Food & Wine May 2018

WHENEVER I LAND IN A NEW CITY, I make a beeline for a restaurant before heading to my hotel. If I’ve done my scouting, I know exactly where I’m going: a local’s place, preferably chef-owned. A meal at such a spot (along with a visit to the farmers market) is my favorite way to ease into a city’s bloodstream. Whatever the case, and wherever I might be, the alchemy of great food, service, and hospitality washes away the vagaries of air travel, setting the table for the rest of the trip. Restaurants deliver a quick litmus test of a city’s food culture and a neighborhood’s sense of community. Usually the menu celebrates something delicious growing, swimming, or brewing nearby. Maybe the dining room showcases the creative talents of a local design…

SKIP THE SAD BAG of pretzels on your next flight, and instead fuel up with these homemade nut bars dreamed up by Kelsey Youngman, F&W’s test kitchen manager. Hearty granola bars and curry-spiced nut mixes inspired Youngman to marry the two. “I love strong flavors when flying because your taste is dulled in the air, so I came up with this super-savory version of a traditional nut bar,” she says. Candy-like dates and brown rice syrup bind the toasted coconut chips, raw nuts, and puffed rice, while Madras curry lends an earthy, bitter note. It all makes for the perfect snack to pack for your next adventure. Flip the page for your new travel buddy. Curry-Spiced Nut Bars PAGE 9 Active 10 min; Total 1 hr 40 min Makes 12 bars Roasting nuts with…

FOR A SNAPSHOT OF PARIS’ yakitori scene, look up “une brochette boeuf-fromage.” Or maybe don’t: “It’s an abomination of tofulike cheese surrounded by beef,” says Jessica Yang. Over the last few years, Japanese chefs like Taku Sekine of Dersou and Sota Atsumi, formerly of Clown Bar, have injected new energy into the city by blending French food with Japanese sensibility, but yakitori is still associated with bad restaurants and worse skewers. Yang, a Taiwanese-American pastry chef, and her husband, Robert Compagnon (pictured below), want to change that. After training in New York City (Compagnon at yakitori temple Torishin, Yang at French-focused Rebelle), they moved to the City of Lights to open Le Rigmarole. On a recent evening, diners lined up for dishes that showcase Japanese technique and binchotan grilling applied…

WHEN CHEF MOURAD LAHLOU opened Aziza in San Francisco, it became the first Michelin-starred Moroccan restaurant in the country. His new venture, Amara, which debuts this spring, explores the synergy between Mexican and Moroccan food. (A brief history lesson: The Moors invaded Europe in the eighth century, bringing their cuisine with them; the Spanish carried those influences to Mexico 800 years later.) The menu, developed in collaboration with co-chef Louis Maldonado, looks for harmony in Mexican and Moroccan cooking methods and ingredients, such as fideos, the short noodles the cuisines have in common. “It was a head-scratcher for me to create a vegetarian dish,” says Maldonado. “I created one based on the traditional Mexican sopa de fideo and seffa, Moroccan vermicelli served with a rich burnt-onion broth.” Try the dish…

A GREAT VACATION CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE. Just ask Kalisa Martin. In 2014, Martin was brand director at Tasting Table when a weekend trip to Jamaica set her on a new course. She and her partner, Jeff Belizaire, decided to stay put, opening a bed-and-breakfast that showcased local art and where Martin—a graduate of the French Culinary Institute—prepared hyper-local Jamaican cuisine. Now she’s expanded that venture, channeling her love of food, hospitality, and travel into The Runaway Experience (therunawayexperience.com), a luxury travel agency focused on community-based tourism. Martin has a knack for finding that amazing out-of-the-way restaurant or the incredible local hang you can’t wait to share with your friends. “Food isn’t an afterthought for us,” she says. “We curate our trips around it.” Here is Martin’s advice on how…

Butter-Basted Scallops With Spring Greens and Snap Peas Total 30 min; Serves 4 Justin pairs butter-basted scallops with tender spinach, bitter dandelion, and crisp snap peas. The lightly browned butter acts as a sauce for both the sweet scallops and the tangy, lemony spring greens. ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided 12 large sea scallops, side muscles removed (about 1¼ lb.) Kosher salt and pepper 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed 4 garlic cloves (2 whole and 2 thinly sliced), divided 2 thyme sprigs ½ lb. sugar snap peas, trimmed 6 oz. leaf spinach, stemmed (½ bunch) 5 oz. dandelion greens, stemmed and chopped (½ bunch) 1 cup pea shoots 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice 1. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Season scallops to taste with salt and pepper, and add scallops to skillet. Cook until browned on the bottom,…