by Kate Turgeon Watson | Feb 2, 2016 | Eat, February 2016
Know the saying, “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire?” Smoke and fire are easy to spot on menus lately. A concept that’s been smoldering for a couple years is catching fire. According to Technomic, a research/consulting firm tracking the food industry, “burned” is a top food trend for 2016. Think: charred veggies and desserts with charred fruit or a burnt-sugar topping. The burnt sensation shows up in cocktails, too, with features such as smoked salt, smoked ice or smoky syrups.
Carolina Ale House’s Bloody Mary features smoky vodka and smoked salt
At Raleigh’s Mandolin restaurant, a roasted root vegetable-watercress salad is served with roasted apples, while the bar offers a smoked maple old-fashioned. And a sampling of local spots, including Carolina Ale House, have Bloody Mary cocktails that feature a smoked element such as smoky vodka or smoked salt.
Raleigh Magazine ventured to Standard Foods and Grocery for toasty desserts. Pastry chef Krystle Swensen was inspired by her love of coffee when she created the smoked cocoa nib panna cotta. It features Escazu chocolate with floral, fruity notes and meringue, which Swensen makes in small batches throughout the day, and then pipes out and toasts with a blow torch just before serving. On top: crumbles of speculoos cookies and edible cocoa nibs, which is chocolate in its rawest form.
“It’s these silky textures along with crunchy and toasted marshmallow,” Swensen says, adding that it’s not overtly sweet but instead balances smoky and sweet. The rounded flavor combination is often enjoyed by people who don’t necessarily have a penchant for dessert.
Smoked cocoa nib ice cream and ice cream sandwiches in the grocery section
In the grocery portion of Standard Foods, smoked cocoa nib ice cream is sold in pints and sandwiches. “I like to do similar flavors with the menu that are in retail. So, if somebody really likes something, it’s also available for them to take home,” she adds.
At home, Swensen suggests pairing the ice cream with amaretto cherries or serving it with an after-dinner drink such as sherry.
by Kate Turgeon Watson | Nov 30, 2015 | December 2015 / January 2016, Eat
The kitchen staff had an announcement for their new chef, Beth LittleJohn. They were out of onion rings. That cold bag of ready-to-fry rings was empty.
But LittleJohn was never a fan of frozen food anyway.
“I was like, well, we have ONIONS, don’t we? Let’s make onion rings,” she says.
That switch to hand-breaded, fresh onion rings was just one thing that she brings to Raleigh’s Players’ Retreat, a bar and restaurant on Oberlin Road that opened in 1951. Other changes: additional menu items, new chicken marinade and scratch-made honey mustard.
Since she came to PR in June, LittleJohn has prepared specials such as a Korean barbeque kimchi burger, French onion bacon dip and her grandmother’s brisket recipe. She likes comfort food and the challenge of preparing different types of cuisine, such as Mexican dishes that make weekend appearances.
Despite additions, Players’ Retreat isn’t trying to shake any notion that it’s a “State bar.” (Although, really, they prefer the word family to bar.) The Wolfpack memorabilia and original red lights on the ceiling are part of the charm.
New menu items exist to cater to a growing crowd of foodies who crave Raleigh nostalgia and worthwhile eats.
“One of the things about PR is we have a ton of regulars … and we want to give them the things that have always been on the menu,” she says. “But we also want to bring it up a level.”
That “up-a-level” is why LittleJohn, who previously worked at The Carolina Inn and Coquette, was brought in. She’s already introduced line-ups for servers so they can taste specials and educate customers.
Originally from Prospect Hill, just north of Hillsborough, LittleJohn, 34, spent her teen years in Durham. She went to the Carolina Friends School in Chapel Hill, which is known for encouraging creativity and independence. She graduated from Wheaton College (Massachusetts) and the Culinary Institute of America.
“She runs a tight ship back there in the kitchen,” PR proprietor Gus Gusler says. “But everybody loves her. She brings food out, talks to people … she gets the PR.”
When Raleigh Magazine caught up with LittleJohn, she was drinking a can of Diet Coke and laughing about the commonality of people misspelling her last name. “It doesn’t bother me,” she says, with a slight widow’s peak under her black bandana.
When LittleJohn joined the PR team, Gusler’s first purchase for her was a new fry cutter, which she can start using after a planned kitchen remodel and small extension is complete. The current kitchen space, which has only one door, is small by restaurant standards.
“[The design has] been this way for 60 years,” LittleJohn says as she looks around the kitchen. “And we want to make the necessary improvements so it can last another 60.”
Gusler saves Players’ Retreat
Players’ Retreat was a favorite spot when bars and restaurants were like Cheers. But, along the way, people stopped going in the same numbers. Players’ Retreat, by many accounts, had stopped being a hot spot by the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. And, even though tables were open, some patrons remember that good service was hard to come by.
But things changed. Again.
In November 2005, entertainment and intellectual property attorney Gus Gusler bought the eatery and bar. An N.C. State grad and former PR employee during his college years, Gusler couldn’t stand to see it go. His first order of business was to add a wine list (beyond the old, $1.99-a-bottle white zinfandel) and 60 types of single-malt scotch. He opened on Sundays, which hadn’t been done before but was a necessity for a sports bar. And he extended kitchen hours to 2 a.m.
Gusler went through the old equipment and discovered a well-made meat grinder that needed some care. He had it repaired and fresh-ground burgers (which could be cooked to any specifications) were back on the menu. He got rid of the gallon buckets of pre-made salad dressing and started to make his own.
“Basically, we were paying attention to ingredients,” he says. “I started to buy as much local stuff as I could.”
Today empty tables are an anomaly. Instead, there are board tops that convert pool tables to dining tables when necessary. And, interestingly enough, it’s not uncommon to see pairings such as burgers and fine wine. “When you think about where we were,” Gusler laughs. “To get to $100-a-bottle Silver Oak and hamburgers?” That’s something.
by Kate Turgeon Watson | Nov 30, 2015 | December 2015 / January 2016, Eat
Looking for lunch in Raleigh? Check out Raleigh Magazine’s list of food trucks. Don’t see your favorite truck? Email us at eat@raleighmag and let us know!
Chick-n-que
@Chick_N_Que
Tues. 12/1, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m., Wake Tech Main Campus
Wed. 12/3, 12/10, 12/17 and 12/31, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., Qualcomm at 8041 Acro Corp. Dr.
Mon. 12/7, 12/14 and 12/21, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., NCSU Centennial Campus at 920 Main Campus
Tues. 12/8, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., Six Forks II
Tues. 12/15, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Tower II
Baozi (Northern Chinese fusion)
@BaoziFoodTruck
Tues. 12/1, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. corner of Brownleigh Drive and Glen Royal Road
All American
@AllAmericanRDU
Tues. 12/8, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., N.C. Division of Public Health
Tues. 12/15, 11 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., 3001 Edwards Mill Rd.
Wed. 12/16, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., 5540 Centerview Dr.
Pie Pushers (pizza)
@piepushers
Thurs. 12/3, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., One Renaissance Centre, 3301 Benson Dr.
Chirba Chirba Dumpling
@ChirbaChirba
Tues. 12/1, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Raleigh Orthopedics at 3001 Edwards Mill Rd.
Wed. 12/2, 12/9, 12/16, 12/23 and 12/30, 11:30 a.m. – 2 p.m., Centennial Campus at 920 Main Campus Dr.
Mon. 12/28, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Northchase at Midtown at 6601 Six Forks Rd.
Belgian Waffle Crafters
@WaffleCrafters
Tues. 12/8, 12/22, 8:30 – 10:30 a.m., Qualcomm at 8041 Acro Corp. Dr.
by Kate Turgeon Watson | Nov 30, 2015 | December 2015 / January 2016, Eat
You made the dough from scratch, employed an army of cookie cutters and mixed the world’s sweetest icing. But before your favorite Christmas cookies slide off the plate and into the memories of Christmas past, you want to snap the shot that tells their story. And whether you’re keeping it for a photo book or sharing on social media, you want the pic to be as good as the cookies themselves.
Raleigh Magazine brought three easy holiday treats to photographer Felicia Perry, whose business – Food-Seen – assists the food, beverage and restaurant industry with photography and marketing. Let’s see what happens when a little know-how and a camera phone meet what’s already in your house.
Yep: Instead, choose a dark background for simplicity and contrast. Now pile those biscuits into a handy basket with biscuit sides showing. Have a little fun with tiny crumbs. A common kitchen napkin under the basket adds another element without cluttering.
Nope: Fresh out of the oven, but still in the baking pan and sitting on top of the stove. (Really, what stove actually used for cooking is photo-ready?) Yes, golden biscuit tops are showing, but that’s all we see.
Yep: Pile that yummy broken-by-hand peppermint bark on a plate. And we know you’re having coffee, too, so add a mug. Striped holiday napkin or tablecloth adds easy, instant charm. And the angle is simple. Often, what you see naturally as you sit down to enjoy the treat makes the perfect angle.
Nope: Kitchen sink sprayer, busy countertop and tall parchment paper distract. It’s better to show the layers of the bark to get things a little more festive.
Nope: Photo is trying to tell the story of New Year’s Eve (hello, cork). But the paper towel distracts, the bubbly has fizzled, and the angle is distracting.
Yep: Crouched down to table height to take the picture, using Photo blur app for iPhone to soften background of bottle.
by Kate Turgeon Watson | Oct 28, 2015 | Eat, November 2015
Chef Jason Smith is known for his cracklin’ pork shank, fresh salmon salad and $9 lunch meatloaf from a wood-fire grill.
But on Tuesday nights the flavor profile is cheesy. And it’s more mac-and-cheese than goat cheese guacamole. That’s because Tuesdays often mean daddy-daughter dates for Smith, 41, and his daughter Sutton, 7. Maybe they venture to one of Smith’s restaurants — 18 Seaboard, Cantina 18 and Harvest 18. Or maybe they hit some “non-18” spots such as Players’ Retreat and Sardi’s Den.
No matter where they are, it’s not unusual for fellow diners to ask him if he’s “checking out the competition.”
Absolutely not.
“I will say no. I am just having a good time … out, having fun. Are you kidding me?” he laughs.
Maybe it’s the white chef’s coat with the small, embroidered state flag or the way he constantly credits others, including his wife Lauren, staff and local purveyors, but it’s easy to believe him.
He’s also having a big year. In a few months his first restaurant, Seaboard 18, will turn 10. His second – and busiest – restaurant, Cantina 18, will reopen by December with a fresh design, newly white-washed and exposed brick walls (circa 1959), accordion windows, a horseshoe bar, pressed bamboo floors and 2,000 additional square feet.
“It’s gonna be the same old Cantina. It was working great,” Smith says. “We are just expanding and freshening … the entire concept [at Cantina 18] is driven on fresh food. We are farm to fork, chef driven and Southwest.”
Smith, who is also dad to 3-year-old son Lawson, will soon begin his role as board chair of the Downtown Raleigh Alliance. It’s a natural fit for the man whose father (an attorney) and grandfathers (a machinist and a firefighter) all worked in downtown Raleigh, too.
The eldest of four children, Smith’s Raleigh roots go even deeper. He was born at Rex Hospital, at its former location on St. Mary’s Street. And, just after high school, his first job in the restaurant business was at 42nd Street Oyster Bar. (He also worked in Durham, New York City and Charleston before opening his own restaurant.)
“I love comfort food. [With 18 Seaboard] I wanted to do sensible and Southern with contemporary nuances,” he said. “I didn’t want the restaurant to be an intellectual test. I wanted it to be a place people could make memories or entertain clients … [a place that’s] approachable and fun.”
