MCI Grad to Helm Edward Lee’s New Restaurant + My Visit to 610 Magnolia

News broke recently in a story I’ve been keeping my eye on, and I couldn’t be happier. Chef Edward Lee’s new restaurant at Actors Theater of Louisville is slated to open in mid-February. And Cincinnatian Kevin Ashworth will head it up!

An alum of Midwest Culinary Institute at Cincinnati State, Kevin also has a degree in business from the University of Cincinnati and helped with the start-up of area Dewey’s Pizzas before heading to Louisville. He landed a spot in Chef Lee’s kitchen at Louisville’s 610 Magnolia after the two worked together at the annual MCI fundraising extravaganza known as “1 Night, 12 Kitchens,” which attracts a heady group of local and regional chefs and, I hear, tests the mettle of the MCI students who assist them. (Tickets for this year's “1 Night, 12 Kitchens,” April 21, available here.)

Lee’s second restaurant will be called Milkwood (after Dylan Thomas’s "Under Milkwood," the first play produced at ACL by its acclaimed former artistic director, Jon Jory). Milkwood is being described as a  “speakeasy-restaurant” with “comfort food with an Asian pantry.” (You can read more from Eater Louisville here.)

Thanks to the help of my friend Stephanie Boertlein, who knows Kevin from their days together at MCI and writes the Cincinnati-based food blog Small Girl Adventures, I had the good fortune to meet both Kevin and Chef Lee when I ate at 610 Magnolia last year. It was one of the most outstanding dinners I experienced in 2012, and I’m going to take this opportunity to share it, with thanks to Chef Kevin and Chef Lee, who were both cooking that busy night.

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610 Magnolia was on my Louisville “list” long before Chef Edward Lee appeared on Season 9 of Top Chef. Even before he bested Iron Chef Jose Garces in Battle Tongue and Cheek in 2010. Named for its address in Old Louisville, 610 Magnolia deservedly garners reviews for being one of the best restaurants in Louisville and has earned Chef Lee not just television appearances but acclaim as a James Beard Finalist for Best Chef Southeast.

When Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert were scheduled to appear in Louisville last winter for their “Good vs. Evil” road show, my friend Joyce Pinson, from Pikeville, KY, and I both had the same idea: To learn more about Chef Lee during our road trips to the 'Ville that weekend. Joyce scored an interview with Lee (which she wrote about in her column for the Appalachian News-Express here and on her blog here and here). I, however, got to taste his food!

The menu at this reservations-required venue changes weekly, and what you’ll find on 610 Magnolia’s web page is merely a suggestion of what will be on offer any given Thursday through Saturday (the only nights it serves). Although the dishes change, 610 Magnolia’s menu structure and price options remain straightforwardly the same. Diners choose among three to five options each for three courses at $55/person (wine pairings an additional $45) or four courses at $65 (wine pairings, +$55). An 18% gratuity is added to all checks, so you’re spared the need to do restaurant math.

When I heard 610 Magnolia’s food described as Asian-Southern fusion, I had trouble wrapping my brain around what that might be, other than thinking of the soy sauce products aged in reclaimed bourbon barrels from Bourbon Barrel Foods (a favorite of Chef Lee’s, by the way). But I was all in for exploring what Chef Lee and his team had in store.

Whether you opt for three courses or four, you’ll also receive the evening’s amuse-bouche. The amuse trio that night included beef rillette with mango, game sausage with Dijon, and the signature 610 BLT, with applewood smoked bacon, gouda, tomato, and the best part: foie gras.

For my first course, I couldn't resist these briny Kumomoto oysters, with American sturgeon caviar, watercress, leek, and champagne sabayon.

The second-course offerings included one of the few dishes that evening whose menu description spoke with a pronounced Asian-meets-Southern drawl, the pork belly with collard greens, kimchi, and black-eyed peas with a honey-cinnamon gastrique and braised mustard seeds. But this dish, with some of my favorite ingredients, captured my attention instead. The thinly sliced beef tongue accompanied by three kinds of heirloom baby beets drizzled with 50-year olive oil, a fabulous mustard ice cream, and caperberries was one of my favorites of the evening.

For my entrée, I went with this duo of beef, featuring short rib and rib-eye, with broccoli puree and florets, Okinawa potato, and horseradish cream, a refined riff on Asian stir-fry, pointed out with its soy sauce "froth." (I had to laugh when my server lapsed momentarily and said, "Froth, foam, air? What are we calling it tonight?")

Dessert was one of the highlights of the evening, not just because it was delicious, but because it was served to me by Kevin Ashworth himself! He barely had time to introduce himself and the dish: "Meyer lemon panna cotta with orange sherbet fluid gel, olive oil pound cake, vanilla-tonka bean powder, and whipped sassafras," before he had to return to the kitchen. But this smart young man with a gleam in his eye impressed me more in those two minutes than I would have thought possible.

As I sipped the last of my port and nibbled on the green tea and cranberry truffles served as mignardises, my kind server let me know she was aware I'd hoped to meet Chef Lee. She said he would try to make it, but he'd been running back and forth to the restaurant's Wine Studio, which was hosting a private event that evening. (It wasn't until I read Joyce's blog that I realized Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert were likely right across the street.) Just before my cab arrived, Chef Lee appeared out of nowhere and I had a couple of starstruck moments to introduce myself and blather my thanks to him for an amazing meal and all he does for food here in the middle of the country.

The next evening when I met Joyce and her friend Rhoda for dinner before the Bourdain-Ripert show at Harvest (another excellent Louisville restaurant), we were both still on a high from meeting Chef Lee. In typical Joyce fashion, she kept her cards close to the vest until she could write up her interview. When she asked me how I would describe Chef Lee's food, the one word that came to mind was "thoughtful." Not a very articulate or "foodie" description, but that's what stood out to me about my dinner at 610 Magnolia. Every component on every dish seemed to be there for a reason. And I'd guess as much thought by Chef Lee and his team went into what to leave off as to what to include. This was no forced mash-up of Asian and Southern flavors. It was just really, really delicious food, without contrivance. Joyce's newspaper column would include this quote from Chef Lee: “I don’t define my style; I think that if you are an expressive cook you cook whatever you are; whatever you have become; you are the sum of all experiences. You evolve. I am a New York native, born of Korean immigrants that now lives in Kentucky and embraces the South. However that translates is how I am.”

When Milkwood opens at Actors Theater of Louisville next month, I anticipate it will be more casual and less exclusive than 610 Magnolia, but in a similar vein. Another step in the culinary evolution of both Edward Lee and Kevin Ashworth, with food that, whatever it is, first and foremost tastes really good. And I can't wait to taste it for myself!

Culinary Smackdown: Cabbage with Sausages and Grapes

Herewith my usual last-minute entry for the Culinary Smackdown, hosted this month by Grumpy Granny. I'm delighted by what my long-time Smackdown peeps contributed this month for Battle Cabbage. And to welcome some fabulous newcomers to this friendly foodie fray! Click on over to GG's host post here to find links to everyone's entries in the comments. Stay tuned for her announcement of this month's winner, who will win bragging rights, the opportunity to post a Culinary Smackdown winner badge on their sidebar/wall, and in turn become next month's host, judge, and "theme-picker."

This month I borrowed from a Mario Batali recipe that had me at the thought of cooking grapes for the first time. I substituted ingredients all over the place, failed to measure anything, and still managed to whip up something I'm not disappointed to call supper.

I had a sweet white onion on hand, so didn't go out of my way to buy a red onion.

I found seedless red grapes, which I suspect are different than Batali's recommended "wine or purple grapes."

I went foraging in the freezer for sausages and came up with some Roasted Red Pepper Italian Sausages from Carfagna's – a wonderful market and butcher shop that is as much of a must whenever I visit Columbus as, apparently, are stops at Jungle Jim's and Ikea whenever KY food bloggers come to Cincinnati.

I had the last little bit left in a bottle of red wine vinegar, and didn't worry whether it measured 4 tablespoons or not.

And then there was the cabbage. Foolish me, I picked up bok choy, thinking the delicate little head sitting next to it was Savoy cabbage when (I learned after googling images after my shopping trip) it was the called-for Napa cabbage after all. Oh, well. My honkin' big bok choy would not go to waste.

Although the recommendation of grilling the sausages sounds like a fine one, I browned mine in a Dutch oven while I sliced my onion and cabbage and plucked the stems from my grapes.

After removing the sausages, I wilted the onion, then added the sliced bok choy gradually (thickest to thinnest) to compensate for what I guessed would be its cooking time variance from Napa cabbage. Impatient and on the clock, I put the lid on the Dutch oven to hurry the cabbage cooking time along. Then added the grapes, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper, and bok choy greens. Topped with the sausages, here's dinner tonight.

Warning: Cooked grapes are hot! But I really liked my quick taste of this combination. Now I'm off to taste it for reals, with a glass of red wine, and settle in for the finale of Top Chef. I would be a happier camper if I could be rooting for Chef Ed Lee tonight. But after eating at his restaurant, 610 Magnolia in Louisville a couple of weeks ago, I can't complain.

I'll be around to check out the rest of the Smackdown entries later. And you can betcha a big post about 610 Magnolia is in the works. Plus more from other great KY restaurants I've visited in the past 1+ month.

Happy Smackdown, happy Leap Day, and thanks to all my talented and marvelous bloggy friends!

xoxo, eggy

Amuse Bouche from Last Weekend in Louisville

I'm still full from my food-centric visit last weekend to Louisville, but here's a taste . . . as I scramble to pack for yet another travelin' weekend.

The tongue salad with mustard ice cream above was one of the highlights in an across-the-board fascinating dinner last Friday at 610 Magnolia. I'd wanted to see what this restaurant had in store long before chef Edward Lee became a contestant on Top Chef. Full report to come here or on the "other" blog I write for, AllTopChef. Or both. Stay tuned.

My Saturday lunch choice was new-ish Taco Punk in NULU on Louisville's East Market Street (an area full of interesting locally focused restaurants, shops, and galleries). The grass-fed beef, Amish chicken mole, and Lucky Duck tacos from chef-owner Gabe Sowder, formerly of 610 Magnolia, did not disappoint!

I've recently rediscovered my love of chocolate and confections of all ilks (quality makes indulgence worthwhile!). Ghyslain, which offers some of the most gorgeous desserts I've ever seen or tasted, turned out to be right across the street from Taco Punk. In addition to offering delectable sweets, Ghyslain is a bustling French-inflected cafe with two more locations in Indiana and online ordering through their website.

As I walked into Ghyslain, two women emerged and sat down at an outdoor table that unseasonably warm winter afternoon. I had an inkling they might be the folks who were kind enough to accept my invitation to dinner at Harvest, just down the block, after friend Cindie wasn't able to accompany me on this trip after all.

With nothing more to go on than a facebook picture, I kinda thought that might be Joyce Pinson (food blogger at Friends Drift Inn and columnist for the Appalachian News-Express), with whom I've struck up an online friendship. But I wasn't sure, and didn't want to be too forward. When I walked back outside, emboldened by the purchase of chocolate, I ventured my guess: "Pardon me, but would you by any chance be Joyce Pinson?" Joyce and her sweet friend Rhoda laughed. They thought I might be me too, and had been looking for an online pic of me on Rhoda's phone to confirm.

We got to talkin' on the Ghyslain patio until I remembered the time on my parking meter might run out and Rhoda confessed to being chilly outdoors (yep, it's still winter).

The three of us rendezvoused for dinner at Harvest (another fine Louisville farm-to-fork restaurant, which has made it into the James Beard Award semi-finals!) and got lost in conversation before we had to scurry to the Anthony Bourdain/Eric Ripert show (and compete for parking with the Van Halen and Farm Machinery Show fans in town that night).

I'll try to get more specific posts up about the great restaurants I visited in Louisville this trip, including my brunch the following morning at Garage Bar, the newest venture from Michael Paley, chef at Proof/21C, which is coming to Cincy across from the Aronoff later this year. Hangtown fry with house-cured bacon, anyone?

I'll have a house-made bialy from Garage Bar's wood-fired pizza oven and a side of whimsy, thank you.

I had one more stop to make Sunday afternoon before I-71 with its rolling rural hills merged with I-75 and dumped me back into city traffic, the Napoleon Grocery and Deli.

After tasting this ginormous BBQ pork sandwich on ciabatta from Napoleon Ridge Farm (they supply to Local 127 and Bouquet restaurants) and proprietor Tricia Houston's homemade cherry crisp and Boston Cream cupcake, there is no doubt in my mind. Further research is in order.

A quick shout-out to any bloggers in the area who might be interested. Jen of Our Good Food Life has taken the lead and started a Southwest Ohio Food Bloggers Association facebook page, which you can also follow on Twitter at @swohiofba, inspired by the Kentucky Food Bloggers Association, whose founders we met at the #5B blog conference earlier this month.The aim is to connect with other food bloggers in the region, including Northern Kentucky and as wide a swath of Ohio as people are interested in. Please feel welcome to join, post links to your blog posts on the SWOFBA wall, and share in the conversation.

Off to throw some clothes in my bag and head north for a change. Because the February birthdays just keep on comin' and I'm not passing up an opportunity to celebrate with dear friends.