Bacon-Wrapped Medjool Dates
with Goat Cheese and Balsamic

Jason McClure, Executive Chef
Sazerac
Seattle
Yield: 12

Aaron Johnson

12 Medjool dates, pitted

4 thick-cut bacon rashers ( 6 if bacon thinly sliced)

3 oz. chèvre-style goat cheese 4 (6-inch) bamboo skewers

1 cup balsamic vinegar, reduced to ¼ cup

At Sazerac Restaurant, signature bar items include Medjool dates en brochette (bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with goat cheese and drizzled with balsamic vinegar).

Ed Cotton, executive chef at Plein Sud in
New York, found that while diners desire a
quick and casual dining experience, they
still want options. That means serving a
bar menu with food that’s on a par with
the dining room menu. “Bar menus today
must focus on creativity, quality and
affordability,” Cotton says. “Our clientele
has the same expectations as if they were
sitting in the main dining room.”
to create a bar area that can be a daily
destination for our guests and serve many
different purposes,” says Cotton. “If it’s
just a coffee and a croissant one day, or
an appetizer, entrée and dessert the next,
we want guests to feel that Plein Sud is an
extension of their home.”

Method: Stuff each date with ¼ oz. goat cheese (or whatever date will accommodate). If bacon thick-cut, roll with rolling pin until thin and lengthened. Cut each piece in three pieces (cut each piece of thinly sliced bacon in half); wrap dates. Put three dates on each skewer, piercing bacon through overlap to ensure it stays wrapped during cooking. Cook dates on grill until bacon is lightly charred and goat cheese is warm (or in oven at 400ºF until bacon is crisp). Drizzle with reduced balsamic vinegar.

Cotton’s bar menu offers contemporary brasserie-style cuisine and an array of dishes influenced by French cuisine and its southern regions. “Because Plein Sud is the extension of the Smyth hotel [Smyth Tribeca, one of New York’s Thompson Hotels], we also wanted to create a menu that we could replicate at the lobby bar,” says Cotton.

The bar menu is served all day. In the morning, it features pastries, and starting at 11: 30 a.m., it moves to items such as duck and foie gras pâté with housemade pickles and country bread, or charcuterie royale (a combination of pâtés and artisanal cured meats). “Our goal was

COCKTAIL CULTURE
Today, it’s not hard to find a bar serving
IPA beers or specially designed cocktails
using local ingredients. This growing
cocktail culture not only invites bars
to create more complex drinks, but
encourages food to follow the trend.
“Guests are more savvy cocktailers, and
we need to offer them food that is raised
a level from mozzarella sticks,” says Steve
McDonagh of The Hearty Boys, Chicago-
based caterers/TV hosts/cookbook
authors, and co-owner of Hearty
Restaurant, Chicago.

contemporary, shareable small plates bar menu started as a reaction to the tough economic climate two years ago. “I really wanted to provide good food at a good value, but also keep it interesting enough to keep people’s interest piqued,” he says.

Signature bar items include Medjool dates en brochette (bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with goat cheese and drizzled with balsamic vinegar), crispy truffles (Yukon potatoes dressed in truffle cheese and truffle oil) and an assortment of wood-fired pizzas.

“Peoples’ palates are more sophisticated and upscale, and restaurateurs are listening,” says Jason McClure, executive chef at Sazerac in Seattle. McClure’s