The Clever Root

Spring / Summer 2016

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s p r i n g / s u m m e r 2 0 1 6 | 7 7 ceramic Big Green Egg and a grill/rotisserie made by Wood Stone, based in Washing- ton State. The Josper oven—a charcoal-fueled combo grill and oven manufactured by a Barcelona-based company—imparts a roasted, charred flavor to Citrin's grilled calamari. The Big Green Egg—a modern kamado-style cooker that burns wood or charcoal, modeled on the domed clay cooking vessels first seen during the Qin Dynasty in China and later used in Japan—smokes the chef's "Cabbage Baked in Embers" to charry perfection. The wood-fired Wood Stone grill gives the restaurant's family-style porterhouse steak a fire-tinged taste that's complemented by Citrin's house-made condiments, including his "J-1" Steak Sauce. Latin America, where open-fire cooking has never gone out of style, serves as an inspiration for American-based chefs seeking direct contact with the flames. In St. Louis, Público by Mike Randolph is a Latin-inspired, wood-fire cantina offering traditional Mexican and South American dishes with contemporary influences; the menu centers on the Missouri oak wood-burning hearth for spit-roasted and grilled meats, vegetables and seafood. In Portland, Oregon, there's OX, where husband-and-wife Chefs Greg Denton and Gabrielle Quiñónez Denton combine inspiration from the wood-fire grilling tradition of Argenti- na with the culinary heritage of Spain, France and Italy, delivering all of it with a Pacific Northwest touch. Meanwhile, in Chicago, Chef John Manion is currently debuting new Argentine-inspired open fire concept El Che Bar, which he says will specialize in "primal cooking." In the raw, open cooking space, Manion will hone in on serving wood-fired cuisine, including locally sourced vegetables, grilled meats and whole seafood that will be cooked on the custom-built grills and chapas in a ten-foot wood-burning hearth. "When I was a kid we moved to Brazil where backyard churrascos and Sunday din- ners in the local rodizio were a way of life," says Manion. "The smell of meat cooking over coals left an indelible impression that I've carried with me. I've spent a good part of my adult life in love with the country of Argentina where cooking al asador is an art form. Nothing, to me, is as honest or elemental as cooking over a wood fire." The Midnight Margarita at Charcoal Venice. Charcoal Cocktails, Anyone? In keeping with their fire-driven cuisine, open-flame restaurants are incorporating edible, medical-grade charcoal into coal-black cocktails. At Charcoal Venice, the signature Midnight Margarita combines tequila with charcoal and lime. At Los Angeles Asian restaurant and bar E.P. & L.P., activated charcoal casts a stunning gradient—from white to grey to black—down the sides of the cocktail glass in the Black Thai Optional: gin enlivened with lychee, activated charcoal, lemon, amaro and egg white. PHOTO: DYLAN+JENI PHOTO: DYLAN+JENI asador is asador is asador an art Chicago's Chef John Manion of El Che Bar. Driven by fire: Chef Josiah Citrin of Charcoal Venice in Los Angeles. PHOTO COURTESY OF EL CHE BAR PHOTO: DYLAN+JENI

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