p12-23_Profiles_sp05.qxd
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back to school, he wanted to remain a chef. “I set myself some goals. I decided that by 32 I wanted to be an executive chef and that by 35 I wanted to achieve my own restaurant.” To meet those goals, he said, “I became a kind of culinary mercenary, if you will. I had very versatile experience, and I liked a challenge, so I developed a reputation for fixing restaurants up when they were in trouble, saving them and reorganizing them. I rebuilt this little French bistro, and then through a friend I was introduced to Remington’s here in Louisville. It was having some trouble, so I came here, met Charles Osborn, the owner, and fell in love with Louisville.” Geography was a factor, too. Shariat’s wife, Sharon, was expecting their first child, and Louisville was closer to her family in North Carolina than Texas. “The rest,” he said, “is history.” That was 1987, and under Shariat’s stewardship, Remington’s (on Hurstbourne Lane in the spot now occupied by Olive Garden) became an influential part of the Louisville dining scene of the era. Remington’s eventually closed, but that opened the door for Shariat to open his own restaurant, the much-cherished Shariat’s, on November 16, 1993, beating his goal by two years—he was 33. A decade later, ready for a change, he closed Shariat’s and sought other opportunities. In the end, he was lured downtown to take over the two restaurants located in Slugger Field: the fine dining Wellinghurst’s Steakhouse (which he promptly re-named Park Place on Main) and the more casual Browning’s. A year later, he has transformed both into critically acclaimed restaurants. “It was the perfect opportunity,” he said. “The unique thing was the opportunity to work in two areas of food that I love, to combine fine-dining with casual and fun food. It always made me a little sad that I would only see my guests on birthdays or special occasions, and this gives me the opportunity to see people more often. We have two separate kitchens back to back, so we cross-train as much as we can, but each side has its own chefs and techniques. In Park Place we try to get into the essence of flavors, so we want the highest quality. But for me, creating the best pizza or Hot Brown is just as satisfying as anything else. It’s
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simple food on the Browning’s side, but there’s nothing better than using fresh ingredients and keeping it consistent.” Longtime Shariat fans will be gratified to learn that Anoosh, himself a vegetarian, continues to offer a wide range of meatless menu options in addition to his offerings for omnivores. “In Park Place we customize three-, five- or seven-course vegetarian menus. We do a lot of custom dishes because there are so many varieties of vegetarian—vegans, lacto, fruitarians,
people who don’t want anything cooked, raw foods. I try to respect all their wishes. I love the challenge of customizing a dish, because it’s so fun. And it forces you to improvise. Improvising in the kitchen is a must. You improvise with a sauce, or an ingredient, but you never improvise with quality. Need is the mother of invention.”
Chef Shariat’s asparagus ravioli with oven-roasted tomatoes and asparagus tips.