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| photography by Elizabeth Lavin |
Everyone is talking about Hotel Palomar’s stylish new restaurant, from the sophisticated chrome and natural wood interiors to Executive Chef Tom Fleming’s signature crab cakes and creamy lemon cannoli.
I first started cooking:
When I started having to do chores around the house, my options were cooking or laundry. I’d make roasted chicken, pot roast, and spaghetti and meatballs, and when my mom saw that I was pretty good, she made me learn how to do the laundry, too.
Produce you should be buying now:
Root vegetables—rutabaga, turnips, and kohlrabi. Peel them, cut them into batons, and sauté them with fresh herbs.
Where I go to eat on my night off:
Amigo’s Restaurant on Belt Line Road, east of Central Expressway. It’s good authentic Mexican food and kid friendly.
Ingredient I use most:
Fresh herbs—all of them.
What convinced me to be a chef:
Mom got me into it. She said I’d never go hungry being a chef.
My signature dish:
Crab cakes.
Two kitchen tools everyone should have:
A sharp French knife and a micro zester. (It gives you pure zest, which is exactly what you want.)
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| Interior of Central 214 photography by Elizabeth Lavin |
What I cook on my nights off:
Always something simple, such as a whole roasted chicken with roasted vegetables and garlic, and couscous. It’s a two-pot meal.
My favorite cookbook:
“The Way To Cook” by Julia Child. I have a signed copy from when I helped cook for her 80th birthday party.
My guilty pleasure:
Häagen-Dazs vanilla bean ice cream.
Secret preparation tip:
Brine chicken before roasting. It keeps the chicken moist.
My worst cooking disaster:
New Year’s Eve, 1997, at Mediterraneo. It was an ugly, ugly night. I wasn’t prepared, and it was absolutely chaotic. We had a master chef dining with us that evening, and luckily I didn’t mess that up. But I wanted to spend the next day in the fetal position.
Area chefs I’m watching:
David Holben at Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak House and Sharon Hage at York Street.
Simple entertaining tip to keep the party going:
Have a good selection of music on a well-mixed iPod—some Ray Charles, Bob Marley, Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, Willie Nelson, the Rolling Stones, Otis Redding Jr., and Muddy Waters.
