In North America, being a chef is no longer a blue-collar “default job” but a desirable career. Without them, I would not be doing this, and I am incredibly grateful to have met so many talented chefs along the way. Thanks to food media and the rising public interest in food, cooking is no longer just cooking, it’s an expression of creativity as well as a survival skill.
Modern American
State Bird Provisions – America’s Best New Restaurant… or was it?! I have my issues with anything being called “the best”, so I won’t even go there, but it was an excellent restaurant. The food wasn’t necessarily the highlight (although I had some fantastic dishes), but it was the whole concept and execution. It was innovative, smart, original and memorable.
I felt like I was a friend of the chef at a catered party featuring funky tapas and hors d’oeuvres. It was a nice open kitchen and I got to watch all the food being prepared and “sample” all the food before going out. That’s not what really happened and I didn’t get to “sample”, but it’s how I felt. It was almost like the New American version of a Japanese Izakaya place.
Line ups build anticipation and it can really make or break the experience. The restaurant needs to bring their A-game and the food needs to be top notch to make it worth it, so the pressure was on especially after winning what the restaurant world would call an Oscar (James Beard Award).
State Bird Provisions – America’s Best New Restaurant… or was it?! I have my issues with anything being called “the best”, so I won’t even go there, but it was an excellent restaurant. The food wasn’t necessarily the highlight (although I had some fantastic dishes), but it was the whole concept and execution. It was innovative, smart, original and memorable.
More often than not I get more excited about a meal and a restaurant when I’m actually in the moment, but in this case it was the opposite. It was a thought provoking meal I appreciated more looking back on it. I did not necessarily remember each course because of how amazing it tasted, but it was the consideration for a concept that had me intrigued.
I did not have that toe-curling moment, but the execution, technique and development of each dish was so intense and fine tuned it was admirable. I could almost taste the determination for a third star. The precision, knife skills, and attention to detail at benu I hold high in regard. It wasn’t necessary my favourite movie, but it was mindfully stimulating.
Some of the courses were very homestyle Asian dishes while others were a test of skill. An Asian chef could spend a lifetime mastering some of those dishes, so at times it was ambitious but nonetheless dedicated.
