wellington | table
Signature Dish
Cask + Shaker Brings A Unique Gastropub Experience To Wellington
Story and Photos by Julie Unger
Cask + Shaker Craft Bar and Kitchen recently opened at the Mall at Wellington Green adjacent to the new Paragon Wellington 10 movie theater. With a separate exterior mall entrance, and lounge seating in the lobby of Paragon, Cask + Shaker offers classic cocktails, local brews and gastropub entrées. Executive Chef Chuck Gittleman is particularly proud of the restaurant’s signature dish, Steak Frites. “It’s my favorite dish. I’m from Miami, so it has a lot of Latin flavors to it,” he explained. “The cut of meat itself is a really tender cut. It’s one of my favorite steaks, the hanger steak. It reminds me of my youth.” The entrée consists of a marinated mojo hanger steak, sautéed broccolini (a relative of asparagus that looks like a long broccoli spear) and yucca fries. “The yucca itself is Latin, so it lends itself to the mojo flavoring of the steak, and it’s a little spin on French fries,” Gittleman said.
Historically, the hanger cut wasn’t particularly popular with the public, he said, and was considered the butcher’s cut to take home. “It’s a really tender piece of meat. It’s pretty popular right now. A lot of places use it. It’s kind of a trend. We mojo marinate it, which is a lime juice, orange juice, chili, garlic, onions, cilantro and cumin. And then just salt and pepper, and it’s grilled,” Gittleman said. The steak is topped with a chimichurri sauce, which has parsley, cilantro, lime, garlic, oregano, olive oil and hot chili. Steak Frites is one of the popular dishes at Cask + Shaker, which has a gastropub atmosphere. Because there are farms nearby, Gittleman is focusing on getting more “farm to table” foods. wellington the magazine | april 2017
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