Chef Fergus Henderson of London’s St John Restaurant was in Manhattan yesterday, at Chef Jonathan Waxman’s Barbuto Restaurant in the West Village. This is one of four stops in the United States for the chef who took the awful out of offal. The architect-turned-chef is promoting the forthcoming opening of his London St John Hotel in September.
Yesterday was the east coasters only chance to dine on Fergus’s cuisine. He moves on to the west coast:
- 11 May (Tue) Feast at Incanto - Chris Cosentino
- 12 May (Wed) Dinner at Chez Panisse
- 15 May (Sat) Cooking Demo at Ciudad - Mary Sue Milliken
A lucky invite
For those of us lucky enough to get the invite to Barbuto to dine on Chef Henderson's fare our dining selection for starters were Quail’s Eggs & Trotter Gear, Gratin of Tripe, Fiddlehead Salad & Anchovy Dressing, Asparagus & Hot Butter, Lamb Kidneys, Bone Marrow, Veal Tongue and Eel Pie. Skate & Tartare Sauce, Lamb Shoulder, Black Bass & Green/White Vegetables and an offering of chef/host Jonathan Waxman’s infamous roasted chicken were the mains. (see photographs and video below).
Waxman’s open kitchen at Barbuto allowed everyone to watch as both he and Henderson expedited and inspected the plates as they went out. Waxman, a current competitor onTop Chef Masters seemed to be thriving, enjoying the rush of “stelle culinare e gente imporante” as they came to dine. The kitchen table had Spotted Pig’s chef April Bloomfield and business partner Ken Friedman with their staff. Around the restaurant your writer spied Eater.com’s Ben Leventhal, the Zagats, Food and Wine’s Dana Cowin and Momofuku’s David Chang.
A fellow who sat next to me at the counter, a new farmer who will be raising animals for consumption, ordered a slew of starters and generously shared. The quail’s eggs & trotter gear missed bread to sop up all the goodness, the veal tongue was delicate and light and the tripe was tender and rich. The bone marrow plate arrived with two unctuous towers of bone shadowing the parsley and caper accoutrement with a small pool of sea salt. The earthiness and richness of the kidneys blew me away.
Bus ride to New York from Baltimore $37, seven hours of travel, $59 lunch bill - the experience, priceless.
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