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Molecular gastronomy gives small plates a high-tech twist at Delaware’s Veritas Tavern
Jodi Miller Photos
Thirty miles north of Columbus, Josh Dalton is quietly staging a revolution. Make the trek up there and you’ll get a front-row seat as a culinary phenomenon comes of age.
Dalton, who got his start at beloved Short North restaurants Burgundy Room and 8 before moving to Delaware to open 1808 American Bistro, vows to return to Columbus in a couple of years, at which time he’ll no doubt take the scene by storm.
What’s so exhilarating about Dalton’s new restaurant, Veritas Tavern, is the cooking style—a food-as-science-project approach called molecular gastronomy. You’ll be familiar with the concept if you’ve ever seen an episode of Top Chef—think sous-vide and liquid nitrogen and high-tech gadgets—but it’s not something we’ve seen much of in Central Ohio, minus the occasional bone marrow foam.
Those well-versed in dining trends know this approach isn’t cutting-edge. In fact, many of the chefs at the forefront of the scene have begun to shun the very term, saying it sounds too clinical and elitist to appeal to diners.
What gets lost in that argument is the reason chefs started playing around with science in the first place. It’s not the novelty factor—although sure, all that oohing and aahing makes eating fun. Call it whatever you want, but the result is food that tastes better than when it’s made with traditional cooking methods.
Beef brisket paired with braised greens for a Texas BBQ small plate ($14) was, no question, the best brisket I’d ever eaten. It’s tender and juicy like a great slow-cooked pot roast, but with a smoky flavor that’s more commonly found in pit barbecue.
I told Dalton as much and, in his unassuming manner, he told me it was “pretty hard to mess up.” See, he explained, you just buy a great piece of meat, brine it for 14 days, sous-vide it for another 72 hours, and then smoke it.
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Chef, let me tell you, there are a dozen ways to mess that up, and most restaurants stumble upon several of them.
That brisket is just one example of meat that’s astonishingly good. I’m still drooling over greasy carnitas ($11) served in a puddle of black mole, accompanied by a mini ramekin of pinto beans. (I didn’t realize it was possible to make pinto beans taste good. Apparently the secret is lard.)
But you want to hear about the really crazy stuff, don’t you? Well, there’s plenty. Like a shrimp cocktail ($11) revolving around a thin sheet of pressed shrimp meat that more closely resembles pasta than shellfish. Or Corn + Textures ($8), an inventive exploration of the grain’s many forms—popcorn, corn mousse, corn brulee and even tangles of deep-fried corn silk.
Or a vegetable plate ($10) with flash-fried leeks and scraggly mini carrots piled on an “edible soil” made from ground kalamatas and sesame oil. It looks meager, downright bizarre even. But I’ll be damned if I didn’t devour every last morsel, digging my fork into the slate to scrape up soil residue.
There were no misses, though some dishes are more ordinary than others. A bacon risotto ($9), for example, is topped with an egg cooked precisely to 62.5 degrees, but otherwise it’s just pure comfort food.
Veritas is small and cozy despite a sparse decor and oddly flickering faux candles (buy real ones!). The vibe leans more toward casual tavern than upscale fine dining. Dalton visits tables as dishes come out, explaining each of the often unfamiliar elements.
Because of the limited seating capacity and no-reservations policy, expect to wait on Friday and Saturday nights. But pass the time at the bar, working your way through the inspired classic cocktail list or a craft beer bomber, and it’ll go by quickly
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RESTAURANT REVIEW
Hours: 5 p.m.-12 a.m. Tues-Weds, 5 p.m.-1 a.m. Thurs-Sat Price range: $40-$50 per person. Small plates range from $8 salads to $16 seafood preparations. Reservations: Accepted In short: Not only is Veritas Tavern putting out some of the best looking plates in town, they’re making some of the best tasting food around. Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2 |
RATING SYSTEM
★ ★ ★ ★ ★: outstanding |
