New Spring Dishes From the Garden Cafe
Our culinary team has been hard at work crafting an updated spring menu for our cafes and we recently stopped by Styer’s for a taste of the new dishes. We chatted with our executive chef in Bethesda, Kevin Ettenson, and our culinary director, Steve Linneman, to hear their creative process behind a few of their favorites. Read on for the delicious descriptions.
Coconut Rice Cakes with Asian Slaw: “We’re always looking for a different vegan entrée and after experimenting with a few different options, we really liked this one,” Steve says. “It started as a vegan sushi roll but ultimately evolved into this rice cake with bok choy, snap peas, radishes, peanuts, and ponzu.”
Smoked Salmon Bialys: “We wanted to freshen up our classic smoked salmon toast that’s been a favorite on the menu for a long time. We started playing with lots of new ideas, and ended up with this dish that we were all really happy with: a bialy with everything bagel spice and cream cheese,” Steve says.
Trumpet and Oyster Mushroom Toast: He also shares that the new mushroom toast “started with us wanting to find a bright green spread to go on a toast and then we layered in ingredients from there. We looked for hearty mushrooms to stand up to the strong green garlic and miso flavors and added some preserved egg yolk for a bit of salty punch on top.”
Fresh Garden Legumes with Yogurt and Tamarind: “We thought this mix of spring vegetables would be great on a warm afternoon. We balanced the sweetness of the spring vegetables with some heat of the fresno, watercress, and radish and then cooled it with the yogurt,” Steve explains.
Golden Beet Salad: Kevin shares that “the inspiration behind this dish was to create something that was vegan friendly and brought together a lot of unique earthy flavors and textures, combining all the elements into a perfect bite.”
Avocado Toast: “Ultimately, I found the sunflower romesco that we were using on another dish worked great as a spread to accompany the creamy flavor of the avocado,” Kevin says. “The addition of teardrop chilis are both for color and to add a bright acidic note to the dish while the micro cilantro balances it out for some fresh flavor.”
Feeling hungry? Check out our full list of cafe locations and make a reservation!
0 Comments