Pie In The Sky

The Plate

Immodest portions of caviar are achieved all too easily with the Caviar Pie at the Steelhead Diner in Seattle. Five different kinds of caviar abut colorfully atop a rich sour-cream and cream-cheese pie base. They’re a flavorful reminder of the local bounty that chefs such as owner Kevin Davis enjoy here, then turn around and serve at this friendly, busy restaurant just above the Pike Place Market. Ingredients come from all over the Pacific Northwest and arrive in exciting, beautifully seasoned presentations from a crisp and youthful staff. Equally crisp is a wine list that features the very best of the region.

—Duncan Christy

STEELHEAD DINER, 95 PINE STREET, SEATTLE; 206-625-0129; www.steelheaddiner.com

The Cocktail

Danny DeVito and SoBe? It’s hard not to think of his scruffy Louie de Palma character from “Taxi” while en route to his self-named restaurant in swank Miami Beach, Florida. But those thoughts dissipate at the sight of DeVito South Beach’s exquisite red Murano glass chandeliers on the patio, the white leather seating inside and the Venetian marble–topped tables (paired with reclaimed Chicago brick walls for a gritty “Taxi” flashback). We swooned over the Fiore Martini ($18), a bubbly bouquet of flowers featuring citrus-infused Tanqueray No. Ten, before diving into Italian-sized portions of homemade gnocchi and a 16-ounce bone-in filet rubbed with . . . wait for it . . . “DeVito Dust.”

—Waynette Goodson

DEVITO SOUTH BEACH, 150 OCEAN DRIVE, MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA; 305-531-0911; www.devitosouthbeach.com

Fiore Martini
2 oz. Tanqueray No. Ten gin
0.5 oz. St. Germaine Elderflower liqueur
0.5 oz. champagne

Coat a martini glass with two spritzes of Lebanese Orange Blossom essence. Combine ingredients and shake in a shaker. Pour into glass and garnish with organic, edible rose petals.

Order of the Day

What Paul Pacult’s Pouring

QUIET, PLEASE: GENIUSES AT WORK

The world is aglow with outstanding distilled spirits due directly to a generation of distilling/blending geniuses. Five-star products from two of these wizards, Parker Beam of Heaven Hill Distilleries of Bardstown, Kentucky, and Jacopo Poli of Schiavon, Italy, are cited below. Fine spirits are experiencing their most exciting era in a century, thanks to a confluence of advanced technology, information sharing, enthusiastic consumers and novel-worthy characters.

 

PARKER’S HERITAGE COLLECTION CASK STRENGTH KENTUCKY STRAIGHT BOURBON WHISKEY; BARDSTOWN, KENTUCKY ($80)

At a natural, undiluted barrel strength of 61.3 percent alcohol (122.6 proof), Parker’s Heritage Kentucky Straight Bourbon packs a velvet-gloved punch. Distiller Parker Beam makes certain that the whiskey’s inherent tongue-tingling power doesn’t overshadow its dark fudge and cocoa bean taste. A premier cru classe American whiskey to be enjoyed for decades to come. (out of a possible five)

JACOPO POLI SARPA DI POLI GRAPPA; SCHIAVON, ITALY ($50)

A masterpiece of grape pomace distillation from one of Italy’s authentic spirits geniuses. This blend of 60 percent merlot and 40 percent cabernet sauvignon distillates is mind-blowingly smooth, delicate, fragrant and concentrated. It smells of perfectly ripened grapes, and comes off tart, peppery and bittersweet in the mouth. Elegant and classic.

 

BANROCK STATION 2006 SHIRAZ CABERNET SAUVIGNON, SOUTHEASTERN AUSTRALIA ($6)

Holy jeepers! This supple shiraz (53 percent) and cabernet sauvignon (47 percent) blend from Oz is—you sitting?—a mere six bucks, but tastes like it costs twice that. Cherry rich and vanilla spicy, it pairs up delectably with hearty weekend afternoon fare like black-bean-chili-smothered nachos. Do yourself a favor until next month’s column and buy the case.

 

CASTELLO MONTAÚTO 2006 VERNACCIA DE SAN GIMIGNANO; TUSCANY, ITALY ($13)

Mercy, I like this svelte, golden, herbal, dusty-dry white, made from 100 percent vernaccia di San Gimignano grapes grown at the Castello Montaúto estate. At 920 feet elevation, this vineyard enjoys cool nights even during the growing season, which encourages plenty of acidity for structure. Match it up with antipasti or extra virgin olive oil, bread and cheese for a memorable first course.

 

ARGYLE WINERY 2006 PINOT NOIR; WILLAMETTE VALLEY, OREGON ($26)

I’m nearly at the point where I’m willing to admit that Oregon pinot noir is my favorite red wine from the United States. This stunningly luscious, plummy, silky offering from Argyle explodes in the nose and on the tongue with juicy red fruit ripeness, right from the first whiff. Serve it with chateaubriand (as I did) for your April culinary highlight reel. French burgundy? Never heard of it.

Find out what else F. Paul Pacult’s pouring at www.spiritjournal.com.

 

Interview With a Chef

Look for a long plume of smoke rising from Tommy Lee Park in Memphis, Tennessee, as the “Super Bowl of Swine” gets under way next month—the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest. Andrew Stoddard, head chef of The Night Help BBQ Team from Vienna, Virginia, has faced judges from both Memphis in May and the Kansas City Barbecue Society competition (where he’s on the Sweetgum Hollow Team). While all KCBS barbecue is tasted “blind”—from identical foam boxes—Memphis in May judges go from site to site, where the chefs ply them with prodigious amounts of cue and commentary. Sky magazine’s True Cue wondered about the marked contrast in the two approaches and the philosophy behind them.

TRUE CUE: What’s the biggest difference between cooking for a Kansas City competition and cooking for Memphis in May?
ANDREW STODDARD: You have to convince those judges that what they’re putting in their mouths is the best barbecue they’ve had all day. . . . It’s talking the talk.
TC: Which involves showmanship and, uh, maybe a bit of exaggeration?
AS: Embellishing on the truth goes way back in the South, especially when it comes to barbecue.
TC: But you wouldn’t tell an outright lie, would you?
AS: You can lie all you want. It’s not against the rules to lie. But you better not get caught, because there are a lot of smart judges out there, and they’ll know if you’re really trying to pull the wool over their eyes.
TC: No less than the rarefied Saveur magazine recently ordained that competition barbecue has become “America’s most beloved pastime . . . our favorite sport.” What’s the attraction?
AS: I think most people start off in their backyard and they love being outside cooking, and sooner or later the competitive side of people comes out and they want to know how theirs stacks up against someone else’s.
TC: And then?
AS: Once you start down that road, I don’t know of anyone who doesn’t get obsessed with it. Including myself. There’s isn’t a day that goes by in my life that I’m not thinking about barbecue at some point during the day. And I think a lot of us are the same way. We eat, sleep and breathe barbecue.
TC: What’s to be said for Kansas City’s blind judging?
AS: The advantage is that it’s much easier for anyone to do it and win. It doesn’t matter what kind of trappings you have. It’s the product that matters. The only thing that matters is what you put in the box. And that’s appealing to a lot of people. It’s a great way to get into it.
TC: What keeps you coming back year after year?
AS: The people who are doing it. They become your best friends. It’s a great community and a wonderful way to meet good cooks. It attracts people from every part of the social strata that you can think of—lawyers, doctors, truck drivers, dishwashers, car mechanics, college professors. It doesn’t matter what you do for a living.
TC: What advice do you have for the backyard griller just getting into the game?
AS: Start out with pork shoulders or pork butts, and learn how to do a low-and-slow cook that way.
TC: Why pork?
AS: It’s a lot more forgiving because it has so much internal fat. It’s got so much moisture it’s hard to cook it into a brick.

—D.B