Carolina Crossroads to celebrate 90th year with Commemorative Chef's Dinner

 

Carolina Crossroads Executive Chef James Clark. For information
about the Commemorative Chef's Dinner or to make reservations,
call 919-918-2735 or email crossroads@carolinainn.com

When Executive Chef James Clark took over the kitchen at the Carolina Crossroads three years ago, he surprised some regulars by replacing the upscale fish long featured in signature dishes with lesser-known sustainable species. It took courage then to print words like grunt and jolthead porgy on the famously elegant menu, but now it's the norm.

 

Over its 90 years of operation - the restaurant began service when the Carolina Inn opened on Dec. 30, 1924 - each executive chef has had made his mark on an institution that has seen its share of academic all stars, blushing brides and assorted word class dignitaries. Their efforts will be celebrated at 6:30pm Saturday during the Commemorative Chef's Dinner.

 

The four course meal with wine pairings will reflect the contributions of Clark and two of his predecessors, Brian Stapleton and Jimmy Reale. All three are expected to cook side by side to produce the meticulously researched meal.

 

"We have been looking at a lot of the menus that dated back to the 1950s," Clark says. "It has been fun to see the food they did during this time. We have had some laughs on the prices in those days, but what's been the most fun is taking the old ideas and doing some more updated versions of those dishes. 

For example, a popular dish from the 1960s was a Jellied Madrilène, a cold consommé with Tomato. That has morphed into  Celery Tomato Gelee Garnished with Crawfish Salad, one of the nibbles that will be passed before the meal formally begins.  

Here is the rest of the menu:

• Passed Items:  Pickled Salmon and Sour Cream on Rye; Crispy Oyster with Leek Country Ham Reduction and Artichoke Relish; and Cured Duck Foie Gras with Macerated Raisins and Brioche
• First course:  Sea Salt and Sorghum Brined Shrimp served with Celery Root Black Truffle Puree and Chervil Ruby Red Grapefruit Salad
• Second Course:  Braised North Carolina Bison Short Rib Ragout, Old Mill of Guilford Creamy Grits, Walker Farms Butternut Squash, Shaved Brussels Sprouts and Hillsborough Company Chevre
• Third Course:  Tea Spiced Muscovy Duck Breast served with Acorn Spoon Bread, Confit Mushrooms along with Pear Watercress Emulsion and Smoked Honey
• Dessert:  Chocolate and Salted Caramel Hazelnut Torte and Chocolate Frangelico Ganache 



Undated vintage photo of Carolina Crossroads (above) and
the dining room today (below). Photos courtesy Carolina Inn.

Artifacts from the Carolina Inn's storied history are featured in a display that stretches from the lobby down the North and East Halls past the restaurant entrance. It was built in 1924 by UNC alumnus John Spring Hill and designed by award-winning architect Arthur C. Nash, who also designed other campus landmarks. According to its website, Hill donated the hotel to UNC in 1935 with the stipulation that all profits were to be used to support the university's library system.

 

This article first appeared in Indy Week.

Durham's role in civil rights struggle documented in 'Counter Histories '

This weather-delayed event has been rescheduled for 7pm April 7.
Culinary Historians of Piedmont North Carolina is proud to present "Counter Histories: Durham's Royal Ice Cream Sit-Ins" at Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill.

Royal Ice Cream, Durham, is focus of
a documentary short in "Counter Histories,"
a project of the Southern Foodways Alliance

Because of the 1960 Greensboro sit-in that forced Woolworth's to set aside its policy of racial discrimination in the South, most people know that North Carolina figures prominently in the civil-rights timeline.

Fewer are aware, however, that Durham also played a pivotal role. Three years earlier, a group of eight African-Americans decided to challenge the segregation policy that limited them to buying treats at Royal Ice Cream's back door while white customers were welcomed to sit inside.

"We weren't sure what would happen, but we knew it needed to happen," recalls Virginia Williams, who shares her recollections in one of five documentary shorts that compose Counter Histories, a project of the Southern Foodways Alliance. "We knew it was time to test the establishment."

Williams will join Kate Medley, Durham photojournalist and producer of Counter Histories, at the rescheduled April 7 meeting of Culinary Historians of Piedmont North Carolina (CHOPNC). Jesse Paddock of Carrboro, who directed the Durham feature, also will participate in the event at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill.

Medley says the focus on youth-led protests at segregated lunch counters was envisioned as a fitting way to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Civil Rights Act, which President Johnson signed just before Independence Day in 1964. The act made segregation in public places illegal.

The other films document events in Jackson, Mississippi; Rock Hill, South Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee and Cambridge, Maryland.

Medley produced the piece on Jackson, her hometown, where many still feel the scars of the especially brutal incident. "A lot of the racial tensions still are pretty raw," she says. "It's not something people want to talk about." 


Frank Blackwell photo of the brutal sit-in
at the Woolworth's lunch counter in Jackson, Miss.

Two weeks after the May 1963 sit-in at the local Woolworth's lunch counter, which commanded national media attention, NAACP field agent Medgar Evers was shot in the head after parking in his own driveway. His assassination galvanized national interest in racial discrimination in the South, leading to adoption of the Civil Rights Act.

"One of the underlying goals of the project was not to just tell a story of yesterday and stop the conversation there," says Medley, who discussed the film on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, in the context of youth leadership, with students at the North Carolina School of Science and Math in Durham. The school has a permanent display featuring part of the lunch counter at the old Durham Woolworth's, where a sit-in occurred one week after the more famous one in Greensboro.

"I asked, 'Can you imagine being among these people?' We're still facing a multitude of civil rights issues, but these young people are empowered to make change," Medley adds. "We were insistent in our mission that these films are very forward-thinking and relevant to 2014, 2015, tomorrow. We wanted the ideas to be relevant to what's happening in our world today."

This article first appeared in Indy Week.

Small Italian eatery Gocciolina creates a stir in Durham

 

The CLOSED sign was on the door at Gocciolina, Aaron Benjamin's little Italian restaurant in an unassuming plaza on Guess Road, but the phone was ringing nonstop on a recent Monday afternoon.

 

Pork with radicchio, fennel and orange salad.
Gocciolina has quickly established itself as a must visit.
Indy Week photo by Jeremy M. Lange

Intermittently, a cell phone in the chef-owner's pocket would also jangle. With an apologetic sigh, he'd glance at the screen and put it away.

"Sorry. It's been a little crazy here lately," Benjamin says, referring to Gocciolina being named 2015 Triangle Restaurant of the Year by The News & Observer. "Our phone system can only hold 50 messages. I think we're going to have to get a new one, or hire someone. Or both."

In the hot-and-cold restaurant trade, these are good problems to have. The buzz about this 45-seat eatery—55, counting the small bar—has been building since it opened last summer. Many diners showed up right away because they appreciated Benjamin's work at popular spots such as Pop's Backdoor, Nana's, Watts Grocery and, most recently, Rue Cler, Pizzeria Toro and Guglhupf.

"We probably won't see some of our loyal regulars for awhile," Benjamin says. "They might not want to deal with the crazy rush, but they'll be back. And just like before, they'll bring their friends."

Word of mouth has been important to the restaurant's success. Much of it also stems from the year Benjamin spent training in Italy, where his plans for Gocciolina were formed.

Thanks to an inheritance and his family's encouragement, Benjamin enrolled in 2007 in a program that focused on Old World ways of preparing traditional foods. The experience forever changed his approach to cooking.

"It was unbelievable. The best year of my life," says Benjamin, adding that he also trained and traveled in Spain, France and Croatia. "I'd never been exposed to so much beauty and different ways of cooking."

He briefly considered staying in Italy, but was homesick for his mother and sister, both of whom live in Durham. "It's something the Italians understand," says Benjamin, whose sister, Talitha Benjamin, recently starting working with him. "Family is everything."

While meals are not served family style at Gocciolina, the menu is designed to encourage sharing at table. There are nine nibblicious antipasti listed on the menu, including creamy marinated corona beans, meatballs with tomato sauce and parmigiano, and crispy fried eggplant with fresh tomato and gorgonzola. They're just $3 each if you order at least three. Vegetable sides range from $4 to $6.

"A lot of people come in, order a bottle of wine and share a bunch of small plates," says Benjamin, who insists that servers ensure a relaxed, hospitable vibe in the cozy dining room. "It's a fun and affordable way to spend an evening."

Main courses are budget friendly, too. Most pasta dishes are $8 or $9, with everything but spaghetti made from scratch in the large prep kitchen downstairs. A grilled steak can be had for just $9, with local pork and lamb chops topping the menu at $19 and $22, respectively. Different daily specials are posted in the dining room.

Benjamin hopes to grow the bar's offerings of Italian beers, wines and spirits, but is limited by the ABC Store system. Amaro and grappa flights are available, as are cups of stiff espresso to go with house-made panna cotta, chocolate almond torte and freshly filled cannoli.

While Benjamin tries to keep at least one table and the bar open for walk-ins, reservations are strongly encouraged as there is nowhere to wait while diners understandably linger over meals. He's already thinking about adding a raised deck to make room for more seating out back when the weather warms.

The phone rings again and Benjamin stares as its screen flashes 50 MESSAGES. He rubs his tired eyes and smiles. "I better start making more pasta for all these people."

Gocciolina
3314 Guess Road, Durham
919-973-4089
www.gocciolina.com
Hours: 5:30–10 p.m., Tuesday–Saturday

This article first appeared in Indy Week with the headline "Buzzy and busy."

Piedmont pop-up to feature Chef Justin Burdett on Tuesday

Chef Justin Burdett
 

Piedmont will set aside its menu on Tuesday when it becomes a pop-up to showcase the talents of Chef Justin Burdett.

Most recently of the acclaimed Ruka's Table in Highlands, N.C., which closed in January, Burdett is renowned for a dynamic style that deploys technique-driven modern cuisine inspired by Southern traditions. No less than The Lee Brothers of Charleston recently tweeted days on his (and our) behalf: "Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Tweeps! Don't miss @justin­_burdett in a 1-night-only appearance @PiedmontDurham!!!"

"We first encountered Justin Burdett’s cooking when he was Steven Satterfield’s chef de cuisine at Miller Union, and were impressed with how well he channeled Steven's focus on clean flavors and refined technique while showcasing ingredients from the southern garden," wrote Ted Lee when contacted by email. "When Justin moved on to become executive chef at Ruka’s Table, he took the chops he earned at Miller Union to his own place, where he could be unbound, playful, even a little bit wild. He has a finely honed sense of where artistry on the plate and craveable comfort food meet."

Jamie DeMent, owner of Piedmont and Coon Rock Farm, is equally excited about having one Food & Wine's Top 10 chefs in the Southeast in the house.

"He's known for such adventurous Southern cooking - and has a sincere respect for what's growing locally and in season - both of which are paramount for us at Piedmont," DeMent says. "Anything we can do to share the best of what's happening in North Carolina and further this sort of food conversation is important to us and to our customers."

The four-course, $45 per person menu will be offered throughout the dinner service. Burdett is in charge of appetizer through main course, with Piedmont Chef Ben Adams providing dessert:

·         Beet and radish salad with buttermilk, arugula and olive oil

·         Poached clams with celery, sunchoke, almond and lemon

·         Charred pork loin with mustard greens, Anson Mills Jimmy Red grits, sweet peas and roasted onion

·         Chocolate cremaux, celey root ice cream, crispy parsnip and hazelnut

Crawford Leavoy, Piedmont general manager and beverage director, will offer wine pairings upon request. For information or reservations, call 919-683-1213.

A version of this post first appeared in Indy Week.

Daniel Benjamin provides extraordinary, everyday indulgences at lucettegrace

Pastry Chef Daniel Benjamin
(Indy Week photos by Justin Cook)

Daniel Benjamin grew up in a small town in Indiana where the fanciest dessert was an éclair from Dunkin' Donuts. It was huge, crusted with chocolate and stuffed with processed kreme. It reeked with the unmistakable taste of regret.
 
It's from this unlikely beginning that Raleigh is now blessed with a bona fide pâtissier for the people. For seven years he never repeated a showstopper dessert at the elegant Herons at The Umstead Hotel, where every imaginable tool and ingredient was at his disposal. Now, Benjamin bakes jewel box delicacies in a spare downtown Raleigh kitchen that was once a five and dime.
 
He wants customers to view lucettegrace, a pairing of his young daughters' middle names, as a place to enjoy an everyday indulgence. Perhaps a petite éclair made from choux pastry dough, topped with a piping of rich mousse and garnished with a wafer of dark chocolate and a crinkle of gold leaf. Maybe a crunchy tart shell whose creamy lemon curd filling is hidden by a bruleéd tower of meringue. And if not one of several exotic flavors of meltingly tender macarons, maybe a grown-up chocolate chip cookie that will make you forget all about sugary-sweet Toll House.
 
"I loved cooking at Herons, but hated that people viewed beautiful desserts as part of a once-a-year celebration dinner, maybe a wedding anniversary or job promotion," says Benjamin, who starts his day at lucettegrace around 4 a.m. and rarely leaves before dusk. "Here, for no more than a craft beer or an ice cream at Baskin-Robbins, you can enjoy something special just because you want it. Just because you deserve it."
 

The Pistachio Raspberry Rose Eclair,
the Nanner Budino, the When Peru Met Sicily
and the Ardeche at lucettegrace

Indeed, most individual-size treats at lucettegrace range in price from $2.25 to $6. Local coffee, tea, sipping chocolate and sipping caramel are welcome accompaniments. Benjamin also offers an array of breakfast temptations, including the popular Dixie Cannonball, a warm drop biscuit with hoop cheddar, local sausage, scallions and a scoop of sausage gravy.
 
Lunch service, ranging from $6 to $8, includes savory soups, salads and sandwiches.
 
After a year of extreme-makeover renovation, Benjamin opened lucettegrace in November—perhaps the cruelest month for a new food business—in a location on South Salisbury Street, an area familiar to scofflaws and bailbondsmen. Soon, however, he'll count two superstar chefs as neighbors. Within weeks, Ashley Christensen is expected to open Death & Taxes a few doors down. Scott Crawford, former executive chef at Herons, will follow with Nash Tavern next year.
 
"I keep hearing about how this is the place to be, and I believe it will happen," Benjamin says. "Some days we're really busy and everyone who comes in is happy to be here. Other days, I swear I half expect to see tumbleweeds roll by."
 
Uneven sales can hurt a small business that counts on customers to leave nothing but crumbs at the end of the day. Benjamin paces the baking carefully so that fresh temptations are always available. Cases are emptied each night and filled with eye-popping delights each morning.
 
"I don't like doing things the same way twice, which is a very big contradiction to the pastry brain," he says. "One day I'll make a lemon meringue tart, the next day I'll make one with caramel, bits of candied orange and cocoa nibs from Escazu. A lot of it depends on what's seasonal, but mostly it's a quest to make things better, cleaner, more delicious."
 
Benjamin's work ethic has its roots in his family's independent hardware business. He and his twin brother started working at the store after half-day kindergarten, when they were given feather dusters and directed to tidy up. He cut keys and worked a variety of roles at the store as he grew up, but as soon as he could drive he talked his way into the kitchen of the local country club.
 
Fifteen years ago, at age 19, he landed in New York to study at the French Culinary Institute. It was his dream to meet legendary baker François Payard, who had been profiled in a magazine Benjamin devoured years before called Pastry Art & Design.
 
Benjamin soon made a humble pilgrimmage to Payard's patisserie only to discover it was closed on Sundays. He was blown away by the window displays and left in stunned silence. "I thought to myself, 'I could never work here. I'd mess things up.'"
 
A few months later, with some experience as an apprentice at a small Brooklyn bakery, Benjamin summoned the courage to return to Payard's door step. This time, he walked in—and left with a job. It was the first of many prestigious assignments that built layers of experience in top bakeries and restaurants in San Francisco, Chicago, New Orleans and Washington, D.C., before he was named pastry chef at Herons.
 
As he advanced from one great kitchen to another, however, he always focused on one day opening his own contemporary patisserie.
 
"I was lucky to discover early on that I loved to cook. I would watch Graham Kerr on TV and ask my mom to get the ingredients so I could re-create what he made," Benjamin recalls. "A chef's knife felt natural in my hand. When I discovered a piping bag, that was even better.
 
"And now," he adds with a sigh, his voice weary from a long day of baking and chatting with well-indulged customers, "to have my own place? It's just the best."

---

 
"This is a very simple recipe to make, the most difficult task is buying the molds which are becoming fairly easy to find, at least the silicone ones," Benjamin says. "The only other difficult task is fighting the urge to not over stir the mixture and make it perfectly smooth."

                                                                                            

                 

Canneles

3 cups milk

1/2 vanilla bean

7 1/2 oz. butter (melted)

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup pastry flour

1 egg yolk

2 eggs

3 Tbsp. dark rum

nice pinch of salt

 
Method:
 

1. Split the vanilla bean and place it in a saucepan with the milk, butter, and salt. Gently melt and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
2. In a mixing bowl combine the sugar and flour and set aside.
3. In a small cup, combine the eggs and egg yolk. Gently break up with a fork; don't whisk.
4. Using a spoon, add the eggs to the sugar/flour mixture. Stir gently just to combine. Don't vigorously whip or try and make perfectly smooth.
5. Once the milk has cooled enough that it won't scramble the eggs, gently stir the milk into the sugar/flour mixture. Again, stir just to combine.
6. Add the dark rum, stirring just to combine.
7. Allow the mix to rest overnight. Remove the mix from the refrigerator and allow to warm a bit (at least an hour) before baking.
8. When ready to bake, pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare your molds according to manufacturer's directions. Gently stir the canneles mixture to re-incorporate any butter that separated to the top.
9. Pour the mixture into the molds leaving about ¼ inch of space. Place molds in the oven, lower oven to 375 degrees and bake until canneles are dark brown all over. Time will vary due to oven, molds and size of molds. Allow to cool. Store at room temperature uncovered, and eat while fresh.

 
This article first appeared in Indy Week with the headline "Pâtissier for the people."

Chef Travis Robinson takes G2B upscale

There's no surprise in stating the G2B Gastropub in Durham is a terrific restaurant. But the place, curiously located on the backside of an office building on Shannon Road, has been through a lot of change in recent months.

It started last summer, when the popular eatery briefly closed for a makeover to install a nanobrewery. Longtime Executive Chef Carrie Schlieffer was excited about the opportunities this created for entirely house-made beer pairings.

G2B Executive Chef Travis Robinson

Then, in fall, Travis Robinson quietly joined G2B kitchen. By December, Schieffer departed to open Bar Virgile for Chef-Entrepreneur Scott Howard and the restaurant's new public relations team announced G2B's "reopening" with Robinson as executive chef.

It's enough intrigue for a soap opera, but the good news is that all is well on all fronts. Schlieffer is happy at her gig, and Robinson has injected a new energy at G2B, which has boosted its pub-focused menu to feature elegant, upscale courses and stunning desserts.

Tim and I enjoyed a recent dinner as Robinson's guests. It's hard to imagine that the food or service is any less exceptional for those who make their own arrangements - which we heartily recommend.

We dined on a week night, choosing to be seated on the "restaurant" side, which delivers a more elaborate menu from the "pub" side, which now features bar-height tables and chairs. (The pub menu also has been tweaked, but popular demand recently returned G2B's outstanding burger to the list.) With the exception of a cluster of angular red leather clubs chairs, the space otherwise flows one to the next with the focus still squarely on action in the open kitchen.

We started with one of G2B's new beers, the appealingly crisp and wintery Rye Amber ($4) served in gorgeous stemware said to enhance the aroma. Other options available that day from Brewer Andrew Christenbury, offered in generous samples, included a creamy porter and hoppy IPA. Ever the good neighbor, G2B maintains its commitment to pouring other North Carolina craft beers.

Our drinks arrived with a pair of savory gougeres tucked into a tiny tin bucket and warm, butter-brushed herb rolls. This was followed later by a curious amuse bouche, chewy cocoa macaroons sealed with mild bone marrow butter.

Among the tempting appetizers we chose the Spanish Octopus ($12), in which perfectly charred chunks were served with earthy cranberry beans, piquillo pepper and the citrus zing of kumquats. We also ordered a pair of fresh Chadwick Creek oysters ($2 each) with a light Asian pear mignonette. They were tasty, but not nearly so good as the lightly tart and more imaginative wild elberberry garnish recommended by our server.

Our dinners were beautifully presented, though my Flat Iron Steak ($25) from Mill's Family Farm in Mooresville was the winner over Tim's coastal-caught Golden NC Tilefish ($24). The steak was rare for my taste (surprisingly, I was not asked about preference), but it was both tender and robustly beefy. It was served atop a pillowy, pale green puree of parsley root with grilled bok choy and delicate mushrooms.

The seared tilefish was a bit bland but surrounded by savory and perfectly cooked parsnip and lion's mane mushrooms in a soupcon of roasted vegetable dashi broth.

Pastry Chef Deric McGuffey appeared unannounced with a series of four showstopper desserts ($10 each). Each assembled seasonal and top local ingredients in deconstructed precision.

The Roasted Sweet Potato Bavarian was enrobed in a spiced red wine-yuzu geee and mind-blowing bits of candied salsify. Even better was the Confit Pineapple, in which a coconut custard - topped with caramelized white chocolate and passion fruit glaze - was flanked with wafer-thin slices of pressed pineapple. What really made the combination sing was the dusting of pink peppercorn that garnished the plate. Tim, who likes neither pineapple nor coconut, was reluctant to share.

The next two offerings were equally dazzling. The Espresso Parfait cleverly paired creamy a frozen mousse banded by a coffee gelee with bites of date cake and a crunchy haystack of shredded phyllo. The Warm Guanaja Chocolate was perhaps the most artful of the treats, with a fermented, almost boozy soft chocolate tart joined by bites of almond terrine, malted milk dots, devil's food cake and roasted banana ice cream tucked under delicate leaves of dehydrated chocolate.

It takes a light touch to make all that come together, and a playful spirit to follow it with a yet another sweet - a parting gift of small minted chocolate truffles rolled in crushed nuts. Combined, it's impossible to leave without thinking about when you'll next return.