Food delicacies are luxuries meant to be savored and, in this Instagram-obsessed food culture, shared and hashtagged. Here, we present a mix of ingredients and dishes that are new to us, exclusive to the region or otherwise hard to find.
Duck Tongue in Green Pepper and Black Bean Sauce
Owner Helen Tan says duck tongue is a Cantonese delicacy for the diehard fans. There’s a small group of devotees who relish fishing the slender, 2-inch pieces of practically bouncy meat out of a thickened sauce of fermented black beans. Sharing the bowl are slivers of cooked green bell pepper and ominous red chili pods; the tongues absorb a mellow heat, tempered by the faint sweetness of the sauce.
Bon Femme Dressing
Search for “bon femme dressing” on Google, and you’ll get a mixed bag of results — a sauce; a recipe for a French vinaigrette that leans heavily on Dijon mustard; a shuttered cafe in Indiana. What you won’t find is the dressing at Westwood Fountain — a misleadingly simple, thin vinaigrette of olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and Parmesan served on Bocky’s Favorite Salad, but requested often by regulars to take home in treasured deli containers for use as a marinade.
Vada Pav
You could think of it as a spicy, carb-packed slider of sorts — miniature buns stuffed with a potato fritter, with plenty of chilies and chutney for a substantial smack of heat. Vada Pav are a relatively recent culinary innovation hailing from Mumbai, where the smells of fried street food and searing peppers hang in the air like fog. Here, Desi Street Food makes an admirable version served on squishy white rolls with a garlic-laced spread and blistered (and blisteringly hot) green chili on the side.
Ćevapi
Hailing from Bosnia and Herzegovina, ćevapi is a sausage sandwich served on pita-like lepinja bread with raw onions and condiments including ajvar, a roasted red pepper mixture and spreadable feta cheese. Owner Emir Vejzovic’s version is made from scratch, with fresh bread and savory, handmade, casing-free sausages. Vejzovic says people drive from Newport News and Roanoke just to enjoy the “taste memory” they crave from their homeland or travels.
Akara
It’s fortuitous that the akara at Africanne on Main are such light, fluffy fritters, because at Chef MaMusu’s Main Street restaurant, you pay by the pound. Glistening, golden akara are a kind of spiced black-eyed pea fritter, and you won’t find them anywhere else in the city, so load up your Styrofoam tray and let the weighing begin. Visit on a Monday, Thursday or Friday or, better yet, call ahead, because it would be a shame to miss this addictive Nigerian snack.
Alligator Sausage
Down on the bayou, alligator might be a common ingredient, but around here, the Cajun favorite is harder to come by. Thirsty’s orders its alligator fresh from New Orleans, shown up on the menu in a variety of ways, including alligator bites and a fried-alligator po’boy. Most notably, the Thirsty’s crew whips up alligator sausage made with their ground alligator and house-made creole seasoning — a popular addition to pasta dishes like their Cajun Mac & Cheese.
Adaptogenic Ice Cream
Ice cream is good for the soul, and North End is dishing out ice cream that’s good for the whole body. Ahead of the craze just building momentum, North End adds adaptogens — adrenal-boosting herbs and roots — to its vegan ice cream. The vegan pistachio flavor contains cocoa nibs and maca, a Peruvian vegetable believed to reduce anxiety, boost libido and increase overall strength. Go ahead, get two scoops.
Charcoal Latte
If you can brew it, you can turn it into a latte. This year, Instagram showcased images of pink, blue and black lattes, souped up with beet powder, spirulina and charcoal. You can find a grey “Goth Latte” at St. Stephen’s (which feels ironic), where baristas combine activated charcoal powder and steamed milk with a hint of maple and lavender syrup, because, let’s face it, charcoal doesn’t really taste like much. But it sure looks cool.