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Seacuterie
Travelers, Poets & Friends is a sustainability-oriented Italian market and restaurant in New York City’s West Village and this dish is at Alaluna, an “New Italian” seafood restaurant there where executive chef and partner Riccardo Orfino focuses on dry-aged fish.
For this item he makes tuna bresaola by rubbing the loin with cinnamon, pepper, bay leaves, coriander, and other spices, smokes it lightly and then hangs it to age for three weeks.
He takes a similar approach to his Hamachi “bacon,” but with a slightly different spice blend and a shorter aging time.
The third item is farm-raised steelhead trout from the nearby Hudson Valley, which is cured for four days with citrus zest, dill, salt, and sugar.
Price: Market price
Lahma Joon
The name of this dish at Joon, a Persian restaurant that chefs Chris Morgan and Najmieh Batmanglij opened in Vienna, Va., last year, is a play on the lahmachun, a Turkish flatbread. To make it they mix ground lamb with Syrian seven spice, red pepper, harissa, onion, garlic, tomato, and parsley.
The spread that over raw dough and brush the edges with olive oil. Then they bake it at high temperature and top it with a salad of Castelvetrano olives, sumac spiced onions, parsley, Campari tomatoes, lemon, and unfiltered Lebanese olive oil.
"I have been a huge fan of this dish since I traveled to Lebanon and spent some time in Beirut in 2019. In Lebanon it is called lahm bi ajeen,” Morgan said. “This dish is very similar to the Lebanese version. It is a very popular street food. I have been dying to get it on a menu ever since."
Price: $22
Raspberry Beret
For this cocktail at The Blind Pig Kitchen & Bar in Yorba Linda, Calif., bar manager Jason Friedman makes a “Bearberry liqueur” by stirring together 27.27 ounces of Framboise liqueur with 23.08 ounces of St. Elder Elderflower Liqueur, 3.36 ounces of blueberry extract, 3.15 ounces of raspberry vinegar, 2.1 ounces of apple biters and 1.05 ounces of salt. He takes half an ounce of that and shakes it with 1.25 ounces of vodka, half an ounce each of lemon juice and simple syrup, ½ ounce of Calvados and two dashes of Peychaud’s Bitters, strains it into a bear-shaped glass and garnishes it with soda water and a lemon wheel.
Friedman says his house-made liqueur “forms a truly unique and captivating experience. The initial sip reveals a symphony of flavors, allowing rich apple bandy notes from Calvados, while the citrusy brightness of lemon juice blends seamlessly with the sweetness from the simple syrup, along with Peychaud’s bitters to add a layer of subtle spiciness.”
Price: $14
Chicken Kofta Burger
For this dish that was recently put on the menu at Aba Miami in Bal Harbour, Fla., chef C.J. Jacobson modified the chicken kofta kebabs that are on the menu at the Aba Chicago location. He combines ground chicken with zucchini to give it more moisture and mixes that with onion, turmeric, eggs “and a few other spices,” he said.
It’s grilled and served on a toasted bun with lettuce and tomato, accompanied by a side of tzatziki along with fries and ketchup.
Price: $21.95
Papoutsakia
The name of this dish, new on the menu for this spring at Kosmos, a Greek restaurant in Walpole, Mass., means “little shoes,” because of its shape.
To make it executive chef and co-owner Angelos Petropulos hollows out eggplant halves and fills them with a combination of ground beef sautéed with onions, the eggplant flesh, tomatoes, cinnamon, and oregano. Then each half is smothered with a nutmeg-heavy béchamel sauce that has kasseri cheese melted into it. The dish is baked until the sauce is golden and bubbly.
It's served with a green salad and garnished with olive oil infused with parsley and oregano.
Price: $27
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