Dallas-Fort Worth Kitchen Notebook
An in-depth look at some of our favorite dishes and cocktails from our time on the ground in Dallas-Fort Worth.
PINEAPPLE SLINGER
When Beverage Director Iluggy Recinos asked fellow Exxir Hospitality bartenders to give him some insight into the Dallas palate, all they had to say was, “Agave. They LOVE agave.” So he hit the ground running at The Botanist, Exxir’s craft cocktail lounge, down a path that would eventually produce their number one selling cocktail, the Gunslinger. Recinos starts with sliced pineapple that gets coated in sugar and cooked in the wood fire oven until the center is juicy and tender with a brûlée-like finish. It’s seasoned with salt, cinnamon, chipotle, and cayenne, and returned to the oven. The tender, baked piña gets pushed through an extraction juicer then combined with tequila, simple syrup, lemon, lime, mezcal, and Ancho Reyes for subtle smoke. The cocktail is finished with a Pasilla chile and a house-made 5 chile salt rim to drive home the pepper and spice. “It flies like crazy. It’s very umami.” says Recinos. “It has depth, acidity, beautiful spice, and aroma.”
photo: will bunt
photo: Geoffrey Hauschild
CHICAGO STYLE
With Chicago-style popcorn fresh on his palate, Rye’s chef, Taylor Rause, asked himself the question: “How do I create a vehicle for the taste of Chicago-style popcorn without just throwing some popped kernels on a plate?” Cue the crème. With a base of popcorn-kernel-infused cream, he layers on cheddar cake and cheddar fritters. For the cake, Rause goes heavy on powdered Cheez-Its and cheddar powder for that evocative tang, but fills the fritters with aged local cheddar for a sharp contrast. He springs the torched custard free from its ramekin for a composed plate-up, but the stability of the custard comes down to the clock. “It’s not crazy complex, but it took a lot of time to figure out,” Rause says. A crème brûlée order fire comes in, a square is removed from the freezer, and a timer is set for six minutes. Once the six minutes is up, the perfectly soft-set crème is sprinkled with sugar and brûléed until golden and glassy.
KROEUNG THREE WAYS
Fresh out of Los Angeles, Café Modern Chef Jett Mora couldn’t wait to pickle and preserve every farmers market veg he could get his hands on. His porterhouse prime steak and tenderloin tartare plays with the contrast of fresh and fermented, with neighboring cuts of beef plated both raw and grilled. Inspired by his wife’s Cambodian heritage, a kroeung marinade with lemongrass, galangal, turmeric, and lime leaf works triple-duty. Aromatic and punchy, kroeung bathes the steak, acts as a dressing for the tartare, and a flavorful addition to a quick-pickle condiment of chiles, shishitos, red onion, and Asian pear. A final preserved element of cured egg yolk is shaved over the meat, melding with the electric flavors. Chef explains, “Out here, I am pleased to say that people love spicy, so you can’t be too shy on heat.”
photo: Geoffrey Hauschild
photo: Geoffrey Hauschild
AJO VERDE
He has a garden, his parents have a farm, and his aunt and uncle raise cattle. So when planning his private, progressive tasting menus for Halff Culinaire, it’s a no-brainer for Chef Phillip Halff II to lean on whatever is currently sprouting from the earth. Back in July, it was cucumbers. “With an abundance of cucumbers growing in my garden, I’m looking for new ways to push [them] on my guests,” he says. Halff stopped by his parents’ farm, harvested some almonds, and decided to make a refreshing ajo blanco (recipe on page TK). Contrary to the name, Halff’s ajo blanco goes green—fresh-pressed almond milk is blended with honeydew, celery vinegar, and cucumber juice. The chilled soup is mixed with an ultra-herbaceous Kermit-colored oil made from picked cilantro, parsley, and lemon verbena, then poured tableside over citric-acid-infused Granny Smith apple, honeydew, English cucumber, and grapes. With a swirl, little beads of oil emerge on the surface to make a trippy, visual treat.
Full Recipe: Ajo Blanco, Melon, Cucumber, Almond Milk, Garlic, and Dill Oil
Tips on building a wine list that works for everyone from Sommelier Thibaut Idenn of Alla Vita and Boka