Brooklyn, N.Y., chef and restaurateur Greg Baxtrom is the star of Vanderbilt Avenue, one of the most trend-forward streets in the very trend-forward borough. He recently rechristened his Maison Yaki (which his handlers say is in the process of being relocated), as Petite Patate, named for his dog Spud (the restaurant’s name is French for “little potato”). There he’s continuing his playful nature with an appetizer that combines French and American sensibilities by taking little French pickles, or cornichons, and breading and deep-frying them.
Bin Lu, executive chef of The Restaurant at Blue Rock in Washington, Va., is also playful with the “Mac and Cheese” that is part of the restaurant’s four-course tasting menu. It’s ziti that’s stuffed with a purée of truffled celery root and then buried in Grana Padano cheese.
Fun is also the name of the game at Cut 132 in Columbus, Ohio., where sangria is made even more mellow with a CBD gummy, and at Parlour Victoria in Washington, D.C., the newest restaurant of the burgeoning Atlas Restaurant Group, chef Brandon Sumblin gives Belgian moules-frites a kick with chile flake and coppa ham.
And at Blue Jay Bistro in Littleton, N.C., chef Ashleigh Fleming takes her grandmother’s collard greens down a road less traveled by making them into falafel.
Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected]
