Temple Downtown, Providence, RI

Making Sausage With Chef Cardell

Recently, chef Cardell was spotted in the Temple Downtown kitchen with sous chef Richard Dowe working on a new hot Italian style sausage recipe for a new dish on the menu.  Chef is sourcing the pork from Lucky 7 livestock ranch in Utica, NY, the same place where we get our pigs for our famous pig roast.  He then grinds in fennel, coriander, crushed red pepper fresh basil and oregano.  The ingredients give this sausage an amazing flavor with a nice kick of heat.  He is then searing the sausage, slicing topping a new flatbread at Temple with sautéed broccoli rabe, garlic and Robiola cheese.  Way to go

Braddock’s American Brasserie, Pittsburgh, PA

Pittsburgh Restaurant Week Brings Bloggers to Braddock’s

After the Braddock’s team caught wind that Pittsburgh’s Restaurant Week was making a resurrection in January 2012, our team jumped on board and looked for ways to be a leader in the week long city-wide event. The PRW organizers were looking for a venue to kick-off the week with a blogger dinner, and Braddock’s stepped up to the plate to help get the buzz going!

The event was a hit. Twenty bloggers joined the Braddock’s culinary team and had front-row access as Chef de Cuisine Brian Volmrich walked them through a sampling of Braddock’s Pittsburgh-inspired Small Plates, which included a guest favorite: our Braised Short Rib Pierogies. Chef Brian shared the story about the creation of the recipe behind that dish, which originally came from the Polish grandmother of Braddock’s Pastry Chef, Amanda Kate.

Also included in the sampler were the Strip District Kielbasa and Homemade Potato Gnocchi with Lobster — all ‘burgh classics with a Braddock’s twist. Acclaimed food writer Victoria Bradley of Table Magazine even joined the event and gave a thumbs up on the decadence of the evening’s sampling trio.

The blogosphere was filled with photos and rave reviews about Braddock’s after the event. We were thrilled to see the positive response and were pleased to meet new guests that came in throughout the week to sample the menu. We’re hoping Pittsburgh’s Restaurant Week is here to stay!

Departure, Portland, OR

DEPARTURE

Chef Gregory Gourdet and Departure Restaurant hosted their annual Chinese New Year Celebration from January 20th – January 28th to welcome the Year of The Dragon. Chinese New Year is the most important and celebrated holiday on the Chinese calendar where friends and family reunite and pave the way for a good new year. Gourdet added his signature flavors to a traditional multi-course kaiseki menu and Departure’s bartenders created signature cocktail pairings specifically designed for the cuisine and occasion.

“Food is always the center of a Chinese New Year celebration. There are different dishes that represent the wishes of luck, wealth, longevity and a rich sweet sweet life,” said Gourdet.

Chinese New Year Kaiseki Menu

$45 per person

Shrimp Toast

Water Chestnuts, Ginger

Crispy Pork Dumplings

Chili Soy

Hot and Sour Soup

Bamboo Shoots, Sesame, White Pepper

Cod Steamed in Ginger and Scallions

Soy Sauce Chicken

Longevity Noodles

Egg, Snow Peas, Ginger, Chilies

Nian Gao

Glutinous Rice Flour Cake, Adzuki Bean, Matcha Cream, Lychee-Wolfberry Sorbet

Featured Cocktails

7-Spice Drop $9

Grey Goose Poire, Lemon Juice, House-Infused 7-Spice Syrup

Red Banner $10

Canton Ginger Liqueur, Blood Orange Juice, Prosecco

Urban Farmer, Portland’s Steakhouse, Portland, OR

SRG January  Blog for Urban Farmer

This past December, Urban Farmer’s bartender Scott Watson competed and won the “On Deck with the Captain” Challenge where his new rum creation won first prize against other local Portland bartenders.  Next time you come into see Scott, ask for  “Morgan’s Mutiny” .  When you are at home, you can make this captain creation to enjoy!

Morgan’s Mutiny

2 oz Captain Morgan Spiced Rum

1 oz Applejack

1 oz cinnamon syrup

½ oz lime juice

¼ oz simple syrup

½ oz of egg whites

Garnish – dash of bitters

Method:

Combine all ingredients in empty shaker and give a good shake to froth the egg whites.  Then add ice and give a good shake again.  Strain into chilled martini glass and finish with a dash of bitters.  Garnish with a lime wheel.

The Original Dinerant, Portland, OR

Every kid loves it. And chances are, unless you’re dietary habits prohibit you from eating it (it’s pretty much made from wheat and dairy) the child in you loves it, too.

So let us praise then, ourselves, because we have long outgrown childish tastes. It’s not that we were stupid, or that children, in general, are stupid, but late’s face it, they (as did we when we were their age) love macaroni and cheese, so long as it meets their rather suspect and unsophisticated expectations. In other words, they (we) love(d) it, so long as it comes (came) from a box.

When we’re young and everything in the world is new, we tend to stick to static things.

Fortunately, our taste buds grow with us the older we get. The palate widens and sheds the stubborn partisanship of its youth.

Now, there are countless ways to make a proper macaroni and cheese casserole, and its diverse recipes are very old, and very European, too. Nonetheless, Americans place a proper mac high atop their list of nostalgic comfort foods.

The Original’s Mac ‘n’ Cheese is derived from the continental European style, and takes the form of a soufflé. Made with elbow macaroni and Tillamook cheddar cheese, our soufflé is comprised of eggs, onion, bread crumbs, salt and butter. Once is sets, which we top with parmesan cheese and pop it in the oven.

And, like magic (a good macaroni and cheese is magical, isn’t it?), the flavors blend and bind themselves to one another the way a good mac should.

But, to jazz it up just a little, we dollop it with a small spoonful of our housemade bacon-tomato ketchup (which we make with onions, apple cider vinegar, dry mustard, salt, pepper, a pinch of cinnamon, a dash of hot sauce and, as the name implies, tomatoes and bacon).

Who’s Cooking At The Toasted Oak?

The locally-inspired comfort foods available daily are prepared by talented and inspired cooks. We’d like to introduce some of the folks behind the scenes in the Toasted Oak kitchen.

Laura Vaughn

Age: 25

Employed at Toasted Oak: 2 years

History in the kitchen: Laura has been working in the food industry for a few years now. She started out working in the front of house but then her interest in food moved her to the kitchen. She has a degree in food industry managment from Michigan State and just recently graduated from Schoolcraft College’s culinary program in May of 2011.

Family: Laura has 2 older brothers. She currently lives with her boyfriend Brian.

Favorite Toasted Oak recipe: Salted Caramel Budino. She loves baking this for herself at home!

Robbie Coran

Age: 27

Employed at Toasted Oak: 3 months

History in the Kitchen: Before working here with us Robbie was a cook for several years at a casual restaurant. During that time he also spent 2 years working in a fine dining restaurant in Ohio. He is currently in his first year of culinary school at Oakland Community College.

Family: Robbie has been happily dating his girlfriend Morgan for about 1 year. He has 2 younger sisters.

Favorite Toasted Oak recipe: Great Frickin’ Chicken

Micah Sicslowicz

Age: 23

Employed at Toasted Oak: 2 years

History in the Kitchen: Micah started out in the restaurant industry when he was in highschool. He worked as a dishwasher for a short time before moving on to become a prep cook. He spent four years in a casual dining restaurant before coming here to work with us. In 2010 he graduated from Schoolcraft College’s culinary program.

Family: Micah is getting married this month to his fiance Emily. He has 1 step brother and 1 step sister.

Favorite Toasted Oak recipe: Chef Steven’s Award Winning Porchetta

Mercat a la Planxa, Chicago, IL

New Loves

The month of February has a tendency to awaken the memories of past and present things that we all love.  Heart-shaped products are suddenly in abundance once again, the colors and textures of spring clothing begin to tease us from snow-covered store display windows, and excessively large candy assortments encourage us to try flavors of chocolate that we’d otherwise deem inedible.  All of these fun and lighthearted traditions take us back to fond memories, and get us excited about new opportunities and upcoming plans with things and people we love.

This month in the restaurant, we welcome some new and upcoming changes to our traditional setup.  We’ve said goodbye to our old large tables in the center of the dining room (lovingly known in the restaurant as “51” and “52”), and we’ve rearranged the space to make room for some elegant Spanish-rustic tables and handmade chairs.  This has brought about a whole new realm of potential opportunities (e.g. a “chef’s table”, perhaps?), and has many guests and associates equally excited and intrigued.

The excitement and intrigue also continues into our In-Room Dining revamp, which will be gracing the Blackstone Hotel rooms sometime this month.  New menu designs and culinary creations have allowed for a customized menu that is the perfect marriage between the Blackstone’s traditions and Mercat’s out-of-the-box twist on room service classics.

Finally, Mercat warms Chicago’s hearts on Valentine’s Day this year, as we roll out an $85 pre-fixe lux tasting menu that will likely have guests falling in love (certainly with the food, if not each other).  If they want to recount the evening, they can do so by checking out our Facebook page, where we will post photos that we took from the evening’s event.

The Corner Office Restaurant + Martini Bar, Denver, CO

In Colorado, January equals Snow. In Denver, January equals Snow Sports. Each year, D-town hosts the wickedest winter conference around, Ski Snow Sports Convention, fondly called SIA by the hot snow bunnies bouncing around downtown.
This year TCO welcomes back our SIA partner, DC Shoes. They invade us every year…and being violated has never felt so good.

From window covering to branding our taps to outfitting our staff in killer DC gear, TCO was transformed into a high-fivin’ mecca of sexy shredder beauties.

And that was just the beginning of our SIA madness. This year we got our locals, a.k.a. flatlanders, involved. Show your pass, get a Snow Bunny shot on us.  Who can say no to flaming whipped cream? At least your pass gets you SOMETHING white this season…sure ain’t been the snow.

So now we rest, and recoup, and recover. The hot snow boarders and badass radgirls have left the building…only to return again next year for more shenanigans, lots of beer, and probably more than 1 walk of shame. Damn, we sure will miss them.

Meet the Talent, Steven Serdar, Regional Director of Operations, Sage Restaurant Group

When did you join Sage Restaurant Group?

I started with SRG April of 2007

What are some of your favorite foods and drinks that Sage Restaurant Group offers?

Here is my personal list of favorites from the SRG collection:

Mercat a la Planxa, Chicago, IL

Conill Amb Castanyes

Braised Rabbit Agnolotti, Roasted Chestnut Purée, Brandied Cherries and Rosemary Brown Butter

Costillas de Ternera

Beef Shortrib Coca, with horseradish, parmesan & bacon Drink

Sage Smash

DeLeon Diamante tequila, fresh sage, lime juice, honey sage syrup

Second Home Kitchen + Bar, Denver, CO

Rotisserie Colorado Chicken

Granny Smith-marinated, braised Swiss chard, apple jus

The Corner Office Restaurant + Martini Bar, Denver, CO

Shrimp and Grits

Urban farmer, Portland’s Steakhouse, Portland, OR

Everything on the menu!

Where did you work before you joined SRG?

Just prior to SRG I owned my own restaurant it was a Steak House. Before that I worked with Bartolotta Restaurant Group in Milwaukee and before that Carlucci Hospitality in Chicago along with Mike Ditka’s. Before that Hyatt and Marriott

What do you like to do when you are not running one of Restaurateur, Peter Karpinski’s premiere restaurants?

I enjoy life with my wife and 3 kids / Riding my motorcycle / fishing and golf.