Back in the day when I was a restaurateur, for several years I had a weekly feature called “On the Road.” It was a three-course, fixed-price menu that featured a theme. The themes ranged from old restaurants, great chefs I've admired, cuisines of different places and then just things I read about.
The idea of closed-door restaurants came from an article in the New York Times more than 10 years ago that talked about the dining scene in Buenos Aires. A phenomenon there called restaurant de puertas cerradas, or closed door restaurant (no published address and attendance by reservation only) has been around for years. The article referred to Casa Saltshaker as the insider’s favorite. Owned and operated by an American and a Peruvian, this weekend-only dining experience offers a menu type very akin to my “On the Road.” I read more about these dinners at casasaltshaker.com.
Dan Perlman, mastermind and chef of Casa Saltshaker, was quoted, “There’s something kind of cool about knowing what’s behind the secret door, of being in on something that no one else knows.”
The themes for his dinners have ranged from “Buddha’s Birthday” to Oaxacan “Night of the Radishes” to “the cuisine of the Maranos, the secret Spanish Jews.” Here is someone whose brain seems to be wired on the same circuits as mine! Amazing. He found my write up on Google and wrote me. We have corresponded a couple of times.
I found another hidden restaurant in New York in a genre called underground supper clubs. In fact, this one, “The Sunday Night Dinner in Astoria,” was voted by Village Voice as “Best Underground Supper Club” in 2013. The brain child behind this hidden restaurant is Tamara Reynolds. You may have seen her on the Cooking Channel called “Married with Dishes” and “Unique Eats.”
The featured recipe this week is from her cookbook, “Forking Fantastic: Put the Party Back in Dinner Party.” She talks about her cooking for 20 guests in a tiny New York kitchen. Tamara begins with a theme and runs away with it. I am amazed at the dishes she can prepare in a tiny kitchen with an undersized stove.
Tamara explains her motivation about doing these specialized menus in words very relevant to me. She was in San Francisco and met an old friend. The friend suggested we walk a few blocks to see if her friend, Angelo, was in his blacksmith studio. She had no idea this friend was a famous Sicilian who had been featured in Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma, a well-respected documentary. She and her friend spent the afternoon in the blacksmith shop, eating, drinking and listening to Angelo's tales of life in Sicily.
Candied Bacon Lollipops
• 2 1/2 pounds slab bacon
• 1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
Equipment:
• Silicone baking mat (optional but recommended)
• 20 to 25 wooden skewers
• Large decorative glass jar or other container for serving
1. Preheat oven to 400° F.
2. Using a very sharp knife, remove and discard any skin on the bacon, taking care not to remove fat or meat.
3. Cut the bacon into 1-inch cubes, bearing in mind that pieces should be large enough to skewer, but small enough to be consumed in a single bite.
4. Combine the bacon and sugar in a large bowl and toss gently to coat the surface of the bacon with the sugar (there will be excess sugar).
5. If using a silicone baking mat, place it on a baking sheet, then distribute the bacon pieces and excess sugar evenly on the mat.
Otherwise, distribute the bacon pieces directly on the baking sheet. The brown sugar will melt in with the bacon fat that breaks down.
6. Place the baking sheet in the oven and check after 10 minutes. The bacon should be cooking, and the sugar melted and caramelizing with the bacon fat. If it looks too spread out, or like it is burning at the edges, use a spatula to move the bacon pieces and excess sugar to the middle of the pan. Cook until done, about 3 to 6 minutes more.
7. Remove from the oven and let cool five minutes before serving. This is very important: Hot sugar will burn your guests' mouths. Thread the bacon pieces onto the skewers, arrange in the jar, and serve. Serves 10 to 15 as a canapé.
Fran Ginn is former chef/owner of The Back Door Café, who retired after 31 years in the food industry to be a grandmother. She can be contacted at fran@franginn.com.
