Triad City Bites January 2019 — Small Batch, big things

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JANUARY 2019

Small Batch Grows into something more

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Also featured in this month’s Issue: Bean Broth

Dinner Guest

Wish I may, wish I might: A foodie wish list

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t would have looked a bit strange if a fellow my age had jumped in Santa’s lap and told him what I wanted for Christmas. So I waited and made a New Year’s Wish List instead, thinkby Carroll Leggett ing the old guy may be lurking in the Triad and still in a giving mood, or perhaps that friends in the culinary community will accommodate at least one or two of my 2019 desires.

To start, I am wishing for a new go-to veggie. Most folks have to strain to remember when every plate suddenly boosted asparagus, even out of season. Or haricot verts.

Then it was kale – forever kale, it seemed.

Then we got stuck in the collard patch. Now it looks like, uh, cauliflower. My first wish: Chefs, play with it for a while but don’t get stuck in the cauliflower patch, also. Say what you will; it doesn’t taste like anything much except what you inflict upon it, and it is hard to spell. By the way, it does come in colors!

Two: Drop the word “pulled” from the culinary lexicon. It is not a pretty word, and I am not sure how it weaseled its way onto menus. But to me it means the kitchen needed an entrée that was quick and easy. I place “pulled” offerings in the “mystery meat” category, despite assurances that it is pork, chicken or even lamb.

Three: I am wishing for “less is more.” At least with menus. I wish they were all short and tempting, and told me just enough to make me want to order every offering. And, please, share with me no more than three ingredients. If I want the recipe (I assure you, I don’t), I will look online.

Four: Take seriously the “hospitality” word in the phrase “restaurant and hospitality” industry. I applaud my many friends who already do. Give thought to who is greeting patrons.

Make sure they are a welcoming presence.

Memorable would be super! In 2019, if I walk into a restaurant and get the mindless question, “Are you here for dinner,” I shall answer, “No, I am here to catch the No. 9 bus!” Note that the iconic Brennan family of the 135-yearold Commander’s Palace in New Orleans — which, besides decades of accolades was named Restaurant of the Year in 2018 by the Times Picayune! — keeps a Brennan on the floor just to schmooze and make everyone feel at home.

Five: Don’t sprinkle Italian, French, Spanish — whatever — throughout menus for effect, requiring meek diners to wonder what is coming from the kitchen or bold diners to ask, “What the hell is this chicken dish?” I am a “What the hell is….” diner, by the way, and will sure as hell ask if there is something I don’t know!

I have no shame.

Six: I wish cooks would not try to marry ingredients that don’t belong together. Artfully crafted language will not disguise the fact that someone opened the refrigerator door or spice cabinet, gazed intently for a few moments and then concocted an entrée with whatever caught the eye.

Generally, I like surprises, but I don’t want to poke about in my entrée and find the kitchen sink. I enjoy listening to Vivian Howard of “Chef and the Farmer” explain the logic of the ingredients she uses. She always makes sense.

Seven: And lastly, I wish for servers who are close and inconspicuous, but at my table when needed, unobtrusive and divinely helpful. This requires attentiveness. Real pros know just when to check by without interrupting. I know a lot of them. Applause. I am a storyteller, and stopping to tell a server the table is just fine for the umpteenth time never advances my enthralling narratives.

Okay, let’s stop at seven. That’s a lucky number. And if I am lucky, perhaps I will get two, or even three, of my 2019 wishes. Now that’s a happy thought!

Two: Drop the word “pulled” from the culinary lexicon. It is not a pretty word.

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Triad City Bites

Melt Kitchen & Bar $-$$ meltkitchenandbar.com 1941 New Garden Road # 116 GSO 336.763.5445

Melt’s big space on New Garden Road pushes beyond the panini — and was listed as one of John Batchelor’s 10 favorite restaurants in Greensboro. A long list of burgers, sandwiches and wraps maintains the quality — including the award-winning BAT, a bacon-arugula-tomato sandwich that relies on Rudd Farms tomatoes, local bacon and the peppery bite of arugula. A short slate of tacos keeps it simple with fish, steak, shrimp or avocado. All the salads are signature items, unique to Melt. They still carry the Sunrise salad — with portabella mushrooms, artichoke hearts, roasted peppers, bacon and a fried egg — that became a favorite among the regulars at the old location. They’ve still got the duck-confit flatbread and duck fries, the pulled-pork nachos and the almost-famous sprouts too. And, of course, everyone loves the panini.

FOOD+DRINK January 2019

6th and Vine $-$$

6thandvine.com 209 W. Sixth St. WS, 336.725.5577

The Quiet Pint $$

facebook.com/quietpinttavern 1420 W. First St. WS, 336.893.6881 The Quiet Pint has everything you could ask for in a neighborhood tavern: A briskly rotating stock of craft and local beers, curated by expert staff and knowledgable regulars; craft cocktails and a wine list to appease even the most sophisticated palate. The bar menu brings pub food to an entirely new level with soups and seafood, salads and small plates, tacos, burgers, international street food, and everything else a night owl needs. On weekend mornings, a unique brunch menu brings the neighborhood to life with dishes both classic and innovative. Live music, tap takeovers, themed nights and other events fill out the week. And the city’s best St. Patrick’s Day bar scene kicks off on March 17 with Góilín at 6 p.m.

Sixth and Vine is the living room of downtown Winston-Salem’s Arts District, with vintage couches, walls adorned with local art and a menu with artisanal favorites old and new. Classic appetizers include baked brie and charcuterie, plus some of the best crab and artichoke dip in town. Recently they’ve introduced starters such as sesame-crusted tuna with sweet chili and green-tea wasabi, and Korean meatballs with Asian slaw. Don’t let the casual atmosphere fool you, the chef makes an incredible blackberry duck and signature mocha sirloin with a white chocolate cognac cream sauce. New menu additions include vegetarian options such as a curried cauliflower rice bowl.

Brunch service on Saturdays and Sundays from 11-3 is a great option, plus Sundays offer half-price wine by the bottle. Craft beer and signature cocktails round out the list, as well as an extensive wine selection by the glass, upon which Sixth & Vine has built its reputation. February marks the restaurant’s 14th year in the Arts District, and it will be open for Valentine’s Day — though reservations are encouraged for everyone.

Usually, you just need reservations for larger parties, as they are first come, first serve for smaller groups.

January 2019

Mozelle’s Fresh Southern Bistro $$ mozelles.com 878 W. Fourth St., WS, 336.703.5400

Although you can get fried chicken in some shape or fashion at just about any restaurant in town, the dish is still impressive when executed well. At Mozelle’s Fresh Southern Bistro, this country classic has been the centerpiece of the menu for more than 10 years. Their rather refined take on the Southern staple is dipped in buttermilk and Texas Pete, dredged in a glutenfriendly, seasoned “dust” and crisped in 100 percent non-GMO canola oil. All day long, it is nestled atop a mound of the creamiest mac and cheese and a handful of sautéed haricots verts. The final touch, to send the whole enterprise heavenward, is a hint of peach chutney. You could get fried chicken anywhere, but after tasting the rendition in the heart of West End, why would you?

Triad City Bites

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Small Batch grows int To adequately tell the Small Batch story, you’ve got to start with the beer. Because that’s how it all started.

In 2013, the Small Batch project benefited from a number of cultural and business intersections: It was a downtown reclamation project, planned for the old Kopper Kitchen — owner Tim Walker pledged immediately to keep the iconic frying-pan sign — on a section of Fifth Street that suffered from an aging convention center and unruly neighbors. Both situations have since been rectified.

There was to be a small, curated menu of well-crafted dishes big and small, most of them designed to be eaten at tall tables with drinks after work. They used Kickstarter for a piece of the startup cash and to help get the word out. But in 2013, when brewpubs and bottleshops began appearing in downtown districts like desert blooms after a rain, it was the beer that sold it.

Like the name implies, the beer would be brewed in house, in single batches, allowing for a great range of beers that could only be bought here.

It was the beer that brought people in through the door, when downtown Winston-Salem’s after-work crowd was looking for a place exactly like this. In 2015, when Small Batch began serving burgers in the space next door, diners lingered after their meals over pints of house brews.

And when Small Batch opened its High Point location, the beer was central to the plan.

Now, Small Batch has come to mean big things. The small deck of tapas has given way to a full menu of bar-top appetizers, dishes to share, salads, sandwiches and entrées that have earned

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Triad City Bites

January 2019

their flowe Th a pla Pigg pepp No shoo garn Bru Point ates some Bu place fanta Sm and H

to something more

Small Batch $-$$

burgerbatch.com 2760 NC 68 HP 336.875.4082 237 W. 5th St. WS 336.893.6395

r place among the Triad’s best dishes: sweet-chili salmon, fish & chips, Korean BBQ-fried caulier, porkbelly banh mi, mac and cheese with Goldfish crumbs, the best bar pretzel in the Triad. he burgers have become legendary — an array of crafted designs that stand out, even in ace where great burgers are everywhere. Like the beer, the burgers are singular: the Figgy gy has fig jam, bacon and goat cheese; the Hellboy brings salami, fresh mozzarella and cherry pers to the party. The hand-cut fries are appropriate with any burger, and also on their own. ow, along with its bespoke brews, Small Batch has a craft-cocktail menu, a wine list and oter board. They even have milkshakes that truly test the limits of the form. One of them is nished with a slice of cake. unch has become a big deal at Small Batch in both downtown Winston-Salem and High t, with a menu that adheres to the ethos of the brand. A workday lunch following apprecithe timeliness and quality of the orders. And dinner has always been a good call there, with ething for everyone in the crew. ut perhaps Small Batch is at its best at night, after the dinner crowd has gone home and the e becomes what it was always intended to be: a really great bar, with an interesting menu and astic beer. mall Batch has just released its first pilsner, Poppin’ Pilsner, available at both Winston-Salem High Point locations.

January 2019

Triad City Bites

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Jerusalem Market $$

jerusalemmarket.com 310 S. Elm St. GSO, 336.279.7025 5002 High Point Road GSO, 336.547.0220 In some ways it’s business as usual at Jerusalem Market — both the one on Elm Street and its predecessor near Adams Farm: a solid menu of Middle Eastern classics like tabbouleh, baba ghanouj, grape leaves — “dolmathes” on the menu, tahini, feta and yogurt sauce.

But technique and presentation lifts their menu above the rest. The shawarma comes as charred chunks of actual cuts of lamb and beef, not the ground or shredded product some are accustomed to, which by necessity must be served sliced. “It’s like the burnt ends on a brisket,” owner Easa Hanhan explains. The bulk of their produce is local — through Gate City Harvest; their slate of wraps, which rely on ingredients like dried beef and sausages, imported cheeses and house-made sauces, are completely unique. Their vegetarian selections are ample. And their hummus is the best in the world.

Burke Street Pizza $

burkestreetpizza.com 1140 Burke St. WS, 336.721.0011 3352 Robinhood Road WS, 336.760.4888 A traditional New York pizzeria with all the trimmings, open for lunch, dinner and latenight feasts. The menu goes beyond thin-crust pizza with salads and subs, specialty pies and appetizers. Both the Burke Street and Robinhood Road locations deliver — order online at burkestreetpizza.com or call the restaurant. Look for upcoming renovations to the Robinhood Road location. Find them on Instagram at @BurkeStreetPizza.

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Triad City Bites

Local 27101 $

thelocal.ws 310 W. Fourth St. WS, 336.725.3900 Local 27101, located in the heart of downtown Winston-Salem, balances a casual ambiance with local classics re-imagined by Executive Chef Patrick Rafferty, and with the savvy of the management behind the Millennium Center. They feature fresh food made fast, and there’s fare for everyone: Burgers with seasoned crinkle cut and sweet potato fries. A legendary hot dog. Fresh shrimp and oysters for po-boys — grilled, fried or sautéed — and made-to-order salads that go beyond the basic house with Caesar and a Cobb. Local 27101 has local wine and beer, free delivery throughout downtown Winston-Salem and the West End. And they cater, as well — either on location, on site at Local 27101 or one of the many chambers of the Millennium Center. Closed Sundays.

Uncle Buzzy’s Fried Food $ Find them on Facebook.

1510 First St. WS

Uncle Buzzy’s specializes in carnival food: burgers, hot dogs, ice-cream tacos and the sort of deep-fried experimentation for which the genre is becoming famous.

Owner Dave Hillman partnered with Chef Brian Duffy, best known as the kitchen guy from the television show “Bar Rescue,” to flesh out the carnival-food concept and add classic American street food. A new menu is in the works, but it’s sure to include classic favorites such as the Nashville chicken, smoked pork shoulder and the famous roast beef sandwiches. Uncle Buzzy’s is open now on First Street for takeout only, but you can order online at unclebuzzys.com, at the Facebook page or the ChowNow app.

January 2019

Flash in the Pan:

Beans over Bones

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f all the things to feel bad for vegetarians over, bone broth is up there with bacon. Making a proper broth without assistance from the animal kingdom is nearly impossible. Vegetables can impart an array of subtle aromas. Mushrooms will fill a pot with mysterious and meaty umami. Herbs might add complexity. But those are merely flavors in your mouth. Broth needs to be felt in your body. Your bones, as it were. For that, it needs a foundation

by Ari LeVaux of protein. Luckily for plant-eaters, beans can do the job.

They make a surprisingly good broth.

You’ve probably noticed the otherworldly satisfaction that a bowl of miso soup delivers. Miso is the fermented paste of a soy bean. Soy sauce, known for its rich meaty flavor, is fermented as well. Based on what miso and soy sauce bring to the table, it’s no huge surprise that broth made from other types of beans can get the job done too. Compared to fermenting, bringing a pot of water and beans to a boil is a quick and easy way to unlock the power of the fabacea, also known as the legume family.

The purest form of bean broth is called “aquafaba,” a newly-minted French word that refers to the leftover water from cooking beans (It literally means “bean water” in Latin; “aqua” means “water” and “faba” means “bean”).

Aquafaba has become a star in the vegan community, especially that made from garbanzo beans, thanks to a unique set of properties that vegan chefs have been exploring. When whipped it will stiffen, just like an egg white. In addition to being a popular egg replacer, it’s used to make vegan meringue, pudding and mayonnaise.

I couldn’t get garbanzo bean aquafaba to whip, but the flavor had a musky, fungal intensity that I could see might interest the meat-deprived. Tasting the plain bean water gives insight into how a broth made from those beans would taste, so I went ahead and made some fava aquafaba, which is buttery and mild. Black bean aquafaba is too dark and astringent. Lentil aquafaba is rich and starchy. These aquafaba tests confirmed that my favorite bean to make broth from is the pinto bean, which has a soulful aroma, a creamy feel and just the right amount of bean flavor.

The difference between aquafaba and broth are the other flavorings that get added, the vegetables, seasonings and fat that turn a subtle stock into a delicious one.

Broth is a team player, unselfishly raising the level of the food around it, without hogging the spotlight. It’s the secret behind untold soups and sauces, a perfect liquid for deglazing a pan when re-heating leftovers or just a liquid to sip pleasantly on a cold day.

Here’s a recipe for pinto bean broth, followed by two recipes that, having made bean broth, you would then be in a position to follow, as they use it as a raw ingredient.

January 2019

Pinto Bean Broth In this recipe the beans are cooked twice, once by themselves and once with vegetables and seasonings. I use a pressurecooker for the first cooking, to speed it up, then switch to the stovetop.

Makes two quarts of broth 1 cup dried pinto beans (the fresher, the better) 2 celery stalks, cut in half 2 carrots, whole 1 cup chopped tomatoes 1 onion, cut in half, unpeeled 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 tablespoon soy sauce Optional: 5 curry leaves, or other soup spices (see below) Optional: Bacon or some other kind of fatty pork, if you eat it, to taste. Because pork goes with beans. It will, I’m sorry to say, make the bean broth better Optional: 1 tablespoon butter, because butter

Pour the beans into the pressure-cooker and rinse them with cold water. Dump the water and add three quarts of cold water.

Pressure cook the beans for an hour, or cook for 2 or more hours on the stove, until completely soft.

Add the rest of the ingredients and heat to a simmer. After about an hour, turn it down to the “lazy bubble” temperature range. Leave it there, staying barely warm until it’s needed. Add water to replace what evaporates, and what you lose as you season, taste, season, taste. Keep it simple, but make it taste good.

When the carrots start to lose their flavor, it’s done. Let it cool to room temperature. Strain the beans and veggies and set them in a cool place.

The remaining liquid is bean broth.

If you want to purify it a bit more, let it sit for a few hours or overnight in the fridge and then decant the non-cloudy portion.

Perhaps my favorite use for pinto broth is as a water replacement when making a pot of rice. Add a few stray beans for extra color and fun. But most of the flavor and nutritional value is in that bean-based liquid.

Or fry an egg atop a shallow puddle of boiling buttered bean broth; it cooks on the steam as the broth evaporates and thickens into a delectable sauce that is lovely with the egg.

The beans and veggies you filtered out can be fried in oil, with a little garlic, like refried beans. Mash as you fry. Add bean stock as necessary to rehydrate these chunks with flavor.

Or, instead of adding stock to the refried beans, you can add the beans back to the broth. Don’t re-add the veggies you strained out, but you can cut up some new ones. You don’t have to add all of the beans, either. It all depends on how beany you want this chunky broth. Add those curry leaves or some other herb, and some kind of fat. Lemongrass, coconut and tamarind is a great combination in lentil broth. When in doubt, add butter, mayo or your favorite soup fat.

Triad City Bites

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Why are you still here?

W

hy are you still here?”

I get that question all the time: I’m 40, with the salt and (mostly) pepper beard, the 100-yard-stare. I get mistaken for the owner of the places where I work because of my age. Yeah, I’ve been through the wringer. I’m okay

by James Douglas with it.

To be honest, it is a question that I often ponder myself. Come on, Douglas, you could’ve gone anywhere in 10 years. You could be a doctor! Where’s that novel?

Where’s the kids, the wife, the camper, that comfy 401K? Short answer: Right where they need to be.

Maybe I should explain how I got “here” in the first place. I do believe in looking forward, but I am allowed to reminisce.

I grew up here, in Winston-Salem. I worked in restaurants to get by, the usual fare for people my age. I received an unnamed degree from an unnamed college and, in the spring of 2000, I moved to Wyoming.

I worked seasonally for an outfitter south of Jackson Hole, the “Rich Man’s Cherokee.” I spent summers guiding tourists through the Wind River Range on pack mules. Autumns involved working hunting camps in the wilderness and guiding big-game hunters. Winter, I was a caretaker. I stayed on as the sole relief at an old ranch, 22 miles from any paved road.

I didn’t see a soul for two months during one stretch. If not for fate and family, I’d still be there, I suppose.

I came back because my father took ill, and later passed. Shortly thereafter, my mother required care.

I did what anyone would do. I moved back for good.

That meant finding a job.

I really didn’t want to get back into the service industry. I was a security guard, spending my nights making rounds, reading books and chasing off vagrants. I took up carpentry and handyman work. I tried writing howto articles for local magazines. I had to be flexible with my time to handle family obligations. I tried everything: farming, sales, promoting bands… all were soul crushing examples of why I left this city in the first place.

So I found myself re-enlisting in the industry I had left a long time ago.

I applied at a corporate restaurant and was hired right away. There, I met like-minded individuals with little or no direction, and I spent the next two years learning the

intricacies of the service industry, which had waited so patiently for me to come back.

We won’t delve into the hell that is a corporate restaurant, not today at least. One learns efficient service, but the money is shit and servers are the most expendable thing on the menu. I was fired from that job for refusing to pay a bill for a guy who ran out on his tab. I still had standards (and I didn’t have the money).

I went to downtown Winston-Salem to drown my sorrows (and inquire about employment) at a friend’s watering hole and was hired on the spot. It was night and day. Employees treated fairly. A study group didn’t determine what script you had to greet your table with.

No prick district managers showing up calling a 30-yearold “Sport” and asking how many appetizers you sold that night. Oh man, I was downtown!

It fit. I belonged somewhere, finally. I hadn’t spent much time there in the past 10 years. There were rumblings, though. Something was “HAPPENING.” I still remember the BYOB parties at the Wherehouse back in the late ’90s, which is presently Krankies. This seemed like an extension of that early excitement, yet more cohesive. Tangible. A lot had changed, but the soul was still here.

The potential.

I’ve spent the last 10 years mostly on Trade Street in Downtown Winston-Salem. I’ve served and tended bar. I’ve help design, build and run restaurants from the ground up. I’ve owned and operated hot-dog carts on the late-night, rain-soaked streets.

I’ve helped organize and run festivals, concerts, soirées and everything in between. I’ve dealt with the worst of the worst, the best of the best; I can’t honestly tell you which ones I liked better. I’m a bartender, logician and jack of all trades. I currently work at two, sometimes three bars, and hope to open one of my own at some point. If I know anything, it’s this life and the people contained therein.

And I write.

Why am I still here? Because I like it. Because I think I’m good at it. Because if I started over in anything else, I’d be another 40-year-old washout with the same directionless malaise I possessed 10 years ago.

Now, I want to write about this life: the people involved, the etiquette required and the expectations one should have when considering a career in this… business. Or you can just thank your lucky stars that you’re not a part of it.

I’m still here because I want to be. I’m still here because there are stories to tell. I’m still here.

I’ve dealt with the worst of the worst, the best of the best; I can’t honestly tell you which ones I liked better.

Don’t see your business? Call Brian at 336.681.0704 to get listed.

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