Proud to be American
MELTING POT | Chicago chefs present new twists to traditional fare
Chef Art Smith is synonymous with American food.
Think baking powder biscuits and sausage gravy, chicken and dumplings, catfish with cheese grits, chicken and okra gumbo, deviled eggs, barbecued spareribs and you're saluting American food, Art Smith-style.
(Rich Hein/Sun-Times)
And, yes, that would be the Art Smith who turned his skills as personal chef to Oprah (or "Ms. Winfrey," as he prefers) into a successful career as an acclaimed restaurateur, cookbook author and educator -- all the while remaining down-to-earth and still referring to dinner as "supper."
"With the cultural evolution of America, the saying 'as American as apple pie' is not relevant anymore. American food is more than apple pie, more than fried chicken," contends Smith, who grew up in the South "where they ate every part of the pig but the squeal."
"It's really hard to define what American food is because we're a melting pot. Chicken might not be the Buttermilk Fried Chicken I was raised on in the South -- it might be fantastic fried chicken flavored with Mexican, African, Latin American or Indian spices. American food has become spicier because of the influence of diversity," adds Smith, who creates an American mix of tradition/interpretation at Table Fifty-Two on the Gold Coast.
Even Smith's American food can take a modern twist -- for example, he serves a pistachio-crusted chicken breast with lo mein noodles. "People say to me, 'That's not Southern.' I say, 'Right, but the noodles make me recall wonderful memories,' " explains Smith, whose favorite foods include his mother's greens (flavored with pork and topped with cornmeal dumplings), pizza, homemade lemonade and iced tea.
American food -- which is enjoying resurgence in Chicago and across the country -- is about the "freedom of creating -- poetic licensing, if you will," maintains Chef Carol Wallack, who relies on Hawaiian and Asian flavors to add vibrancy to her American cuisine at Sola in Lincoln Park. "What is American food? It's up to each chef's interpretation, but it's about eating well, eating fresh, and eating local. There is a natural beauty to American food -- it is so important to embrace what is grown here."
Wallack, who grew up wanting to be a professional surfer, credits Alice Waters and Wolfgang Puck with the revolution known as California cuisine. "And now we are fascinated with natural juices, fresh produce, with knowing our farmers and knowing what the soil is being fed," she says with obvious pleasure.
"We're fascinated with being healthy and nourishing our bodies with fuel to sustain life. Done the right way, American food is fantastic," assures Wallack, who relies on fresh fish flown in from Hawaii for much of Sola's menu.
Yamandu (pronounced Sha-mandu) Perez, a native of Chile and general manager of Zak's Place, a contemporary American restaurant in suburban Hinsdale, says, "Contemporary American is a license to be free. It is like the American concept of being free to do what you want."
"American food is not as complicated as experts make it sound. Instead, it's about exceptional raw products. I learned from a chef who stressed you only need three different flavors on a plate. If it gets beyond that, it gets complicated, and it becomes snobbery," explains Perez, who also has lived in Uruguay, Cuba and Paris.
Thus, Zak's appetizers include crab cakes, oysters Rockefeller, steamed mussels, grilled kabobs, and seared ahi tuna. Dinner entrees include a grilled boneless pork chop served over smoked chipotle grits with a barbecue peach gastrique; veal churrasco with orange cilantro chimichurri; free range chicken with prosciutto, roasted red pepper, spinach and goat cheese; Alaskan halibut with purple Peruvian potatoes and fresh fruit salsa; and black peppered gnocchi with tomato pancetta sauce.
A connoisseur of wine and self-described dessert fanatic, Perez stresses another ingredient important to dining, American-style: Comfort. "Americans like to order what they're comfortable with; Americans want to enjoy themselves. So we don't pretend to be a fine dining restaurant. We are who we are."
"Being different is what makes us a great country," Smith states. "We achieve that through the sharing of food and sharing of community. And while we are a multicultural land of many, many people, we all have the common thread of freedom."
Art Smith is proud of his heritage, proud of the food he creates and enjoys, and, most of all, proud to be American.
SOLA
3868 N. Lincoln
Inspired by natural foods from local farmers, Chef Carol Wallack duplicates the fresh, bold flavors of Hawaii. Expect the unexpected: Wasabi-Crusted Mahi Mahi with sunchokes and sesame barley or Hoisin Braised Short Ribs with lemongrass, snow peas, shiitake and red peppers for dinner; Grilled Three-Cheese Sandwich with gruyere, white cheddar and Parmesan for lunch; Pineapple Upside Down French Toast for brunch; and S'mores for dessert. "My 'aloha' menu reflects what I like to eat," admits Wallack, who also has a home in Hawaii.
TABLE FIFTY-TWO
52 W. Elm
Chef Art Smith's Southern heritage is reflected in his finger-lickin'-good Buttermilk Fried Chicken with Mashed Roasted Garlic-Yukon Gold Potatoes and sides of Sweet Potatoes with Maple Syrup, Braised Collard Greens with Pulled Hamhock, Three-Cheese Macaroni, and Skillet Cornbread. For somethin' lovin' from the oven, how about Smith's old-fashioned Hummingbird Cake?
ZAK'S PLACE
112 S. Washington, Hinsdale
Zak's is all about simplicity, straightforwardness, and flavor: "If I tell you it's a basil soup, it's a soup with lots of basil," states Yamandu Perez. Thus, Zak's Garlic Mashed Potatoes or Black Truffle Mashed Potatoes are "just like Grandma made them." Best-sellers are salmon wrapped in prosciutto, a filet topped with foie gras, and a Kansas City strip. For utmost flavor? Scallops with Vanilla Key Lime Coconut Sauce. For dessert, Bread Pudding with handcrafted Burnt Caramel Ice Cream is bestowed Perez's over-the-top accolade: "Lordy, Lordy, Lordy."