IDSK Volume 3

After briefly alluding in my last post to a recent IDSK collaborative dinner, I realized I’d been remiss in not posting at least a little detail about the event. But first, for those that missed my report on Volume 2 back in July, a quick injection of background information seems in order. IDSK is an acronym for the recent collaborative efforts between Alexander Talbot of Ideas in Food and Shola Olunloyo of StudioKitchen. These are two chefs – one a long time Philly resident, the other a recent transplant – who both approach their craft with passion and intensity. If you’re into culinary artistry, the nuts and bolts of molecular gastronomic technique, or simply enjoy ogling near daily doses of some pretty high zoot food porn, their blogs both deserve to be on your reading list.

The theme at this recent outing was a combination of the exploration of subtlety of flavor coupled with malleability of form and textural contrast. Though I found the evening’s food somewhat less delicious overall than at IDSK2, there was still no lack of pleasure to be found in the moment. As always, the experience was helped along by a charming cast of dining companions, which by bizarre coincidence on this night included Tesco Vee's old college roommate, with whom I partook in a little reminiscing about the DC hardcore scene of the early-to-mid 80s.

It’s been long enough now (the dinner was held back on October 2) that I won’t belabor this post with intricate details of each course. Instead, I’ll just let Shola’s photos do the talking; you’ll see what I meant by my above food porn reference.

Hiramasa
broken icicle radishes, crab applesauce



Peanut Pumpkin
roasting jus, dona engracia



Matsutake Mushrooms and Bartlett Pears
hot and cold, raw and cooked



Chestnut Soup
gala apples, bacon bits



Warm Hiramasa
vadouvan, eggplant



Russet Potato Gnocchi
parsley, tender garlic, powdered raclette



Twice Cooked Scallop
chorizo, black cabbage, beef fat consomme



Whey Poached Beef Strip Loin
braised shank, red cabbage: raw and cooked



Adelegger 17 Month
yellow tomato jam



Apple Pie and Coffee


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In the old days at StudioKitchen – these dinners are BYOB – Shola had always presented a menu long enough in advance to allow for specific wine pairings. He and Alex have more recently taken to fine tuning their final menu right up to the last moment. As such, they encourage their guests to bring whatever they’d like to drink. For me, that means packing up a wide range of wines with an eye toward versatility and food friendliness. Of course, they’re all things I’d like to drink as well. On this night, I ended up sharing just about everything I’d brought with my fellow diners. No pictures to do the talking this time, so some quick notes seem in order.

Jochen Ratzenberger’s 2003 Bacharacher Kloster Fürstental Riesling Sekt showed the ripeness of the vintage in its rounder, bigger mouthfeel than in more typical years but was still a delicious way to start the evening.

As is my friend Bill, I’m convinced that one could very successfully pair Riesling with nearly everything that Shola cooks. So, for the first course or two, Riesling it was. Johann Peter Reinert’s 2005 Wiltinger Schlangengraben Spätlese halbtrocken, to be exact, which showed a whiff of sulfur when first poured but was also beginning to develop some lovely mineral pungency. Great, cleansing acids and lots of yellow plum and green apple fruit, as well. Excellent food wine. As I’ve said here before, Reinert’s wines are super under-appreciated.

That all-Riesling fest will have to wait until next time, as next up was the 2004 Viré-Clessé from André Bonhomme. This was much more developed than I’d have hoped or expected, showing some premox character in its slightly oxidized entry, followed up by poached pear and walnut on the palate. It improved as its temperature rose but not enough to make anything near a full recovery.

A bottle of 2006 Coudert Fleurie “Clos de Roilette” was screamingly good, showing amazing, even atypical levels of richness but still full of focus. Totally on point, though it’s got years ahead of it, and a great match with the garlic-potato-parsley combo in the gnocchi course.

Last up was a 1998 Gigondas from Château du Trignon, which gave the “Roilette” a serious run for its money. I’ve been disappointed with some other ’98 Southern Rhônes I’ve opened over the past year or two, as they’d either not gone anywhere or already begun to fade. This, though, was a lovely expression of Grenache, all crushed red fruits and garrigue, with the elegance that comes to wines like this only with age.

Finally, some music with which to bring things to a close. It’s not quite the same Meatmen mayhem as 20+ years ago but, even if you didn’t follow the link earlier on, I know you were just dying to see Tesco Vee in action.

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StudioKitchen meets Ideas in Food

Shola Olunloyo and Alex Talbot are two of the most creatively driven chefs I know. You can see it for yourself – on a nearly daily basis if you like – on their respective blogs, StudioKitchen and Ideas in Food. Both are chefs who seem to strive not for perfection so much as for the best possible expression of the next step in their constantly evolving field of art; Shola calls it “the search for deliciousness.” Both are highly driven by technique, process and exploration of ingredients. Like Wylie Dufresne, who I think makes for an apt comparison, their approach can be scientific and highly manipulative, yet their end results almost always manage to be delicious and organically satisfying at heart, not just precious and cerebral.

Both men have been sharing ideas and, occasion permitting, trading chops for several years now. They share other things in common as well. Both seem to enjoy photography almost as much as cooking. The photos you’ll see below were all taken by Mr. Olunloyo and you’ll find equally stunning shots at Ideas in Food as well as at the StudioKitchen blog. Both have also chosen the private stage over the restaurant world, cooking for small groups or working as private chefs for hire, more often than not entirely on their own (or alongside a life partner in Alex’s case).

Talbot’s recent move, along with his wife Aki Kamozawa, from New York to the outer Philadelphia countryside in Bucks County, PA, has allowed for an easier exchange of ideas between Shola and Alex, an exchange that’s recently culminated in a series of private dinners held at Shola’s actual StudioKitchen. Attending night one of a two-night collaboration held this weekend, I half expected a meeting of such talents to result in a clash of egos or a struggle for expression in the kitchen. What I happily found instead was a seemingly harmonious melding. Alex’s introverted style and precise work ethic in the kitchen matched comfortably with Shola’s extroversion in presenting the dishes and working all aspects of the room. I called their match-up SKIF a few days back; they call it IDSK. Let’s call it Studio Kitchen meets Ideas in Food. The meal they built together was often surprising – and always delectable.

Again, the photos below were taken by Shola; he and Alex banned photography at the table for the evening to help keep everyone's focus on the food (and eating it while it’s hot) and the company.


Mango-Yogurt Sorbet
wild char roe, arugula
If the idea of fish eggs paired with ice cream seems strange, just pare it down to its base elements: salty and sweet. And really tasty. A real jump-start for the palate. The cured wild char roe is produced by BLiS, the same company that makes some of the most hedonistically delicious maple syrup on the market.



Corn Pudding
smoked sea urchin
Santa Barbara uni, gently smoked over cherry wood. Corn shoot garnish. The corn “pudding” was seasoned with ginger, celery, onion and lemongrass, and thickened with carrageenan. Shola made corn soup at the first StudioKitchen dinner I attended, many moons ago; it’s been a constantly evolving staple in his arsenal ever since.



Goose Egg Yolk
chorizo-chanterelle hash, garden herbs
The goose egg was slow-cooked in its shell for two hours at 65 degrees F. Served with chorizo from Despaña and topped with a nasturtium. Like I said, beautiful and delicious. And a fantastic pairing with Huet’s 2002 Vouvray Brut Pétillant.



Foie Gras Marble
blueberry, pistachio, cantaloupe
PB&J for grownups.



Softshell Crab Tempura
old bay, honeydew raita
A tiny crab so late in the season for softshells… a testament to working with a good fish monger. Delicate and perfectly cooked, accents courtesy of garlic scapes and borage flower.



Ramp Top Cavatelli
geoduck clam sauce
Ramp season may be gone but blanched ramp greens apparently freeze very well…. I’m in complete agreement with Shola, who likes to eat this by the bowlful; unquestionably the comfort food dish of the evening.



Sweetbreads
lemon verbena, pickled watermelon rind
The sweetbreads were brined overnight in a bath of buttermilk, salt, sugar and verbena. No crusty distraction here, all organ-y goodness, with balancing brightness and snap provided by the bed of pickled watermelon.



Pig Cheek
cornbread, collard greens, red cola sauce
The only dish of the night that didn’t entirely excite me, perhaps better scaled toward a stand-alone main course than as a small plate. The collard greens in particular didn’t seem to sync with the rhythm and vibe of the rest of the meal.



Sangria Squab
berbere potsticker, kohlrabi
Startlingly gamy at first bite but deeply satisfying at the last. Squab from Central New Jersey’s Griggstown Farm.



Delice de Bourgogne Burrata
fennel, green olive oil
The decadent richness and creaminess of Delice de Bourgogne, adjusted to show the fresh, slippery, bubble tea-like texture of burrata. Dressed with the delicious Olio Verde of Gianfranco Becchina, produced at Antica Tenuta Principi Pignatelli in Castelvetrano, Sicily.



Carrot-Bacon Cake
blood orange marmalade ice cream, maple vinegar
Just as savory – if not more so – as sweet. Many at the table agreed that this could work just as easily as a stuffing for game birds as it could dessert. Lovely with a little taste of PX – and a fine way to savor the end of the evening's adventures.

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SKIF

Heading here tonight. Should be interesting.

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Eleven Samurai

Continuing on my fortuitous path of Tuesday evening explorations in culinaria, eleven friends, new and old, gathered this week. We met with a twelfth, the one Ronin, who had agreed to share with us his ways of the knife and the flame. In turn, our troupe provided a panoply of wines from around the world and came ready to eat, drink and explore.

While mustering, we whet our appetites with a small pour of the non-vintage Champagne Blanc de Blancs from Pierre Peters, a medium-sized Récoltant-Manipulant producer based in the village of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. His wine showed the typical fresh hazelnut and hay tones and fine acid balance of Côtes des Blancs Champagne, along with a darker nuttiness and funky nose that suggested some bottle evolution. With that and the typical introductory social rituals behind us, we took our seats, prepared to do battle.

Scallop Carpaccio
carrot sorbet, cardamon and lime air
Our meal began with a dish least touched by heat, most influenced by a purity of fresh core ingredients and the nuances of quality produce and subtle seasonings. Thinly sliced, perfectly smooth and tender medallions of sea scallop were arranged around a quenelle of carrot sorbet, infused with just a hint of toasted cardamon seeds. The cardamon returned as an aromatizing element in the lime foam that billowed above the scallops. All about delicacy of flavor, this was an ideal way to set the stage for the more intense progression to follow.

Wine pairing: Finger Lakes Riesling “Dry,” Hermann J. Wiemer 2005
I’d come prepared for this course with a couple of choices in German Riesling but I’m always open to exploring other options and kudos are due to he who brought this bottle. Kudos to the producer as well, as I can’t say I’ve had a finer domestic Riesling, not just from NY but from the US in general. Finished dry, its minerality along with bright peach and apple tones could pass for a good Mosel or Saar Kabinett halbtrocken. Wiemer’s estate is located on the west side of Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes district of upstate New York.

Chinese Celery Veloute
corned beef, flavors of steak tartare, smoked salt - almond condiment
If not for the velouté in the menu description, one could not have been faulted for expecting some sort of modern twist on a classic deli sandwich. Soup it was though, at least in part. As delicious as the creamy, celery infused sauce was, the real magic of this dish was in the interplay between the round of subtle tartare-style corned beef and the penetrating flavors of the toasted almond and smoked salt sprinkled on the edge of the plate. As for the “flavors of steak tartare,” I leave it to your willful imaginations….

Wine pairings: Jerez Manzanilla Pasada, Bodega San Vidal (La Cosecha) NV; Brouilly, Georges DuBoeuf 2005
With the heaps of wine in the room, debate abounded as to appropriate matches with this course. Early calls for big reds waned when everyone came to understand the lightness of the course. Two choices resulted: Sherry and Cru Beaujolais. I had brought the Manzanilla along with this course in mind, thinking of both the herbaceous “soup” and the salty almonds. The Beaujolais was offered up as a favorite match with steak tartare. Both worked reasonably well. The chilled Brouilly was direct and easygoing though of an uninspiring quality. The Sherry was harder to understand but delivered much more call-and-response into the mix, echoing flavors from the dish just as the dish amplified some of the aromatic elements of the wine.

Golden Miso Cavatelli
rock shrimp, lovage, fennel cream
As interesting as the miso infused pasta sounded, the real stars on this plate were the pristinely fresh and perfectly cooked rock shrimp, still tasting of briny sea and uplifted by the bright, aromatizing flavor of lovage and the subtle licorice tang of fennel. Though perhaps the least exciting dish of the evening, it was also the most comforting, the course of which I easily could have eaten a heaping bowlful.

Wine pairings: Soave Classico “Castello,” Cantina del Castello 2005; Pouilly-Vinzelles “En Paradis,” Louis Latour 2004; Côtes de Provence Rosé, Commanderie de Peyrassol 2006
Again, lots of people, lots of wine, lots of ideas…. Why not open several bottles? My original thought when presented with the menu was the Soave; it paired admirably against the shrimp and seasonings of the dish. Many of the eleven tend to lean hard toward pouring white Burgundy at the Ronin’s table. The match here was less successful, though texturally it nicely echoed the creaminess of the dish. The winner was the wine from Provence, a pairing conceived only when the aromas of the course wafted into the room. Something in the air just screamed out good pink wine and, luckily, one had come prepared. The bright red fruit and typical aromas of garrigue in Peyrassol’s rosé made it just the ticket.

Berkshire Pork Belly
cipollini tarte tatin, wild asparagus, onion caramel
Careful cooking via multiple methods brought out a clear stratification of the layers – fat, flesh and crispy top – of pork belly. Charred just shy of burnt, the snap of the uppermost layer combined with the unctuous fat beneath and the tender, sweet flesh at the base to make for a nuanced, harmonious taste experience. The full scope of flavor became even clearer (and tastier) as the dish cooled toward room temperature. Played against the sweetness of caramelized onions, the richness of pork fat made this a plate of pure decadence.

Wine pairings: Gigondas, Domaine du Cayron 1997; McLaren Vale Shiraz “Krystina,” De Lisio 2004; Hopland Cabernet Sauvignon “Dempel Vineyard,” Mercurius 2005
Grenache and Syrah based wines, which can often exhibit scents and flavors of cured meats, even bacon fat, seemed natural matches for the Berkshire pork. Decanted upon arrival, the De Lisio Shiraz is a well-crafted example of the big, dark side of the Aussie wine market. At more than 15% alcohol though, flavorful as it was, it dominated the food, reinforcing my admitted bias against high-alcohol wines as being difficult if not impossible to carry off at the table. Perhaps a spice rubbed steak might do the trick. The Gigondas from Cayron, mellowed and sweetened in its fruit over the last ten years, came closest to mirroring the flavors of the dish but was almost too subtle, taking a back seat in mouthfeel to the richness of the pork. The wine that really made sparks fly turned out to be the least intuitive of the matches, the Hopland Cabernet Sauvignon from Mercurius Cellar. Never heard of it? You shouldn’t have. It’s homemade wine, a product of the hobbyist pursuits of one of the eleven – electronic soundscape artist and food writer Robert Rich of Mountain View, California. At 13% alcohol, exhibiting fine balance, clarity of red cassis fruit and briary sensations, this is the kind of California Cab that hearkens back to the pre-Laube and Parker influenced era of over-extracted fruit bombs. Its clean profile and firm grip wrapped themselves around the pork, perfectly complementing the dish’s elements, being neither too shy nor too boisterous.

Chocolate-Coffee "Panna Cotta"
fruitti di bosco, gingerbread
Deconstructed to its simplest stylistic elements, this was essentially a fruit parfait crossed with a decadently rich chocolate mousse, topped off with cookie morsels. It was like an artful version of Steve’s Ice Cream juiced up on crack. The fruitti di bosco, forest fruit gelato made from an Italian base, lent a tangy acidity to the dish, balancing the creaminess of the chocolate; however, combined with the high sugar content of the panna cotta, it also resulted in a slightly sour, burning finish. A crumbled gingerbread topping lent welcome accents of crunch and spice.

Wine pairings: Maury “Dix Ans d’Age,” Mas Amiel N.V.; Moscato d’Asti, G. D. Vajra 2006
The contrasting elements of the dessert course presented challenges from a wine pairing perspective. Maury, a classic and usually successful match for chocolate, fought with the sharpness of the berries. The Moscato d’Asti, equally classic with both fruit-based desserts and lighter chocolate dishes, lost some of its trademark fruitiness in the face of the intense concentration in the chocolate-coffee elements of the course. The Moscato’s frothy bubbles, though, did provide an enjoyably crackly contrast – described by some at the table as akin to Pop Rocks – to the creamy dish. In the end, neither match was perfect but both were enjoyable.

A reconvening of the entire group will be unlikely given our geographically disparate challenges. Parts of the band will no doubt reunite for further adventures in eating. On this Tuesday though, eleven, guided by the skills of one, came together for what turned out to be a night of brotherhood and sisterhood shared around the pleasures of a well laden table.

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Shola's Guest Chef Series: M

Wednesday, June 13 marked the second junket of Shola Olunloyo’s recent flirtation with life and work in the traditional brick and mortar restaurant business. The setting was M Restaurant, an intimate and relatively formal little dining room in Philadelphia’s boutique Morris House Hotel (231 S. 8th Street). With a full sized kitchen and a professional team in support, the meal promised to give a glimpse into the full spectrum of culinary nuances in Shola’s StudioKitchen arsenal, a change in pace from the more rustic approach taken at Apamate. [See the archives for Shola's Guest Chef Series: Apamate.]

Situated across the courtyard gardens from the colonial era Morris House, M benefits greatly from its association with the hotel. The courtyard garden seating area may just be the loveliest, most pacific dining spot in the entire city. On a practical scale, the hotel also provides a much needed foundation for the restaurant, as M would probably struggle to survive on its own. Its bar and dining room, when the patio is not in season, border on being too small for self-sufficiency.

Egress to M is made via a side entrance, just through the gates separating the courtyard from the traffic on 8th Street. The door opens into the cozy bar area, dominated by a an imposing hardwood bar, which seats about eight, and accented by a row of cocktail tables along the window lined front wall. Overseeing the bar is local mix-mistress Katie Loeb, who is doing a grand job of reviving some worthy retro cocktails. While waiting for my dining companions to arrive, I enjoyed her drink of the night, a Floradora Cooler – gin, Chambord, lime juice and ginger ale, shaken and served on the rocks with a lime wedge garnish. Its flavors fit the season without dulling the palate prior to the main event.

The barroom leads straight past the hostess stand and restrooms into M’s petite, softly lit dining room. Arranged along two walls, most tables are setup as two- and four-tops, with a couple of round tables providing seating for slightly larger parties. Both long walls are decorated with neutral artwork and accented by antiqued mirrors; a large floral arrangement stands watch at the end of the room nearest to the kitchen. The whole feel of the room is one of comfortable elegance. Once seated, we were given a few moments to peruse the wine list and to consider the possibility of opting for the selected wine pairings (which we chose). Thereafter, the precision and style of Shola’s menu design and approach in the kitchen quickly manifested themselves.

Spring Garlic Soup
roasted parsley-garlic purée, chicken wings, toasted almonds
Garlic, sweet garlic…. This dish was finished tableside by Shola, who poured the liquid component around the composed elements of the plate. A nutty depth of flavor from slow roasted garlic was complemented by the lighter vanillin nuttiness of toasted almonds then brightened by a stroke of pureed parsley. Top it off with Shola’s signature boneless chicken wings and, in spite of the few skeletal shards I found in mine, you’ve got a bowl of goodness. In my experience, Shola has few peers when it comes to masterfully coaxing the maximum of flavor into his soups without making them at all cumbersome. I can still savor the tastes and aromas of the corn chowder he served at my first meal at StudioKitchen many moons ago.

Wine pairing: Vouvray “Les Argiles,” Prince Poniatowski/Francois Chidaine 2004
The most thoughtful match of the night. I’ve long felt there’s an almost supernatural affinity between Loire Chenin Blancs, Vouvray in particular, and creamy, garlic influenced dishes. Vouvray is also a wine – thanks to its vibrant acidity and frequent touch of residual sugar – that can handle the difficult task of pairing with hot soups. The 2004 “Les Argiles” is a fully dry style but had enough ripeness and flesh to take the soup in stride.


Sweet Corn - Parmesan Custard
black truffle caramel, toasted brioche
I have to admit I didn’t understand this dish. The components, separately, were all quite delicious and the conceptualization is one of the more edgy things I’ve experienced even from the StudioKitchen cadre. I’m just not sure everything came together in harmony. Perhaps it’s just me being persnickety but, in spite of the custard description/component, it also struck me very much as a second soup course. Of course, I did happily clean my plate….

Wine pairing: Bourgogne Aligoté, Patrice Rion 2004
I liked the wine, I found the dish interesting, they did not clash yet they did each other no favors. It was not a bad pairing, just not one that found anything extra in the marriage. From a service perspective, it became clear that there is a need for some additional wine training among the staff at M. Our waiter described the wine as Chardonnay. Though it is permissible to include a small amount of Chardonnay in wines labeled as Bourgogne Aligoté, it is not a typical practice. As for Patrice’s wine, it is an uncommonly rich selection of 100% Aligoté from a plot of very old vines in the commune of Nuits-St.-Georges. Was the staff member’s error the end of the world? No, but diners who might otherwise be unfamiliar with the wine would be likely to take the (mis)information as fact.

Roasted Suzuki
caramelized eggplant-pistachio caponata, sultanas, lovage, yuzu brown butter
It’s hard not to enjoy perfectly cooked striped bass, its crispy skin accenting tender, flavorful flesh. Set atop the most multi-culturally diverse mixture of ingredients of the evening, it came alive. The earthy and spicy eggplant-pistachio caponata (Mediterranean) combined with the sweetness of sultanas (North African) and the zip of yuzu (Japanese) to provide a dizzying array of flavors. I think the dish may have been more discretely delicious without the sour tang of the yuzu but the range of flavors still worked.

Wine pairing: Tocai Friulano, Roncús 2003
This was the clear poor pairing of the night. Tocai’s usual floral and spicy aromatics, medium body and crispness were cooked away by the hot, dry growing season of 2003, resulting in an out of balance wine showing fat textures, high alcohol and flavors more of diesel fuel than of fruit. It’s hard enough to enjoy an awkward wine on its own; it’s even more difficult to match it with food, especially something as wildly flavorful as Shola’s Suzuki dish. A medium bodied Provençal rosé, particularly given the summer season, would have been a better call.

Boneless Rack of Australian Lamb
chick pea purée, braised lamb croquette, fennel marmalade
Sous-vide roasting resulted in perfectly medium-rare lamb with a rich, melt in your mouth texture. The lamb croquette, though a touch dry, brought a more intensely animal and hearty accent to the plate. Finally, pureed chick peas and fennel marmalade delivered earth and lift to balance the meatiness and density of the dish. An overly enthusiastic hand with finishing sea salt – and lamb can handle fairly aggressive seasoning – was the only thing that kept this dish from reaching the sublime.

Wine pairing: Sonoma County “Three Valleys,” Ridge Vineyards 2005
This was the first of two consecutive no-brainer pairings and, oddly, the first of two consecutive Zinfandel-based wines. The regional purist in me would have preferred to see a Chianti Classico, perhaps even a Riserva, paired with this dish. That said, the lush, forward fruit, simple approach and ripe textures of the wine worked comfortably with the lamb. This is the basic, entry-level red in the Ridge Vineyards portfolio, their only wine sourced, as the name implies, from multiple sites around Sonoma County. I’m splitting hairs to point out that it was inappropriately identified on the menu as Zinfandel; at 74% Zin, the wine falls just short of the 75% requirement for varietal labeling in California. Inexplicably, the pour was about half the amount established as the earlier pattern, making it difficult to stretch the wine through the course.

Chocolate Cherry Ganache
smoked chocolate soil, coffee fluid gel, pistachio ice cream
The sublime realized. Upon tasting Shola’s dessert course, my first thought – one that I heard echoed around the room – was “mmmmm, bacon.” Intensely smoked cocoa, in the form of “chocolate soil,” gave this otherwise classic combination of ingredients a kick up to the level of crazy good. Lovely presentation and some damn good pistachio gelato – creamy and flavorful but not heavy handed – didn’t hurt a bit.

Wine pairing: Russian River Valley Late Harvest Zinfandel, Rosenblum Cellars 2003
Rosenblum’s Late Harvest Zin made for a simple, sweet and easy complement to dessert, presenting nothing complicated or expansive, just a pleasing match. More wine service gripes…. It was served at far too low a temperature. While a slight chill may have helped mask the wine’s high alcohol and give it a refreshing edge, serving it stone cold only muted its flavors. Presenting the wine in a tall, skinny glass with a minute aperture only doubled the muffling of the wine’s character, particularly from an aromatic perspective. Form follows function, y’all.

All in all, it was a lovely evening, showcasing flavors and culinary techniques that were true to the StudioKitchen experience. As this was my first visit to M, I’m unable to comment on the regular menu or the typical workings of Chef David Katz and his kitchen staff. It was clear though, from what emerged from the kitchen, that they understood Shola’s thought processes and recipes and were able to deliver at a high level. What I missed more than the extra bit of deliciousness that Shola produces when cooking solo was the personal experience and relaxed pace of dinners at SK. With Shola’s fastidious preparation and organization backed up by a full cook and wait staff, the courses flew out of the kitchen at a dizzying pace. The time from our seating to paying the bill was barely over an hour, not so much the fault of intentionally rushed service as the result of too much precision. I left sated from an eating perspective but feeling like the evening had been cut short in the context of dining. If the talented Mr. Olunloyo does indeed take the plunge back into the regular restaurant world, it will be interesting to see how he translates the intimacy of his art form for the larger stage. His ability to reproduce the quality is already clear.

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Shola's Guest Chef Series: Apamate

I was inexorably drawn to Apamate (1620 South Street) this Tuesday to enjoy the food artistry of Shola Olunloyo, guest chef for the night. I’ve been enjoying Shola’s cooking since his days working in the Starr and Stein dynasties. Since his “retirement” into personal chefdom and creation of the occasional atelier that is Studiokitchen, opportunities to catch him working in a traditional restaurant environment have been few and far between. Shola has long flirted with the lure of getting back into the brick and mortar restaurant arena and this was the first of a string of guest chef appearances he’s planned – a dip of the toe, if you will. At $50 for a four-course meal, it was too good a deal to miss.

Apamate, open for nearly a year now, has essentially fashioned itself as a casual, affordable neighborhood eatery and looks to be a strong part of the Graduate Hospital area renaissance. Their focus is on Spain, emphasizing pintxos and churros, with a basic dinner menu also on offer. Breakfast and brunch are offered on weekends. Aside from the three or four dinner mains, everything on the menu comes in at under $10. The dark red room is fairly warm and inviting, a long, narrow space with a small bar/counter adjacent to the open kitchen, a large group table in the front window and a galley of smaller wood tables running the length of the west wall. With the weight on pintxos, I’d love to see more space given to bar seating. As a BYOB, though, I can see the focus on table space as being the more economically feasible choice. In any event, I’ll definitely need to plan a return visit on a regular night.

Shola’s menu for the evening, “Sabores de Espana” (Flavors of Spain), was developed with Apamate chef Ane Ormachea to bring Shola’s modern approach to dish design and flavor genesis into the context of a traditional Spanish production kitchen. Working with Ane’s staff in the Apamate space, Shola turned out four courses, all of them showcasing his flair for integrating diverse ingredients, some of them hinting at the mastery that he’s showed himself capable of in the solo setting of Studiokitchen. Highlights for me were the starter and dessert courses. The starter, chick pea soup with Chorizo “Bolognese” and paprika oil, was a soulful bowl of pureed essence of garbanzos slicked by a colorful and flavorful dash of paprika infused oil. Hidden within was, truly, a Bolognese-style meat “sauce,” accented with prickly hints of spice from its chorizo base. Dessert was perhaps the most unique dish of the night: “Queso Fresco de Cabra,” a fresh goat cheese sorbet with Arbequina olive oil and olive sugar. The combination of lightly sweet sorbet, salty, savory “olive sugar” and a dash of rich olive oil tantalized the buds.

The only disappointment of the evening, for me, was the second course: shrimp roasted with paella spices, salsa verde, slow cooked egg and lobster-piquillo broth. Both the shrimp and egg were a touch over cooked. And though the lobster broth was delicate and delicious, it seemed separate from the straightforward, well-spiced shrimp. The temptation to treat the shrimp as finger food separated them from the other elements of the plate. We did, however, hit on the best wine pairing of the evening here, with the 2004 Sancerre “Clos de Chaudenay” of Etienne Daulny harmonizing perfectly with all elements on the plate.

Course three – braised chicken “escabeche,” with lentils, morcilla and almond milk – was the comfort food offering of the evening. Chicken thighs, braised confit-style in olive oil, were fall off the bone tender, moist and rich. Delicious on its own, the almond milk foam was almost too subtle for the hearty flavors of the overall dish. The savory lentils, spiked with morcilla, a Spanish-style blood sausage, triggered one of those scent memories that take one back to childhood. It took me a moment to pin down the aroma – sloppy joes. That’s no bad thing. It’s a dish I’d love to attempt to replicate at home and which, with a bit of simplification, could fit right in on the regular menu at Apamate.

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