| Truffles
now open for lunch
By Tara Nelson
The upscale restaurant run by chef Marienes Johnson will be offering a
new Texas-style barbeque lunch menu featuring pulled pork sandwiches, beef
brisket, bratwurst sausages, barbequed chicken and a range of side dishes
including chef Johnson’s version of baked beans and creamed corn.
Paul
Kezes, Johnson’s son and restaurant manager, said by creating
a limited selection of lunch items, they thought they could offer a more
reasonably priced lunch without a long wait time.
“We’re
trying to go for more of an everyday style of restaurant, rather than
just a special occasion,” he said. “So it’s
casual but it’s still gourmet.”
The baked beans ($3/$4)
were so delicious, this reporter thought they should be offered as
a main course. To make the beans, Johnson said she uses white, black,
and kidney beans simmered in a savory tomato sauce with lots of garlic,
mild green chilies, onions and carrots. The result is a well-balanced
blend of sweet, tangy and savory flavors. The dish comes topped with
grated cheddar cheese, chopped onion and cilantro and eats like a
soup.
The barbequed chicken sandwich ($5.75) was also quite tasty. Johnson
said she cooks the bird rotisserie style with a spice rub that
employs cumin, paprika, Chinese five spice, molasses and lemon juice as
its dominant flavors. Shredded bits of chicken are placed on a Kaiser
bun Johnson buys from a Portuguese bakery in Vancouver and topped
by Johnson’s distinctive
barbeque sauce, which she makes in half-gallon batches. Johnson
said her recipe was inspired by a recent trip to Texas and through
her interviews with various chefs there. Johnson, however, said
many of the versions she sampled were either too sweet or too heavy
on certain spices.
“Some of the Texans use an overpowering
amount of cumin or molasses,” she
said. “So I balanced all of the spices. It has a certain
kick to it but it’s not going to burn your palette.”
Jeff
Robinson and Doug Fenton, who were at the restaurant Thursday,
said they tried the brisket sandwich ($6.75), made from beef
which Johnson smokes in a heavy duty smoker for three hours
and then cooks the roast in the oven at a low temperature for several
more hours. Both Robinson and Fenton said it was excellent.
Truffles
By The Sea’s Texas-style barbeque lunch is open from 10
a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Saturday. They can be reached
at 332-2528. |
