This year is off to a smashing start, and the starters are smashing. New in 2022 is a theme throughout the year…and hopefully next year…and the next.
Fulfilling menu requests continues to fire me up. The need to deliver on someone’s request is my favorite pressure. Food memories are strong, and I want to be a part of that. Producing a perfect version of something is (and has always been) part of a chefs journey. Especially classics, recipes that (for whatever reason) don’t get much play as time ticks by. But…those recipes are classics for a reason, and it’s always fun to be revisit them. Like that crab cake in the picture above. A lovely starter made in the traditional manner, updated with some bright pickles and complimented with a familiar but intriguing little sauce.
Next with new in 2022 and the star of this years starters, were these rolled tacos…
Not to be confused with taquitos. These were stuffed with fresh Yellowfin tuna, pickled cucumber brunoise, chives, and black caraway; and then stuffed tenderly into a perfectly fried corn tortilla shell and served with ginger/sesame/chile/soy dipping sauce. The combination of sushi/Mexican/crunchy/soft/familiar/new, was a bit of a homerun.
*Furthermore; apologies for the heavy solidus use. Some menus have an extraordinary amount of flavor layering going on.