experiment #42 - Cobaya Conor at The Dutch

Making up for lost time, on May 21 we conducted our second experiment of the month, with Conor Hanlon, chef de cuisine at The Dutch on South Beach. Almost exactly two years ago we did Experiment #24 at the Dutch with executive chef Andrew Carmellini coming down from New York to run the show. This time it was Conor's chance to shine. You can see all the pictures in this Food For Thought Cobaya Conor flickr set, with recaps at Food For Thought and probably coming soon at The Chowfather.

We had a small group – only 25 – at Conor's request to enable him to do things up a bit more soigne than the restaurant's usual more relaxed style. Though we were sorry to turn away even more guinea pigs than usual, those who got in got a pretty special experience. Here's the menu:

STELLAR BAY OYSTER

nasturtium granite, meyer lemon, roasted tomato oil, celery

EGGS ON EGGS

deviled farce, black bowfin

ASPARAGUS

white, green, spring peas, pickled ramps, buttermilk panna cotta, smoked trout roe, crispy quinoa

CHOKES

roasted and poached artichoke, sunchoke, hearts of palm, green almond, goats' milk yogurt, chive blossom, leek ash

PORCINI

roast porcini and morel, sauteed ramp greens, charred corn, popcorn grits, pecorino ginepro

A DISH FROM THE SEA

New Zealand langoustine, king crab, uni, scallop, golden paddlefish, Chinese osetra, dashi, variations of seaweed, sea foam

FOIE

creamy custard, truffle, sauternes gelee, pickled shallot, fresh summer truffle, home made brioche

LAMB

roast saddle, crispy lamb brik, runny yolk, olive, peppers, tomato, sweet harissa glaze

CHEESE

taleggio souffle, port reduction, local strawberries, black peppercorn

SEMIFREDDO

lemon thyme, caramel bacon glaze, blueberry compote

A big thank you to Chef Conor, to Pastry Chef Josh Gripper for his outstanding contributions to the back end of the menu, to the Dutch's sommelier who put together some very nice pairings for those who opted in, to all the staff at the Dutch who took such great care of our group all night – and as always most of all, to the guinea pigs whose interest and support make these kind of events possible.