A bit of culinary mayhem took place Wednesday night on a quiet stretch of Bleecker Street in New York´s West Village. People were clamoring to get into their neighborhood favorite, restaurant August. There would be a tasting menu starting at 6 PM cooked up by none other than Marcus Samuelsson, the recent winner of Bravo’s reality TV show ¨Top Chef Masters.¨ As everyone was buzzing about Samuelsson, a man in a flannel shirt pushed by the consumed, distracted diners that were straining to catch a glimpse of the chef. Little did they know that he had just arrived.
First-come first-serve open tasting, no reservations…the games had begun. I arrived early at 5:30 PM, strategizing to order at a one-dish-per-hour rate while appearing seemingly deaf to the waitress. Diners were chained to their tables, fending off newcomers clamoring for spots. A man neglected a crucial business call; a woman ignored the urge to take a trip to the ladies room. It was truly every man, woman and child for his/herself on this rare, culinary occasion.
Standing behind me casually pointing and explaining the different dishes, Samuelsson made an incredible tasting menu become not as much a menu as a snapshot of a life. Food questions were answered with stories; as Samuelsson, like many great chefs, realizes that the best dishes are not just made of ingredients, but rather the numerous anecdotes that make him who he is.
Warm kitfo (beef tartar) was an ode to his Ethiopian descent; sumptuous, Swedish hot dogs were summertime with Grandma Helga in Smogen; Foie gras ganache was culinary training in France; and shrimp with basmati rice cake was State Dinner for Obama.
I am both proud and embarrassed to say I tasted every item on the menu. After Samuelsson’s juicy Swedish take on a hot dog or his melt-in-your-mouth Kobe beef sliders with smoked mayo, I may never be able to eat these plain American classics off the grill again. Some would call this an incredible tragedy; I’d call it a sign of an incredible chef. One who takes timeless classics to the next level by making them his own. And more importantly, one who keeps you at the same food spot for five straight hours, hypothetically speaking, of course.
Published on August 6, 2010
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