• The Blacksmith Restaurant
• Barclay Prime
• The Blue Door Restaurant
• Ajax Tavern
• Serendipity 3
• Edible Gold

Burger with a Side of Gold

Sure, steak au poivre is nice, but sometimes, you just want to order a burger. Of course, were you to do that, your friends might stare down their noses at you (it's so déclassé). But who said that comfort food can't also be classy food? Thanks to the innovations of a handful of culinary masterminds, it can be.

Take The Blacksmith Restaurant in Bend, OR, where chef Gavin McMichael serves classic comfort food with a gourmet twist.

"The idea is to open up fine dining, to demystify it," says McMichael, a Texas native with a penchant for classic American cuisine. "There's a real backlash to fine dining. Customers get alienated when they read the menu in fancy restaurants. You open it up, and you don't know what half the food is." McMichael's solution to this quandary is a cuisine he's termed "New Ranch."

A favorite on his menu is the "Not Your Mother's Meatloaf," which is made with tenderloin mixed with pork fat and Japanese bread crumbs, seeped in a garlicky, heavy cream sauce and served with tamarind ketchup. His shepherd's pie incorporates truffles; for dessert, he makes a fancy version of s'mores that includes peanut butter mousse and caramelized bananas

McMichael isn't alone in wanting fine food to also be a little more like fast food. Barclay Prime in Philadelphia makes a cheesesteak with shaved kobe beef, poached lobster, heirloom tomatoes, and black truffles. Meanwhile, The Blue Door Restaurant in Miami charms locals and tourists alike with its foie gras burger, served on a homemade brioche.

Want some fries to go with that hunk of meat? Head to the Ajax Tavern in Aspen, CO. They serve up their frites in truffle oil and Parmesan cheese.

For dessert, Serendipity 3 in New York has a sundae made with Venezuelan chocolate, Tahitian ice cream, Armagnac, caviar, and 23-karat edible gold.

But if what you were really craving was a good ol' maraschino cherry on top, you're out of luck.

 

Posted on March 13, 2006