Artisanal Foods Cafe
Jack’s Hard Peach Cider
Pacific Gold Oysters – Cucumber, Ginger, Asian Pear, Fresh Wasabi Mignonette
Sunny Side Up Quail Eggs – Hackleback Caviar, Smoked Sturgeon, Shaved Red Onions,Toast Points
Octopus Sirloin Carpaccio – Black Garlic, Caper Vinaigrette
Jamon Iberico Omelet – Truffle Gouda Cheese
3rd Street Market Tomatoes, Compressed Melon, Housemade Fresh Mozzarella
Tre Swine Ye – Chorizo, Bacon Wrapped Porchetta, Smoked Iberico Ham, Geechie Boy Grits, Poached Egg
4×4 Egg Sandwich – Sausage, Aged Cheddar Sauce
Chicken Sandwich – Sous-Vide Truffle Stuffed Thigh, Dijonaise, House Pickles
Snickerdoodle French Toast – Goat Cheese, Brioche, Michigan Cherry Compote, Harry’s Berries
Gelatology – Chocolate Croissant, Foie Gras, Lemon Pound Cake, Pistachio Baklava Gelato
Foie Gras Short Stack – Grapes, Raisins, Sweet Wine Glaze
Church Family Creamsicle Cake
Now open for almost half a year, but still flying under the radar despite glowing press, stunning value and a Chef that continues to raise the bar with each successive step in his career, it was with another highly skilled member of the local culinary community that I sat down at Artisanal Foods Cafe to check out the new Brunch menu, several of the plates featuring the sort of innovation that critics of Las Vegas would claim can only be found hundreds of miles away.
Owned and operated by Brett Ottolenghi, a man whose passion for providing the very best ingredients to local homes and kitchens is virtually unmatched, with the culinary talents of John Church on display for a few tables dispersed amidst the market, Artisanal Foods Cafe has slowly transitioned from a ticketed ‘event’ to one more amenable to walk-ins and although a set menu is indeed offered it was instead carte blanche that two-top dined, the kitchen and service staff having grown to accommodate several other patrons with Chef Church himself providing the soundtrack as well as lengthy descriptions of each plate.
Gifted a Peach Hard Cider from Brett’s family Orchard plus complimentary bottled water repeatedly filled as the twelve-course meal took place, round one featured a half-dozen Oysters pulled from their native waters less than 36-hours earlier and although personally rare to order such things, while my table-mate was something of a local expert, the briny bivalves were actually amongst the best I’ve ever tasted, the liquor tempered by sweet n’ spicy Mignonette while the muscle itself finished smooth and clean.
Using items from the store for obvious reasons, Smoked Sturgeon given a visual manifestation with several juveniles swimming in a nearby tank, course two saw John send out a Sunny-side composition of Quail’s Eggs topped in Paddlefish Caviar plus shaved Red Onions, the flavors undoubtedly bold yet traditional with buttered toast points made for dipping or, perhaps better, as a delivery device.
Not one to take the easy route, a lengthy process elaborated upon when describing plate three, none but Vegetarians should leave Artisanal Foods Cafe without sampling the Octopus Sirloin Carpaccio, each ‘surf & turf’ slice so thin that it melts on the tongue while flavors come across with a robustness more than capable of standing up to toppings of Black Garlic and Caper Vinaigrette.
Coursing the menu with pacing and an evolution of flavors that evidenced Chef Church’s roots in fine dining, the next two plates focused on the purity of their ingredients prepared simply, a fluffy omelet folded around truffled Gouda with curls of Spanish Iberico eating like a cloud of rich flavors while the subsequent salad featured bright Tomatoes and Melons from the 3rd Street Market with flecks of black Kala Namak salt complimenting warm Mozzarella made moments prior in the Cafe.
Using the salad as a springboard to heavier entrees the midpoint of the meal was marked by two free range Egg dishes of which Johnny seemed quite proud, and although the 4×4 was a delicious fork and knife upgrade on the classic Sausage, Egg and Cheese Sandwich the cleverly titled “Tre Swine Ye” was a veritable ode to Southern breakfasts as Chorizo and Smoked Ham enriched buttery Geechie Boy Grits anchored by Bacon-wrapped Porchetta.
Unable to resist adding his truffle-packed sous-vide Chicken Thigh to brunch, in this instance fried atop a toasted roll with housemade Spread and Pickles, a bridge to sweets was next brought forth in the form of pan-seared French Toast coated in crushed Snickerdoodle cookies, the sugar held in check by chevre while California Strawberries found an amicable partnership with Cherry compote from the Chef’s home state.
Now selling Desyree Albergant’s world-class Gelato at Artisanal Foods, a four-pack of flavors sent out to ready the palate for two more plates, one would be challenged to name a frozen confection better than Gelatology’s Lemon Pound Cake or Chocolate Croissant, a silky duck liver quenelle far better than one experienced previously at a Michelin 3* establishment offering smooth transition to a “short stack” of pillowy pancakes topped with a steak of Foie Gras amidst varieties of Grapes and dessert Wine Glaze.
Incorporating several personal touches into his cooking it was to a family favorite that Johnny turned to end the afternoon, and although I grew up less than an hour from the Chef’s hometown my childhood was never blessed by a dessert quite like the moist orange and white Marble Cake that reminisced of Push-Ups or Hostess’ Orange Cupcakes with a far more natural flavor and icing as light as whipped cream.
FOUR AND A HALF STARS: Charged a tab that was no doubt a bargain given both the amount of food and quality of ingredients involved it bears mention that even the menu prices at Artisanal Foods Cafe offer an unheard of value considering the sort of creative cuisine at play, an out-of-the-way location, seating that feels a bit too ‘in the middle of a Grocery Store’ and a lack of public awareness really the only explanation as to why the restaurant is not packed each day.
RECOMMENDED: Octopus Sirloin Carpaccio, Tre Swine Ye, Snickerdoodle French Toast, Foie Gras Short Stack.
AVOID: Although I understand the reasons behind outsourcing bread it warrants mention that with ingredients this good the toast points and sandwich buns could be better if they were freshly made in house. On a personal level, more desserts or some breakfast pastries would also be nice.
TIP: Lunch is offered 10am to 2pm Tuesday through Saturday, Brunch currently the same hours on Sunday.
WHAT THE STARS MEAN: 5 World Class, 4 Excellent, 3 Good, 2 Fair, 1 Poor.
http://www.artisanalfoods.com/products/cafe