by Guy Fieri
RECIPE COURTESY OF JESUS RIVERA OF TUNE-UP CAFÉ
MAKES ABOUT 2 QUARTS
¼ small green cabbage, cored and thinly sliced
1 medium beet, roasted, peeled, and julienned
1 carrot, peeled and julienned
1 jalapeño chile, stemmed and thinly sliced
2 teaspoons dried oregano
½ cup white vinegar
1 quart (4 cups) water
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
A TASTY BOWL OF CHIMNEY SWEEP SOUP.
Combine the cabbage, beet, carrot, jalapeño, oregano, vinegar, and water in a large nonreactive container. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover the container and chill overnight. Shake off the excess marinade when serving.
Roasted Tomato Salsa
RECIPE COURTESY OF JESUS RIVERA OF TUNE-UP CAFÉ
MAKES ABOUT 1 QUART
3 ripe tomatoes
1 jalapeño chile, stemmed and halved
¼ large peeled onion
1 garlic clove
½ cup water
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Put the tomatoes, jalapeño, onion, and garlic on a rimmed baking sheet and roast until slightly charred, about 1 hour. Blend the roasted vegetables in a deep container with an immersion blender or in a blender.
2. Put the salsa in a small pot, add the water, and simmer for about 25 minutes. Season to taste, stir in the cilantro, and serve warm.
THEY SERVE FAMILY PORTIONS, TOO! (GET IT? HA HA.)
WEST AND SOUTHWEST
MAGNOLIA CAFE
EST. 1988 SORRY, WE’RE OPEN
If you’ve ever been to Austin, Texas, then you know about the Congress Avenue bridge—it’s where all the bats live underneath. At night about a zillion bats fly outta there; it’s really cool. And a little farther down the street is something else that’s cool, a little 24/7 joint called Magnolia Cafe.
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TRACK IT DOWN
1920 S. Congress Avenue
Austin, Texas 78704
512-445-0000
2304 Lake Austin Boulevard
Austin, Texas 78703
512-478-8645
themagnoliacafe.com
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Nachos, tacos, chicken stir-fry, pancakes, polenta, omelets, Benedicts—they’ve been doing it all since they opened this joint twenty years ago, but they weren’t always open all the time. That started when people came knocking on the door while they were mopping up. So they took the place 24/7. Owner Eric Westphal says he calls it 24/8 because that’s what it feels like, and the place is packed. He started cooking here ten years ago, and he makes it fresh with dozens of specials. The blackened salmon is a ride in itself. He starts with paprika, then cayenne, black pepper, white pepper, granulated garlic, onion powder, thyme, and basil. He then sprinkles a little kosher salt on the salmon, then does the dry rub with the spice mixture—the classic way, but the cooking method sure ain’t classic. Eric turns a cast-iron skillet upside down on the burner to get it even more insanely hot. (Do not try this at home; you’d need a NASCAR hazmat suit.) He throws a little oil on the pan bottom and it bursts into flames. The fish goes on next, sitting among the flames. He does it pretty rare, and it happens quick, because the thing has got to be up in the 700-degree range. That is just optimum: the spice isn’t overdone, the fish is medium rare, and it’s a great technique for firefighters. And check out what they’re serving it with: jambalaya stuffed in red bell peppers.
For the jambalaya he starts with a dark roux of oil and flour, then adds garlic, green bell peppers, jalapeños, shallots, green onion, andouille sausage, rice, tomato, Cajun seasoning, and stock that he makes from shrimp shells and chicken stock. Then the crab and crawfish go in, he covers it, and it cooks for 30 to 45 minutes. There’s the perfect amount of spice, not too heavy on the seafood overtone. I didn’t know how jambalaya could get much better, but some bread crumbs toasted on top added some great crunch, and the red bell pepper flavor really does make it.
The fans keep coming in here for the food and the funk. The Texas Benedict comes with grilled sausage and homemade chipotle hollandaise, and the pancakes come in cornmeal, whole wheat, or buttermilk, however you like them. Their gingerbread pancake recipe starts with coffee (recipe on Magnolia Cafe Gingerbread Pancakes). Another dish you won’t find at other places is the polenta topped with ragu. This guy’s making his own preserved lemons for his polenta; it’s a Moroccan thing, Eric says. He’s in it to win it.
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[GUY ASIDE]
Austin is a phenomenal food town. We had a blast there—great food, great people, great music. Even before we shot at Magnolia I told my wife this is going to be an interesting one. They’ve got a quirky sense of humor and an enormous menu, like a small phone book, and they’re open 24/7. The place is an institution. I think one of the funny things about cooking with this cat Eric is that he uses the measure-free method—he’s so in touch with all the food he’s doing. I come from the same school—you’ve got to feel comfortable and know where you’re at with your food to make those maneuvers. They could make the electricity for Austin the way this place was humming along.
On my filing cabinet in my office is a “Sorry, We’re Open” magnet from Magnolia. Talking about tchotchkes from locations: every time we go somewhere the crew grabs me some T-shirts. We rotate them through in my restaurants to show people where we’ve been.
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IT’S MAGIC INVISIBLE SYRUP—ZERO CALORIES.
Magnolia Cafe Gingerbread Pancakes
ADAPTED FROM A RECIPE COURTESY OF MAGNOLIA CAFE
At Magnolia Cafe, they add banana slices to the batter right before flipping. And as you know, “bananas is good.”
MAKES 12 TO 14 PANCAKES
2½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon fine salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
3 large eggs
¼ cup light brown sugar
1 cup buttermilk
½ cup water
¼ cup brewed coffee, cooled
2 ounces (4 tablespoons; ½ stick) butter, melted, plus more for the griddle
1. Sift the flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, salt, baking powder, and baking soda into a large bowl.
2. Beat the eggs with the brown sugar in another bowl. Whisk in the buttermilk, water, and coffee. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry just until combined. Stir in the 4 tablespoons melted butter.
3. Heat a griddle or heavy skillet over medium-high heat and butter lightly. Pour on the batter by 2-ounce ladlefuls. Cook until little bubbles appear around the edges of the pancakes, and then flip. Cook on the second side until golden brown and cooked through in the middle.
Eric Westphal’s Ragu with Polenta with Gorgonzola
ADAPTED FROM A RECIPE COURTESY OF ERIC WESTPHAL OF MAGNOLIA CAFE
Note that unlike on the show, this polenta version uses Gorgonzola and forgoes the preserved lemon; but feel free to get funky with your own versions.
MAKES 12 SERVINGS, WITH LEFTOVER RAGU
3 tablespoons olive oil or bacon fat
3 pounds loose Italian sausage, hot or sweet
2 Spanish onions, diced
7 garlic cloves, minced
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1½ teaspoons dried basil
1½ teaspoons dried thyme
1 to 2 teaspoons crushed red chile flakes (optional)
1 cup white wine
1 (6-pound 6-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
P
olenta with Gorgonzola, for serving (recipe follows)
Olive oil, for sautéing
Grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
Fresh basil leaves, torn, for serving
1. Heat the olive oil or bacon fat in a heavy pot over medium-high heat. Brown the sausage and transfer to a plate. Sauté the onions, garlic, and bell peppers in the drippings until softened, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the oregano, basil, thyme, and red chile flakes and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the wine and let it bubble for a minute or two. Add the crushed tomatoes, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for at least 1 hour or, ideally, 5 hours.
3. When ready to serve, slice the polenta into twelve 3-inch squares. Heat a little olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add some polenta slices without crowding the pan and cook until nicely browned, about 2 minutes. Turn carefully and brown the second side.
4. Spoon some ragu over the polenta, and garnish with Parmesan cheese and basil.
I KNOW YOU KNOW I KNOW THAT I KNOW YER WATCHING ME.
Polenta with Gorgonzola
ADAPTED FROM A RECIPE COURTESY OF ERIC WESTPHAL OF MAGNOLIA CAFE
The polenta needs to chill overnight, so make it a day or even two ahead.
MAKES 12 SERVINGS
Olive oil, for oiling the baking dish
6 cups water
1 cup chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and patted dry
2 cups fine or coarse cornmeal
1 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
Lightly oil a 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Bring the water to a boil in a heavy pot over medium heat. Stir the sun-dried tomatoes into the boiling water. Slowly sprinkle in the cornmeal, stirring constantly. When the mixture thickens, stir in the Gorgonzola. Cook, stirring, until it reaches the consistency of thick porridge. Pour the polenta into the baking dish. Chill overnight.
WEST AND SOUTHWEST
THE COVE
EST. 1998 WHERE YOUR CLOTHES, YOUR CAR, AND YOUR TASTE BUDS COME CLEAN
I travel all over the country, so it’s nice sometimes to stop and wash down the ’67. So here I am in San Antonio, and the only food I’ve ever gotten at a car wash has come out of a vending machine, so you’ve got to know I was totally blown away to find out that connected to this car wash is a totally legit restaurant called the Cove.
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TRACK IT DOWN
606 W. Cypress Street
San Antonio, Texas 78212
210-227-2683
thecove.us
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It’s a car wash and, oh yeah, a Laundromat. Crammed in the middle is a full-blown restaurant. Lisa Asvestas and her husband, Sam, started out doing sandwiches, but Lisa kept asking for more—“Can I have a grill? a griddle?”—then they started having cooks, and they ended up with a CIA-trained chef, Michael Sohocki, who was looking to build a menu he could have some fun with. Before they knew it they had a full restaurant heavy on fresh, organic, and homemade, from scratch-made Moroccan sweet potato salad to fancy quesadillas with portobello mushrooms and organic spinach. A crowd favorite is the lamb burger. It’s like a meat milkshake in a bun—so juicy I needed a blanket. Some of the best lamb burger I’ve ever had—and at a car wash?
A FISH PLAYIN A GUITAR…YEAH, RIGHT…MAYBE A BASS ON A BASS!
The first out-of-the-box item on the menu was Lisa’s original fish taco, with homemade coleslaw and poblano sauce. For her portobello spinach quesadilla, Lisa marinates her mushrooms with balsamic vinegar, extra-virgin olive oil (emulsified), fresh-ground peppercorns, fresh garlic, salt, and herbes de Provence. They go on the grill for about twenty minutes. Then for her poblano sauce she roasts and seeds the peppers and blends them with yogurt, mayonnaise, sour cream, salt, and fresh ground pepper. Next she takes a locally made whole grain tortilla and toasts it on the grill, slices up the portobello, and sautés it with red onion and spinach (wilting the spinach by covering it with a lid), spreads some shredded cheese on half of the tortilla, then puts the whole deal together, folds it, slices it, and serves the poblano sauce for dipping. The sauce fits it perfectly; the only thing I didn’t like about it is that I finished. And I felt healthier just eating it. Forget the car—I’m going to walk the States.
JOE, HURRY UP WITH YER SOLO—FOOD’S GETTING COLD.
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[GUY ASIDE]
When I’m on the road shooting a show, there are seven segments on each show, and I do two and a half full shows in four days. (The crews take much longer.) It’s tiring getting up at six, shooting four to six hours on locations, traveling up to an hour to the next one, and doing it all over again. It’s kinda like Groundhog Day. So between shoots, when I have a chance to sit down and chill, I try to e-mail the family, have something to drink. Anyhow, at the Cove a gentleman walks up to me and says, “How are you doing?” I say hello, and he says, “Hi, I’m Gary. I’m a fan of the show, and my wife really likes the show—could you sign something?” I’m beat tired, but I get up, ‘cuz the fans are the heartbeat of the show. I talk to his family, and I notice when I shake his hand that he has on a championship ring. Well, he happens to be one of the investors in the San Antonio Spurs, and he ends up inviting the entire krew to the Spurs game. He picks us up in a limo bus, takes us down to the locker room, sets us up in a suite—the whole enchilada. It was the best time in the world. A big shout-out to Gary and his family, and a big thank you—one of those doors that gets opened by the wonderful world of Triple D.
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I would have the cleanest car and laundry in San Antonio if I lived there.
Latin-Spiced Lamb Burgers
ADAPTED FROM A RECIPE COURTESY OF MICHAEL SOHOCKI OF THE COVE
This is something good and juicy; I dove into it, then headed to the car wash to hose myself down.
MAKES 6 BURGERS
Sauce
2 pasilla chiles, stems removed
1 each ancho and guajillo or pulla chile, stems removed
1 cup water
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 to 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon sour cream
1 garlic clove, chopped
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
2 to 3 tablespoons heavy cream
Lamb burgers
1½ teaspoons black peppercorns
½ teaspoon coriander seeds
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
2 pounds ground grass-fed lamb
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ to ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
To assemble
6 ciabatta buns, split horizontally and grilled
3 ounces cotija cheese, crumbled
4 large ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced
1 red onion, thinly sliced
Lettuce
1. FOR THE SAUCE: Tear the chiles open to shake out the seeds (if a few seeds are left in, that’s fine). Throw the chiles in a saucepan with the water, bring to a boil over medium heat, and cook, uncovered, until only ¼ cup of liquid remains at the bottom.
2. Put the chiles with their cooking liquid, the oil, lime juice, sour cream, and garlic in a blender, and puree until very smooth. Scrape down the sides of the blender, add the salt, and blend again. Add 2 tablespoons of the cream and pulse a few times just to incorporate and get a saucy, squirtable consistency. Add up to 1 tablespoon more cream if necessary. Taste and adjust seasonings.
3. FOR THE BURGERS: Toast the peppercorns, coriander, and cumin in a dry pan over medium-high heat, shaking the pan constantly, until they crackle and pop. They should be light brown and smell smoky, or like toast or popcorn. Then grind them to a fine powder in a spice grinder. Add them to the lamb with the garlic, salt, and cayenne and use your hands to combine thoroughly. Gently form the meat into 6 equal size patties.
4. Heat a grill or grill pan over medium-high heat. Grill the burgers until they have nice, dark grill marks, about 3 minutes per side for med
ium-rare (130°F). Let the burgers rest for a few minutes before serving. Spread some sauce on both halves of the buns, and top with the burgers, some crumbled cotija, and plenty of tomato, onion, and lettuce.
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[GUY ASIDE]
There should really be some kind of a way to measure the “funky we find it” element. I wish we had a meter, because this one is smack-dab hitting the red line of funky—a full-blown car wash and a Laundromat on either side. It’s no bigger than a snack counter, and there’s a full-blown kitchen doing good food under a CIA-grad chef. And behind it is a full-blown bar, like a honky-tonk. You walk around the outside of it and there are all these picnic tables. The place screams party. It is without question one of the most unique places we’ve been to. Theirs is a live-well, eat-well attitude. They serve grass-fed beef! They’re really taking a gourmet approach—it’s not funky enough just to be between a car wash and a Laundromat; they have high-end quality on top of it. We washed the Camaro there, but we didn’t do our
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WEST AND SOUTHWEST
LONE STAR TAQUERIA
EST. 1994 FLAVORTOWN’S FOUR DEGREES OF SEPARATION IN A REAL-DEAL TAQUERIA
Usually on Triple D you see me cruising the convertible ’67, but when I find a joint that’s got a car as sick as the one they’ve got parked outside, well, I just got to check it out. The thing is covered in bumper stickers, and it has a shark’s fin on the roof. And it’s not just the car that’s unique here; they’re doing Mexican the real-deal way.