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Halloumi Fries at Little Nickel (Photo by Justin Chesney)
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Halloumi Fries are tossed in chickpea flour for breading. (Photo by Justin Chesney)
Halloumi Fries at Little Nickel
Lightbulb moment: Born one day while the principals behind Little Nickel (Executive Chef Loretta Montano and chef/owners Johnny and Katrina Giavos) were brainstorming: What if we were to reinvent a familiar bar snack — cheese sticks with marinara — as Greek street food?
Initial vision: The Giavoses suggest swapping out mozzarella for halloumi, a thick, salty cheese. Instead of tomato sauce for dunking, the trio thinks, how about Greek yogurt?
First try: Needs work. The fries are too thick. The breading peels off after the sticks are pulled from the fryer.
Back to the drawing board: Johnny Giavos suggests chickpea flour for the breading, which, if it works, will give them a twofer: a bar snack that’s also gluten free. Success!
Another bright idea: Montano suggests flavoring the Greek yogurt with harissa, a red North African chili paste that would remind diners of tomato sauce. Brilliant!
Back to the drawing board II: The first batch is too spicy. They add a squeeze of lemon. Better. Softer.
Time to plate: Initially, the idea is to pool the sauce under the fries. It’s dramatic and colorful, but this makes them soggy.
Back to the drawing board III: Sauce on the side — practicality over prettiness.
Still in process: At press time, the number of fries per order was still in flux.
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Photo by Justin Chesney
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Plating the Black Sesame-Tahini Gelato, Black Sesame Sponge and Crumble, and Pickled Pear at Longoven (Photo by Justin Chesney)
Black Sesame-Tahini Gelato, Black Sesame Sponge and Crumble, and Pickled Pear at Longoven
Lightbulb moment: Pastry Chef Megan Fitzroy Phelan has the idea of mixing black sesame paste into gelato.
Feedback: Her husband (and Longoven co-chef and partner) Patrick Phelan’s reaction to the idea is instantaneous: Disgusting! Nevertheless, she persisted, and made the gelato anyway. Delicious! But now what? A restaurant dessert is made of multiple components.
Inspiration: Among the courses at a 41-course dinner at 41 Degrees in Barcelona, the couple dines on a black sesame cake sprayed with chocolate. The dessert is moist but brittle. How did the chef make it? Phelan suspects the cake has been frozen for structure.
Back to the drawing board: Using an iSi whipper — a fancy whipped-cream canister — Phelan foams her batter and cooks it in, yes, the microwave. The cake is tender and perfect. An hour later, it’s crunchy.
Back to the drawing board II: What initially seemed undesirable now seems, on reflection, intriguing. She loves the way the crumbs dissolve in her mouth and decides to build them into the dish. Voila! — cake two ways: a moist sponge and a crisp crumble, with the gelato for contrasting temperature, texture and taste.
Still in process: The dessert is a study in gray, ranging from driftwood to steel. But is it too monochromatic? Or is that part of its appeal? To be continued.
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Chicken Leg Cassoulet at Perch (Photo by Justin Chesney)
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Photo by Justin Chesney
Chicken Leg Cassoulet at Perch
Starting point: This dish begins as a traditional cassoulet, a slow-cooked casserole that typically includes shredded duck leg, white beans and sausage.
Second thoughts: Cooking the French standard at a previous job, Chef Mike Ledesma doesn’t like how the mix of carbs and proteins looks like soup. He also notices that some diners are put off by game meat.
Back to the drawing board: Experimenting on his own, Ledesma decides to swap the duck leg for a chicken leg, which he cooks in rendered duck fat and leaves whole.
A bright idea: Ledesma does away with conventional lardons — that’s French for “bacon bits” — instead using Autumn Olive Farms’ pork belly and rubbing it down with ground coffee.
Back to the drawing board II: For a beer dinner with Väsen Brewing, Ledesma decides to butterfly the chicken leg, cutting the meat down the center, while leaving it still on the bone. Though this does nothing to alter the taste of the dish, but it does make it more dramatic in appearance. Ledesma adds a garnish of fried sage, bringing a dash of Instagrammable color.
Still in process: Ledesma keeps tinkering. His new restaurant, Perch, has a wood-burning oven that reaches temperatures in excess of 1,000 degrees, and he is focused, now, on ways to infuse the smoky aromas of the oven into the cassoulet.
