Rosa Mexicano Hospitality Group
Escarole, Chorizo and Local Clams ($18-
$30). “Wreckfish is a deep-water fish
similar in texture to grouper, but we’ll
source more local fish, like swordfish, if we
can’t get it,” he says. “This dish is more like
a stew with the beans, the bitterness of
escarole and the fatty [mouth]feel to the
broth from the half-moon of chorizo.”
These shrimp skewers are from Christian Plotczyk at Rosa Mexicano.
Also being planned for the summer menu
at Michy’s is a dish Bernstein envisions
as Confit of Pork Cheek Ravioli, Pork
Chicharones, Mojo Infused Pork Jus
($17). Because various types of pasta are
prepared fresh daily in-house, ravioli will
be added to the lineup. Producing the dish
is a two-day process as Bernstein and
her staff cure, then confit, the pork cheek,
allowing it to cool in its own fat.
“We make chicharones from the belly—it’s
crispy-delicious, and we’ll use it as a
garnish,” she says. “Mojo is prepared from
sour oranges, garlic, oregano, red onion and
culantro—a flat-leaf cousin of cilantro that
boasts a much more intense flavor. With
this dish, I want flavor to come out to you,
but too much culantro is not a good thing.”
sherry is in the beef broth in which we’re
braising the oxtail for three or four hours,
depending on its size. The biscuits will be
new going with this dish.”
On balance, Bernstein finds today’s
customers are much more receptive to
trying new items—sweetbreads or bone
marrow, for example—than they were even
six or seven years ago. “Each night, we’re
selling about 20 orders of our Lemon &
Thyme Bone Marrow with Smoked Brisket,
Toast and Marmalade ($15, four-bone
appetizer to share). People are willing to
take more risks.”
The summer version of roasted bone marrow
will likely boast shawarma spice, sumac-
pickled onions and tomato marmalade.
MOFONGO’S MAGIC
In what Piñero describes as “not a super-traditional preparation of mofongo,” he
offers Pork Belly with Mofongo. “We peel
the plantains, cut them into chunks and
fry them until crispy,” he says. “Then we’ll
roast off some pork belly and cracklins. We
actually cook the pork belly sous vide so it’s
fully cooked, pressed and chilled, then cut it
into rectangles the next day, when we warm
it up and serve it atop the mofongo.”
Although Piñero is Cuban-American, and
learned to cook Cuban food from his
mother, the broad range of Latin American
flavors is his to work with in creating
menu items at Sustain to please everyone,
including non-Latino guests. For him,
authenticity is paramount.
TAIL ON FIRE + BISCUITS
As a new twist on an old standard,
Bernstein figures Rabo Encendido (oxtail,
or “tail on fire”) over Biscuits ($15) will
find a receptive audience among Latino
as well as non-Latino guests, because
oxtail is used by many cultures in varied
preparations. “I like to offer a balance
of flavors and also have big, fun flavors,”
she says. “We provide the fun flavor with
Spanish sherry, red peppers and Scotch
bonnet chilis, plus a lot of vegetables. The
Alejandro Piñero, executive chef at Sustain
Restaurant + Bar in Miami, another early-
December 2010 entrant on the scene,
previously worked under Bernstein.
Piñero’s emphasis is avowedly on using local,
sustainable ingredients, and all seafood
served must comply with Monterey Bay
Aquarium’s Seafood Watch parameters, a
standard that Bernstein also maintains.
“For flavors, my preference is for cumin,
cilantro, a lot of garlic, lime, onion,
plantains, malanga—it all depends on
availability,” he says. “But when a dish
needs a certain inexplicable freshening,
brightening—when it’s a little too flat—I go
for cilantro and lemon or lime juice.”
When it’s in season, Piñero likes to
menu Wreckfish with Cannelloni Beans,
New York-based award-winning journalist
Karen Weisberg has covered the
issues and luminaries of the food-and-
beverage world—both commercial and
noncommercial—for more than 25 years.
www.acfchefs.org
