1 5
1 5
At the Farmhouse at Roger’s Gardens in Corona Del Mar, Calif., executive chef and owner Rich Mead highlights West Coast produce and seafood with this dish. He makes a carrot “mole” by roasting carrots from Laubacher Farms and Weiser Family Farms and puréeing it with the juice of Her Farms. He spreads that on crispy corn tortillas from the Tehachapi Heritage Grain Project, and tops it with pickle-brined bay shrimp from Washington state, and a “ceviche” of cauliflower and cherry tomatoes from Tamai farms, plus red onion and citrus from Schaner Farms. It’s garnished with shredded fennel and pickled red onion.
Price: $17
Jerry Gonzalez, sous chef of The Blind Pig in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., developed this brunch item for which he braises pork belly in chicken stock with garlic, onion, bay leaves, cumin, oregano, and peppercorns until it’s tender.
Next he makes salsa verde of tomatillos, cilantro, lime, and a blend of spices and emulsifies it with oil to make a sort of vinaigrette that he uses in place of a traditional hollandaise sauce.
The belly is served on toasted English muffins with Oaxaca cheese, the salsa verde vinaigrette, a sunny-side-up egg (rather than the traditional poached egg). It’s garnished with microgreens.
Price: $22
For the signature cocktail at Katherine, a cocktail bar and restaurant near Koreatown in Manhattan that restaurateur Tony Park opened in November, beverage director Shigefumi “Shige” Kabashima makes tomato soju by adding dehydrated tomato to soju and letting it infuse at room temperature for four to five days.
He makes tomato water by spinning diced beefsteak tomatoes in a blender and then straining it through a coffee filter and cheesecloth.
He makes the cocktail in batches, combining 550 milliliters of the soju with 370ml of tomato water, 110ml of tomato jam, 125mml of lemon juice, 70ml of simple syrup, and a pinch of Red Alaea Salt in a blender and then straining it for about a day through a coffee filter and cheesecloth.
At service he shakes 3.5 ounces of the mixture with ice, strains it over a large ice cube in a rocks glass, and garnishes it with a dehydrated tomato slice.
Price: $21
At Harta at the new Grayson Hotel in Midtown Manhattan, executive chef Mark Zuckerman gives this Italian dish local flair by using local hake, clams, mussels and scallops, along with prawns and Spanish octopus. They’re all simmered in a tomato-saffron broth with fregola pasta (similar to couscous). They’re served in a small casserole dish as pictured, then the broth is poured over it and the dish is finished with basil and parsley. It’s served with grilled Pane Pugliese from local Sullivan Street Bakery.
Price: $34
Brunch is now available at Saloon 16 at the Graduate hotel in Knoxville, Tenn., where chef Calvin Winfrey brines boneless, skinless chicken thighs overnight in a combination of Greek yogurt, buttermilk, and mayonnaise seasoned with lemon juice, hot sauce, salt, black pepper and Worcestershire sauce.
He dredges the chicken in a flour-and-cornstarch mixture seasoned with salt, pepper, chili powder, paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder, and then fries it.
He serves that over fluffy waffles (beaten egg whites are folded into the batter) spiked with a little cinnamon with a side of hot honey.
Price: $15
