Pat’s Pick
Pat's Pick
Pat's Pick
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NOT MY BACK YARD What's in a name—or, rather, a slogan? To me, the "gourmet backyard cuisine" at Jasper's in Plano is about 90 percent gourmet and 10 percent backyard (not that there's anything wrong with that). What's more, curtains made of bronze mesh and arty room dividers of pencil-thin steel rods don't exactly shout, "Come as you are." But, hey, high style is exactly what you'd expect from executive chef Kent Rathbun, of Dallas' Abacus, and his chef de cuisine for Jasper's, Jon Stevens. I was extremely happy with my hickory-grilled salmon (on mascarpone polenta with dabs of roasted-tomato olive oil), and a friend gave a thumbs-up to his tender, salt-crusted prime rib with French onion jus. A third friend tried to get down and dirty by ordering a cheeseburger, but when we checked, we found that it came with, ahem, applewood-smoked bacon. PATRICIA SHARPE
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Maytag Blue Potato Chips
"Gourment backyard cuisine" from Jasper's in Plano. |
Primary Flavors
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LEAN AND GREEN You can find the slim, distinctive chiles called long greens or Anaheims growing in areas throughout the Southwest United States, but by almost universal assent, the ones cultivated around Hatch, New Mexico, are the best. Supposedly the local soil, altitude, and rainfall provide conditions that make these chiles especially full in flavor. Although both the green and the red (that is, ripe) chiles are popular for cooking, an almost cultlike following has developed around the green-chile harvest. In New Mexico, folks will hit a roadside stand, buy a bushel of chiles, and have them roasted on the spot. Central Market does its best to recreate this annual ritual in Texas: From August 23 to September 1 (the dates may vary depending on the crop), tumble roasters will be outside the stores, Hatch-chile sausage wraps will be on sale, and people will be able to try green chile-spiked goodies like meat loaf and hamburgers. At Blue Mesa Grill (all five locations in the Metroplex), customers can get a chile hit in dishes ranging from pozole to grilled mahimahi tacos. And during the first half of September, Chuy's will be hosting its fifteenth annual green-chile festival (its chiles are grown near Deming, fifty miles from Hatch). There will be roasters in the parking lot, chiles for sale, and special green-chile menu items. PATRICIA BUSA MCCONNICO
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Fire Roasted Salsa
From Blue Mesa Grill in Ft. Worth. |
Word of Mouth
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NO BULL Food & Wine recently named David Bull, the 28-year-old executive chef at Austin's Driskill Hotel, one of its ten best new American chefs of 2003. (Next month we'll talk to Scott Tycer, of Aries in Houston, the other Texas chef to make the list.)
Was there ever a moment when you thought, "This is what I want to do for the rest of my life"?
For me, there never really was a question, because my grandparents owned a small Italian restaurant in Newark Valley, New York, and I started working there when I was about ten. So when the guidance counselor said, "What do you want to do with your life?" I said, "I want to cook."
Have you cooked for any famous people?
Yes, I especially remember meeting Oprah. She was staying at the Mansion on Turtle Creek when I was the executive sous-chef at the dining room, and I went out to say hello. She held my hand for at least ten minutes while I was talking to her and wouldn't let go. It's nice to call your mother and say, "Hey, Ma. I just met Oprah."
What do you cook at home?
Well, I've got three boys, so that's my biggest challenge. I thought that I could train their palates along the way, but that's just not working. I remember the first Thanksgiving I cooked for them; they didn't eat anything. Once they saw the turkey in a raw state, it was all over.
Would you like to reopen your grandparents' restaurant?
I've definitely thought about it. But the only kind of restaurant that would survive in that small town is a casual-dining one, and the stuff I love to cook is totally high-end, totally fine dining. But, then, what they had there was something special—I mean, my uncles were the bartenders and the cooks, and my aunts and my mom were the waitresses, and my grandmother was the baker. If I could have it all like that again, I'd love to reopen it. STACY HOLLISTER
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