Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/689634
7 6 | t h e c l e v e r r o o t WILD ANIMALS FEAR FIRE, BUT HUMANS SEEM DRAWN to this elemental force and its inevitable companion, smoke. They line up nightly to sear thin strips of flesh over tabletop grills at Korean barbecue joints, coming out smelling like firehouse Dalmatians after a three-alarm blaze. In Argentina, every steakhouse has a properly stoked wood fire searing hearty asado, often in the front window—an irresistible draw for passers-by. And what glamper doesn't love roasting 'smores (and knuckles) over a roaring campfire? While lab-coat molecular cuisine and low-temp sous-vide are still the darlings of some gastronomes, a few chefs are getting back to one simple fact: Nothing cooks like fire. In Venice, California, L.A.'s beachside gourmet ghetto, Chef Josiah Citrin is returning to fire and smoke at his casual comfort-food restaurant, Charcoal. Better known for Mélisse, the bon ton French establishment that earned him two coveted Michelin stars, Citrin has a dif- ferent goal at Charcoal: "The way I cook at Charcoal Venice is the same way I like to cook at home for my friends and family on the weekend. The dishes are meant to be shared, family- style. My goal is to create craveable food that you can't get anywhere else." Keeping with the wood-burning theme, the restaurant's design employs woods typically used for grilling, such as hickory, walnut and white oak. To capture precise texture and deliver a unique experience for each ingredient, Citrin uses three internationally-recognized grills in the kitchen at Charcoal Venice: a Josper oven, a PHOTO: GREG RANNELLS The open hearth at Público by Mike Randolph in St. Louis. "Cabbage Baked in Embers" at Charcoal Venice. PLAYING WITH IS SLOW-COOKING OVER? CONTEMPORARY CHEFS GET PYRO-TECHNICAL BY DAVID GADD