Results tagged: L20

Photos from the L2O blog

Chef Laurent Gras at L20 in Chicago is giving new meaning to term "low and slow." On the L20 blog today he documents his simple method for cooking USDA prime short rib. The preparation calls for a 12 hour sea salt seasoning, a quick sear on the stove, a 12 hour marinade, and finally a slow "braise" at 145-153 degrees in an immersion circulator for 48 hours. He finishes it off with another quick sear and a touch of sauce. What you're presented with is a succulent piece of pink meat that can be cut with a fork. With a preparation time of 72 hours, this one's best left to the professionals. 

[Source: L20 blog]

Photo by food_in_mouth on flickr

I've often wondered how chefs work through the process of creating new dishes when they have so many other things going on. How do they come up with ideas? How many tries does it take to get just right? How do they adapt a dish over time?

In The New Yorker's profile on David Chang we learned that Chang and Momofuku Ko chef Peter Serpico worked on a scallop dish "for weeks." I tried this labored over dish shortly after Ko opened and loved it. Its other incarnation, with fluke standing in for the scallop, received mostly positive reactions from the critics.

In a post yesterday chef blogger Laurent Gras at L2O in Chicago provided a glimpse into his new dish creation process and how he works to "get in the memory of the guest." Gras uses lobster, peach and lemon verbena as his starting point and adapts the components based on taste, aesthetic and technique. He then turns to the visual impact and then finally to assessing overall balance, texture and intensity.

Considering that the seemingly thrown together "seafood stew" I had for dinner last night at a popular southern Connecticut restaurant was priced at a third the cost of Ko's tasting menu I think that more insight into how talented and thoughtful chefs work can only benefit their cause.

Probably the most anticipated restaurant of this year has been Laurent Gras' L2O. As construction began on the restaurant, Gras started a blog, updating it with pictures and processes of how the restaurant was going to run, giving serious gourmands a look inside a budding kitchen. Surprisingly, the blog didn't go radio silent once the kitchen was open for business. Gras and his team have found time to keep a steady stream of posts hitting the site.
From where we're sitting in NYC, you can clearly see that L2O is a labor of love and only this kind of passion and sincerity can garner a perfect glowing review from the paper of record in Chicago. Phil Vittel, the chief restaurant critic for The Chicago Tribune gave L2O 4 of 4 stars. About the service, Vittel says, "Service is everything you want in a restaurant of this kind, with serene and unintimidating guides. That's especially true of sommeliers Chantelle Pabros and Doug Marello, who provide imaginative and spot-on pairings to Gras' dishes."
About the food, "He changes the way you feel about food. Slide a piece of kinmedai (golden eye snapper), unctuously fatty yet so mild you can detect a hint of cherrywood smoke, into your mouth and you'll never feel the same about snapper again."
And while the meal might cost as much as dining at Alinea or Charlie Trotter (Vittel notes that Laurent Gras belongs in this group of uber Chicago chefs), he notes that at the end of your meal, each guest is invited to tour the kitchen which is "too cool to miss."
As Chicago starts to wake up and read its Thursday paper, I'm sure the reservation line will start to heat up at the restaurant. Right before posting this, I checked OpenTable and there was availability a month out for a reservation. I bet that won't last for long.

Photo credit: npinto on flickr

Chicago's newest seafood restaurant, L20, has enjoyed a quiet buzz in the restaurant world over the past few months, largely due to the in depth blog written by executive chef and partner Laurent Gras, GM Serge Krieger, Chef de Cuisine Francis Brennan and Dining Room Manager Anthony Cournia. Written primarily by Gras, the blog has provided a fun and informative way to learn about the many facets involved in opening a highly anticipated fine dining restaurant, from menu planning to taste testing to equipment sourcing.

Early word from the friends and family preview indicates that L2O's food tastes as good as it looks. See early photos on the L20 flickr pool, where the first sets of guest pics were just posted. Hungry Magazine has also weighed in with the first blog review, which has more photos and a link to the opening night menu.

We've been following the entertaining and informative blog written by Laurent Gras and crew as they prepare to open Gras' new Chicago restaurant, L.20.

Today we were excited to see that the restaurant is now accepting reservations. You can call the restaurant to see if they have a table or check out Open Table.