COMFORT & JOY

THIRD WARD CHEFS KEEP IT COZY WITH ELEVATED COMFORT FOOD AND SOUL-SOOTHING WINTER COCKTAILS

By Kristine Hansen

“WHEN I THINK OF WINTER, I PICTURE HEARTY INGREDIENTS LIKE BRUSSELS SPROUTS, SQUASH AND AROMATIC FLAVORS LIKE SAGE AND BAY, WITH A TOUCH OF JUNIPER FOR WARMTH AND SPICE,” SAYS PAUL FUNK, EXECUTIVE CHEF AT TRE RIVALI, INSIDE THE JOURNEYMAN HOTEL.

“The cooking style slows down, shifting from quick grilling and fresh flavors to cozy techniques like slow roasting, braising and smoking.”

It’s this level of specificity, and folding in sensory details, that Third Ward chefs and mixologists bring to their menus during winter. That’s because this is when most people’s palates crave comfort foods, soul-warming soups and decadent drinks.

Funk, who joined Tre Rivali earlier this year, is excited about a new menu in perfect pitch with cooler temperatures and comfort-food cravings. While still honoring its Italian and Spanish roots, “Our focus will shift toward the bold, vibrant tastes of Levantine Mediterranean cuisine, featuring dishes rich with spices and aromatic herbs,” he says. “The Delicata Squash, for example, with ember-roasted shallots and pistachio dukkah over brown butter and tahini labneh makes a perfect winter dish.”

While The Edison’s sidewalk patio is a hot reservation during summer, the vibe is just as coveted during the winter when dishes like the French Onion Soup invite diners to warm up. New this year is a vegetarian, beef-free version, making the menu staple even more inclusive.

Also new is a rosemary, fontina cream with a port wine reduction Gnocchi. Another newcomer — the Bolognese — fits general manager Patrick Erdman’s definition of comfort food. “Comfort to me in food is time and simplicity, and our new Bolognese accomplishes just that,” he says.

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CUISINE IN THE COLDER MONTHS,

HERBACEOUS SUCH AS ROSEMARY AND THYME.”

He’s also a fan of the restaurant’s beef short rib. “We sear the beef on our solid-state grill with mesquite charcoal briquettes and then roast it for 24 hours,” he says. Finished with a rosemary demi glaze before serving, it’s the definition of comfort.

Perfect for sharing is The Edison’s baked truffle cheese spread, served with a baguette toasted over mesquite briquettes, or the mushroom casserole with bechamel.

At Dandan, co-owner/chef Dan Jacobs is equally excited about the winter season. “The whole menu screams winter. It’s kind of like our season. Winter is our sweet spot,” he says.

Two dishes in particular, Jacobs says, are ideal for enjoying in winter: Mapo Tofu (five-spice seitan and chili oil with tofu, peanuts and scallions) and Golden Curry (glass noodles tossed with tofu, cashews and yellow laksa paste). Another option for sampling the menu in a hurry is at the new lunch buffet, served on Friday only. This is often when Jacobs and coowner/chef Dan Van Rite test out new dishes. Recently that meant bourbon chicken and orange beef.

Paired with a cup of its egg drop hot and sour soup, these dishes at Dandan hit the spot for comfort food. “That’s the best part of winter in my head: It’s spicy, really hot and warming, and some great flavors in there,” says Jacobs about the soup. “It’s warm and it also warms you while you’re eating it.”

Soups are served year-round at Third Coast Gourmet but see an uptick in winter, so much that regular customers call in the morning to learn about the soups of the day, says owner Joena Vitale. A perennial favorite during winter is butternut squash soup and two subs, she says, are “the definition of comfort food”: French Dip and Philly Cheesesteak, with the seasonings stemming from a third-generational family in Indiana.

And that comfort extends outside the Third Coast Gourmet’s cozy space inside the Renaissance Building on Water Street. The deli is the exclusive food purveyor for Skylight Music Theatre’s shows all season long. “When purchasing tickets, meals can be ordered in the dining section of the theater’s website,” says Vitale. The meals are then delivered to the theater one hour prior to showtime.

Nearly every chef turns to root vegetables during cooler weather, including Karen Bell, chef-owner of Bavette La Boucherie. “Root vegetables — celery root, parsnips and squash — as well as apples, pears, citrus, blood orange, baking or warming spices, brown butter and maple,” are what Bell considers winter flavors. New this winter is a pear, beet and delicata squash salad highlighting winter ingredients, along with brown-butter vinaigrette, golden raisin, smoked almond and goat cheese labneh.

And don’t sleep on Bavette’s soups: From the coveted bone broth to beef chili, as well as rotating soups, can be purchased inside the restaurant’s warm space, ordered to-go or from the grab-andgo section in the front of the restaurant.

One way that Bell and other Third Ward restaurants easily adapt to winter foods is by partnering with farmers who supply what’s in season. “We try to get as much produce from our partner farms, with one farm supplying all year,” says Bell. “This dictates the direction of our menu, so it will naturally be more focused on fall/winter ingredients.”

INGREDIENTS