nourishing properties of baked beans, especially in the cold winters, but also for fun in the summer. These baked beans? The absolute best I’ve ever eaten. A humble dish, elevated to the stars. Now, I must mention (because my brother is a firefighter, and you know how they love food and work hard on bbq dishes) the bbq smoked pork shoulder. There were crispy bits. The kind you long for, covet when someone else is pulling the pork, snitch when you’re pulling the pork, guard with a fork when there are poachers about. LOTS of crispy bits. Any restaurant that serves this? Immediately in my favorites list. Tavola on that list? CHECK.
The second reason why I love Tavola? It’s owned by Great Big Sea musician Bob Hallett. I was lucky enough to dine with him that day, and hear stories of growing up in Newfoundland, fish, halibut (did you know they are enormous?), community, and bringing the meals he loved while touring home. It isn’t often you dine with a famous musician – even less so, I’d imagine, one that is so down to earth, friendly, and welcoming.
Fresh oysters at Adelaide Oyster House, St. John’s, Newfoundland
Adelaide Oyster House
While this happening restaurant is somewhat loud and a bit hip for this mama, I have to say that not only was the service incredible, but the food was extraordinary. Adelaide Oyster House has won many awards – and in one visit, you can see why. I had the kale salad (don’t hate – it was sooooo good!); we also ordered oysters (of course), fancy cocktails, fish tacos, charcuterie with olives, and a birthday cake/dessert plate that needed to be tripled. By the end of the evening, we’d danced in our seats (and out of them) to the fantastically curated dance music, made new friends with our servers and chefs, and cemented friendships over food – the best way, isn’t it?
Kobe beef lettuce wrap with pickled vegetables, wild rice puffs, and special sauce at Adelaide Oyster House, St John’s, Newfoundland
Mallard Cottage
Chef Todd Perrin of Mallard Cottage has not only restored an historic cottage in Quidi
Myself with Mallard Cottage chef Todd Perrin
Vidi Village, but has brought back traditional Newfoundland cuisine – with a twist. There’s an herb garden outside, and across the alley, another garden. The fish is freshly caught, and on Sunday brunch, there’s a $10 CAKE TABLE.
Chilled lobster bisque at Mallard Cottage, St. John’s, Newfoundland
Now that alone should do it for you, but let me tempt you with other things we ordered at our table, including a fresh Caesar salad with cured pork cheek and piled high with thinly grated parmesan, a fresh scallop ceviche, a chilled lobster bisque that was the best soup I’ve EVER EATEN, fresh halibut, cod, fresh Newfoundland scallops, and a dessert assortment that should be on everyone’s bucket list.
Mallard Cottage Menu
New Brunswick
New Brunswick, Canada, was a complete surprise. I had no idea of the fresh seafood along the Acadian coast, the locally sourced food, the creative cuisine, the beauty of the landscapes, and the rich cultural heritage. My best meal here was in Miramichi, at 1809 Restaurant, along the Miramichi River. Yes, I loved it so much that I interviewed Chef Jesse MacDonald for i8tonite.
My stuffed haddock – divine!
The seafood chowder was the best I’ve ever had – even with daily seafood chowder eating in Ireland – and my stuffed haddock
filet was divine. We dined out on the deck at sunset, enjoying the ambience, company, and delicious food. Our time in Miramichi was too short, but filled with great meals, excellent company, interesting conversations about place and food, and a warmth that the Rodd Miramichi so beautifully filled in our travels.
Montreal
Montreal gets two best food nominations – and I know that if we were there longer, it would have been many more. Another reason to go back…
Oh! Dumplings
Let me tell you how much we love dumplings. Wait, it can’t fit into this very small paragraph. Let’s just say top 3 foods our family loves. So when we were in Montreal, a visit to Chinatown was a must. We’d had great dumplings in Toronto, but not SUPER GREAT dumplings. Canada needed to step up to the plate and bat some excellent dumplings our way.
Dumplings and one of many scallion pancakes we ordered at Oh! Dumplings in Montreal
Meandering through Montreal’s Chinatown almost seemed sacrilegious – why weren’t we getting Montreal smoked meat? The lure of the dumpling, I answer. We found Oh! Dumplings, right next to a square where a hundred people or so were dancing. It was a sign. We ordered some of the 12 types of dumplings here, and then the scallion pancake, because the table next to us kept ordering more of them. Well, it’s a good thing the dumpling ladies were fast at making the fresh, juicy dumplings. Everyone left happy, including we three. Canada’s dumpling reputation was restored.
Making dumplings at Oh! Dumplings, in Montreal
Breakfast at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth
Often, hotel breakfasts are meh. Cold cereal, hard apples, gross coffee. The Fairmont Queen Elizabeth changed all that with their luxurious breakfast buffet. Now, the thing that enticed me most
Bread station at the Breakfast Buffet at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth, Montreal
was the bread station. LOOK AT THESE GEMS! But if you didn’t want to carb out, there were several kinds of yogurt, an array of cut fruit (11 bowls!), pitchers upon pitchers of fresh squeezed juices of all kinds, and the spacious hot bar. Here, you could get a made to order omelette – or 3 other kinds of eggs, several kinds of sausages, plenty of bacon, french toast, crepes with a brown sugar glaze, several kinds of breakfast potatoes, and, my favorite, a European-style array of many sliced meats and even more gourmet cheeses. The coffee was delicious, the environment was beautiful and elegant, and the service, well, these waiters know their stuff – and are funny, to boot. We fueled up here and were satisfied until dinner. It was the perfect start to every day in Montreal.
Guild House
Closer to home (in Columbus, Ohio), we enjoyed an incredible meal at Guild House. One of the Cameron Mitchell Group restaurants, this new restaurant is worth visiting. We loved it so much that we interviewed Chef Patrick Hofer for the Chef’s Questionnaire here at i8tonite.
Toast with burrata, avocado, pickled red onion, and salsa verde at Guild House, Columbus, Ohio
The restaurant is beautiful, has outstanding talent in the kitchen, and sources locally and organically when possible. As the Guild House notes on the menu, “There’s a lot of love on every plate.” We had extraordinary appetizers (be sure to get the cheese plate with house made crackers and local sourdough toast), entrees (Lillie said that lasagna was a masterpiece, and the best lasagna she’d ever had – and she’s a lasagna connoisseur), non-alcoholic shrub beverages (swoon), and desserts. My favorite was the toast with burrata, avocado, pickled red onion, and salsa verde.
Prime rib cap, sweet onion relish, Pointe Reyes blue cheese, mustard vinaigrette at Guild House, Columbus, Ohio
OR the Prime rib cap, sweet onion relish, Pointe Reyes blue cheese, mustard vinaigrette. Let’s be honest – you can’t go wrong with anything on this menu. It also features in my mind as a top pick because it was here that our teen daughter announced that she was a gourmet cuisine aficionado. Now, while I’ve known this for years, it was this restaurant that sharpened her instincts for dissecting a menu, picking out the bits that attract you, and chatting with the waiters and chef to learn more.
Closer than Newfoundland, a visit to Stratford, Canada taught me a great deal about this well known theatre town. There is so much going on here with the food scene that I can’t wait to go back and eat. Every meal was a treat, and much of it is locally sourced. One of my favorite meals was our lunch at Mercer Hall Inn.
House smoked beef dip sandwich, seasonal slaw, fries & jus at Mercer Hall Inn, Stratford, Canada
The meal was outstanding – truly, some of the most clean and fresh tasting food I’ve had in a long time. We went back into the kitchen with Chef Ryan O’Donnell – and saw some of the ingredients he was working with, including freshly baked bread, wild rice crackers, and gorgeous, colorful vegetables straight from local growers. He’s an artist, with a full palette of organic, local food to create with – and an instructor at the Stratford Chef School. Mercer Hall also features tea from Tea Leaves – home of Canada’s first Tea Sommelier, Karen Hartwick – a genius at delicious, enriching teas.
Thanksgiving was special. I loved it for the family, for cooking
Our Thanksgiving Dinner – delicious, familiar, and full of love
together with my mom and aunt and daughter, for the tablecloth and dishes and place cards we use every year, for the decorations that are familiar and the dishes that we tweak a bit each year (or not). It’s the perfect combination of tradition and deliciousness, and is always a highlight of my year.
And the coffee:
We moved to Kalamazoo this spring, although I’ve lived here before and grew up a half hour away. I am so happy that there are many great coffeeshops in town, including Black Owl (purveyors of Kalamazoo Coffee, roasted out back), and Something’s Brewing, home of delicious coffee and homemade cinnamon pop tarts. Yep.
Delicious coffee (and tea) at Black Owl Cafe, Kalamazoo, Michigan
When you think back to your favorite meals, what made them so great? For me, it’s a combination of company and delicious food. Luckily, I have had plenty of both this year.
On my fourth or fifth visit to Las Vegas, I wanted something different. I’ve danced at nightclubs, eaten the fancy meals with celebrity chefs, played slots and viewed the shows. On different occasions, I saw Bette Midler and Cher on both of their final farewell concerts before they came back with “I’m still here” tours. There are the repetitive Cirque de Soliel extravaganzas which are fun the first time around but by the third show, it’s schtick.
This time, I wanted food indicative of living in Las Vegas: What do the locals eat and where? I wanted to go beyond the Wynns and Arias, the Stratospheres and the MGMs. Nick and I were in agreement, walking through another smoke-filled casino to locate decent food should not be trying to get through a gauntlet.
Courtesy of Mob Museum.
Luckily, great food exists in Sin City – without the gambling — but it is in downtown Las Vegas. The rents are still cheap in the historic area. Restauranteurs have always been mavericks when it comes to selecting destinations for their outposts – fringe and marginal are words that come to mind. Moreover, downtown Las Vegas is no exception to that theory. Bright with a billion lights. Rowdy but there’s an honesty as the drunkards had all the intentions of getting drunk. No pretending it was post-theater. It is Las Vegas for the hipster set. Ignore – if possible – the Fremont Experience, which isn’t as fascinating as it sounds and Robert Urich has sadly long left the area. If you must, go ahead and at least do a one-time plunge down the Slotzilla Zipline. Once you’ve had the familiarity and said, “Okay, now I’ve done that”, head to the thought-provoking spaces such as Container Park, the Mob Museum and Emergency Arts building where artists, writers and other creative denizens showcase their wares.
Downtown Las Vegas Eats:
Courtesy of eat.
Breakfast:eat. Designed by Chef Natalie Young as a showcase for her creative breakfasts and lunch dishes in the Las Vegas’ downtown dining scene, eat features American comfort classics prepared with the chef’s culinary-trained twist, using the freshest and locally-sourced, organic ingredients.
My suggestion: Shrimp and Grits with Two Poached Eggs, Pico de Gallo. It’s Vegas. Have shrimp for breakfast and Chef Natalie’s cooking will make you see the night-time twinkling stars.
Price: $14.00
Hours: Monday – Friday, 8 am – 3 pm. Weekends, 8 am – 2 pm.
Address: 707 Carson Street (at 7th), LV, NV, 89101
Lunch: Carson Kitchen. The late celebrity chef Kerry Simon’s restaurant is an anomaly in the pantheon of Las Vegas eating establishments. First, it’s splendid and should be considered one of the city’s finest places to eat except the drinks don’t come in tumblers, there isn’t a slot machine, and I don’t remember seeing anyone smoking inside. It’s pure American comfort food with twists. Bacon Jam with Brie? Yep. Deviled Eggs with Pancetta and Caviar? Yep. Sophistication meets trailer-trash. Thank god they pulled the underwear from the clotheslines.…although, at Carson Kitchen, I probably would envision La Perla flapping in the desert wind.
My suggestion: Crispy Fried Chicken Skins with Smoked Honey. This is revelatory. I will come back for this time and time again in Las Vegas. Who knew it was just the skin you needed to eat and not the chicken?
Price: $6.00
Hours: Sunday – Wednesday, 11:30 am – 10 pm, Thursday – Saturday, 11:30 am – 11 pm
Address: 124 South Sixth Street, Suite 100, LV, NV, 89101
Snack Time: ChillSpot by SassaPops. Located in Container Park. The owner and creator of Zappos.com did something brilliant for the community and families of Las Vegas. He created an outdoor shopping mall and play area with interesting food – from high-end eating to handmade sweets. The park and mall are built entirely of shipping containers, and it includes a playground, a stage for music, and a screen for outdoor movies, plus food, glorious food. Chillspot’s conception is an outlet for the brother and sister team of SassaPops. Essentially, Sassapops or SassaSnow are freshly-made frozen desserts – ice cream, snowcones – without the use of additives. They make scrumptious chocolate brownies and cookies as well.
My suggestion: International Snow. Asian iced treats such as Filipino Halo-Halo or Korean Patbingsu. Sweet, fun, and culinary.
Price: $7
Hours: Monday – Thursday, 11 am – 9 pm; Friday – Saturday, 11 am – 10 pm, Sunday, 10 am – 8 pm.
Dinner: Andiamo’s Italian Steakhouse in the D Hotel. Reminiscent of an old-school Las Vegas, when the Italian mobsters ran the town. The leather banquettes, smoky mirrors, and brick might have something to do with it, but the place is fairly new. I expected to see The Rat Pack – led by Frank Sinatra – walking through the joint with a martini in one hand, a showgirl in the other and a cigarette dangling from Dean Martin’s lips. Thankfully, guns are outlawed but singing is not.
My suggestion: The enormous Andiamo Grande Meatball. Meat. Tomato sauce. Ricotta cheese. The size of a basketball.
Approximately 45 minutes outside of Boston in an area called the South Shore, a 200-year-old historical gray stone building has been re-established as The Quarry. Its façade holds superlative dining owned and operated by Executive Chef Greg Jordan and his partners Julie and Ron LeDuc. The destination restaurant was lovingly created in mid-2014 for the townspeople of Hingham, Massachusetts.
Housemade Sausage with Grain Mustard
Jordan cheffed at some Boston’s fine dining arenas such as Adrian’s, The Butcher Shop, and Gordon Hamersley at Hamersley Bistro. He was gaining gastronomic accolades at Boston’s famed North Shore seafood hall, Mare Oyster Bar, as the Executive Chef when this break to own his place came upon him. Ideally, he always wanted to settle back to Boston’s South Shore from where he hailed and like any chef, craft his food. And, so he is. Currently, The Quarry’s kitchen is serving New England fare consisting of locally raised meats and fresh, sustainable seafood caught in Massachusetts. A specialty of the house and Chef Jordan’s are housemade sausages and cured meats like the prosciutto, soppressata, and mortadella.
Today, Jordan’s skilled culinary craftsmanship comes through in his dishes that let New England’s ingredients and character shine. He observes that guests in both city and suburb want the same thing– quality. The Cambridge School of Culinary Arts alumnus says, “The Quarry’s wooded location is both a natural and inspiring setting for my ‘rustic meets refined’ cooking. We focus on the quality of natural flavors.”
An interesting aspect to The Quarry – named after a nearby quarry pond — is Beverage Director David Danforth’s forthcoming Master Cicerone certification. Much like a Master Sommelier is an expert in wine, a Master Cicerone will be an expert in beers. Once Danforth completes the training, he will be only one of 10 people in North America that has this distinction. His expertise will create unique and unusual pairings with Chef Jordan’s food featuring internationally handpicked and cellared ales. It will turn a small colonial fishing town into an epicurean destination.
Chef’s Questionnaire with Greg Jordan:
How long have you been cooking? Nine years.
What is your favorite food to cook? Fish.
What do you always have in your fridge at home? I have butter, Hellmann’s mayonnaise, and cheese.
What do you cook at home? Mostly eggs, unless I have guests.
What marked characteristic do you love in a customer? I appreciate customers who have a sense of adventure and have a willingness to try something new.
Seared Sea Scallops
What marked characteristic do you find unappealing in a customer? I take allergies very seriously. I don’t like when customers misrepresent their allergies. For example, I am happy to accommodate someone who has a gluten allergy with an entrée change, but then do not order a donut for dessert.
Least favorite thing to do in a kitchen? Sugar work. It is too sticky for me.
Favorite types of cuisine to cook? I enjoy Italian.
Beef, chicken, pork or tofu? Beef
Brussel Sprouts.
Favorite vegetable? Brussels sprouts.
Chef you most admire? Chef Michael P. Scelfo of Alden & Harlow, Cambridge, MA. He has accomplished a lot in the last five years and its exciting and inspiring.
Food you like the most to eat? A good soul satisfying dish of pasta: fresh, cooked in salted water and not oversauced. Sauce is a condiment.
Food you dislike the most? I do not like raw tomatoes in a sandwich. I cannot explain it, but I just do not like them added in.
How many tattoos? And if so, how many are of food? None, just scars.
Recipe: Cider Braised Pork Osso Buco with Sweet Potatoes
You will need:
2 Pork Shanks,
Flour for dusting
1 onion, diced
2 Sweet potatoes, cubed.
Ginger, Bay Leaves
Apple Cider and chicken stock.
Salt and pepper two pork shanks, and dust in flour, and brown in a Dutch oven. Remove from the pot and set aside. Sauté a diced onion and 2 cubed sweet potatoes for a minute. Add a tablespoon of fresh chopped ginger and 2 bay leaves, return the pork to the pot, and cover the shanks 1/2 way up in equal parts apple cider and chicken stock. Braise on the stove or in the oven till fork tender, about 1.5 hours. Reduce the braising liquid and add some butter to make a rich flavorful sauce.
It’s been awhile. So much for creating a fan base for this blog. So, let’s look at this as an exercise in writing…for enjoyment’s sake. I need to generate the blog without any expectation, on my part, because clearly I can’t even keep to my own desired timetable.
February was a very busy month with new clients, tastes and dining out opportunities. Admittedly, for a long time, going out wasn’t my favorite thing. Noisy. Congested. Expensive. Hipster women hitting the back of my head with their over-sized purses as I sit in a crowded bar is not my idea of fun. This last month, however, I did experience several great Los Angeles meals which I feel compelled to discuss beyond my circle of cohorts. It’s because of these personal experiences, I’m feeling more optimistic about dining out and spending my hard-earned cash.
I’m not a reviewer. I’m a publicist. Granted a publicist who eats a lot and has traveled a fair amount. My resume is long in the luxury category especially for being a gay person of color who’s eaten at many Michelin-starred restaurants and placed my head on many five-starred hotel pillows. I do have a certain experience level.
One of my food clients is Carvery Kitchen, based in Santa Monica. It’s this exceptional deli, with homespun Russian/ Uzbekistan recipes such as brisket and pastrami, “roasted and toasted” by Chef Roman Shishalovsky. It’s from this delicious vantage point that I decided to embark on a taste test of LA’s best pastrami sandwiches as decided upon by dining reviewers and Yelpers. (The latter being a term that embodies a controversial, over-generalized set of the eating out public.) It would be a taste excursion between Carvery Kitchen (the newcomer); Langer’s, the historic, award-winning stalwart of LA’s Jewish delis and Wexler’s Deli, chef-driven (Micah Wexler) and loved by most restaurant critics. Each one was different but two were stand-outs.
Langer’s is a James Beard award-winner, the culinary world’s Oscar equivalent, and is considered to be a destination eating experience; one of the “must-dos” in a city that most culinary aficionados’ write off as not having great dining. Essentially, Angelenos don’t do carbs but we will if it’s written in history books.
It was a packed dining room when Nick and I went to eat. We were told that the wait would be 20 minutes for a table so we opted for a pair of empty counter seats. It felt more like an East Coast deli than sitting at a booth. We ordered up the French Dip with au jus at $15.55. Once it came, on the diner’s oval plate, we needed to wait for the au jus. The meat was blubbery and tepid with shards of fat dangling over the bun’s edge. The dipping sauce was salty and seemed to come from a jar. It was black, too dark for it to come from a roasting pan. Not my favorite but I’m glad I went. I will never criticize people who need to eat there as it’s a place of dining history.
After sharing half of the Langer’s sandwich, we went to Wexler’s Deli at Grand Central Market. Wexler’s is that new kid, not too far from Langer’s, just a short LA drive. It’s located in another palace of eating history, LA’s Grand Central Market, recently crowned by Bon Appetit as a Top Ten “restaurant,” which it isn’t. It’s a compilation of food stalls, once occupied by a variety of vendors, mostly Latino, selling fruits, vegetables, tacos, burritos and menudo. Now, it’s becoming a food mecca with upmarket experiences such as organic butchers, noted chefs and cheese-mongers serving up designer treats to lessees of downtown LA lofts.
Wexler’s is counter only unless you grab one of the community tables situated “anywhere” in the market. Subway tiles and ‘50s wooden stools surround the small crescent shape “deli”…it’s actually more of a kiosk. The idea behind Wexler’s is to recreate that famed experience of the Jewish American deli. Unfortunately, you can’t unless you do a little bit of revisionist history which is what Micah Wexler has gloriously accomplished at his tiny eatery. His cold pastrami, which is the only thing we had, was hand-sliced and lavishly swollen between two pieces of rye bread with coleslaw . It was better than I think history has envisioned. Fresh and smoked, with that little bit of peppery textured bite. Housemade pickles with that beautiful crispness and snap. Definitely worth the effort of parking and eating. (I will admit I’ve always been a fan of Grand Central Market before the re-gentrification. I loved the Latin families bringing their kids and watching them pick out vegetables and fruit together. You don’t see that anymore.just Caucasian college-aged kids not appreciating what used to be there… only what is.)
Lastly, there is the Santa Monica Carvery Kitchen which opened last year and is the savory, roasted and toasted brainchild of Chef Roman Shishalovsky. His pastrami which is roasted for 24 hours is simply divine. A succulent, masterful meat-lovers dream, saturated in richness but without the oily blubber. One bite and the hand-carved meat starts to dissolve on the tongue. The bread, made off-site just like Wexler’s, is a family recipe like the pastrami. Born in Eastern Europe and a transplant to Southern California, Shishalovsky uses his own family’s Russian/ Uzbekistan techniques in making his meat which is served as a salad, a plate or a sandwich in your choice of a wrap, Panini or as a “French dip” freshly made off the just roasted meat. It’s worth the trip to eat. Carvery Kitchen is one of those low-key, dining experiences that once it’s had, you will start to crave it.
As much as I Iove old-school experiences, sometimes it’s great to move on. Nothing can change history. It’s set in stone but others can become as much a part of it, and even recreate it such as Wexler’s and Carvery Kitchen. Funny, though, how pastrami, so much a part of New York’s Lower Eastside has now become of the greatest ways to make brisket and can rival even Texas BBQ. That’s America.
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Executive Chef of 5Church Charleston. 5Church Charleston is a new restaurant in a historic old church (Church of the Redeemer and Harriott Pinckney House) in downtown’s bustling Market Street district. The restaurant’s elaborate, modern décor features awe-inspiring stained glass windows, a white concrete bar, black leather banquettes, eye-catching chandeliers, large-scale pop-art, and hand-painted written verbiage of Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War” on the church ceiling. The restaurant’s award-winning food, top-rate service and nationally-acclaimed design will mimic its sister property in Charlotte, N.C., which opened in 2012. Be sure to visit for the Sunday Brunch – swoon!
