When it’s hot, hot, hot in North America, chefs turn down the heat, focusing their carefully curated menus on cold appetizers and raw main plates.
From sushi and oysters to carpaccio, caviar and crudo, chefs are crafting cuisine that is best served cold, proving that some of the best culinary creations need not be cooked to be considered well done.
Tartare
Tartare is finely chopped or minced meat often served with seasonings. While the traditional version calls for beef, many chefs use seafood instead. On the lunch menu at Aureole in New York City, the flagship restaurant for celebrity chef Charlie Palmer’s progressive American cuisine, are two tartare appetizers: a smoked salmon tartare with radish, chives, crème fraîche and watercress vinaigrette and yellowtail tuna tartare with Japanese cucumber, frisée and citrus vinaigrette.
Carpaccio
Carpaccio is an Italian dish of thinly sliced raw beef drizzled with a mayonnaise-based mustard sauce, but like with tartare, many chefs are taking liberty with the dish, substituting seafood or veggies. Don’t miss Chef Mark Lyons’ seasonal starter fennel chili-rubbed bison carpaccio with pickled beets, roasted hazelnuts, white balsamic and dandelion shoots on the seasonally changing dinner menu at Tiara at Queen’s Landing in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. The panoramic views of the Niagara-on-the-Lake Harbour are equally alluring.
Oysters
Located on the corner of Magazine Street and Julia Streets in New Orleans’ Warehouse District, Pêche Seafood Grill has been racking up awards since opening in 2013. A trio of chefs, Donald Link, Ryan Prewitt and Stephen Stryjewski, prepare coastal seafood in the raw. The oyster bar serves freshly shucked oysters sourced from Hama Hama in Lilliwaup, Wash., Island Creek Oysters in Duxbury, Mass., Mobile Oyster Company in Mobile, Ala. and Murder Point Oyster Company in Portersville Bay, Ala.
Caviar
It’s not the most economical cold appetizer option, but ordering the caviar at Norman’s at The Ritz Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes in Orlando, Fla. is a welcome treat in the kid-centric central Florida destination. Chef-founder Norman Van Aken serves sensational Hackleback caviar and Russian Osetra caviar with lemon crema, blini and chilled vodka. If salt-cured fish eggs aren’t your thing, the New World tapas menu also includes Key West shrimp ceviche with tequila and avocado, beef tartare with plantain chips and cilantro chimichurri and Wianno oysters with Michelada granite and fresh horseradish.
Chilled soups
A satisfying bowl of soup doesn’t have to be relegated to colder months. Chilled soups are the perfect beginning to lunch. Montreal native Chef Paul Little of gaZette at Le Westin in Montréal, Canada prepares a delicious cold papaya and coconut milk soup with lime cream as part of its two-course lunch table d’hôte menu. At Hawksworth Restaurant in Vancouver, Canadian chef David Hawksworth makes an exceptional tomato watermelon gazpacho with compressed watermelon, quark, hominy and Thai basil.
Sushi
Sushi is a ubiquitous summertime treat. Many have tried to emulate the brilliance of Chef Nobu Matsuhisa, whose New Japanese cuisine is world famous. Inspired by his classical training at sushi bars in Japan and his time spent in Peru and Argentina, Chef Matsuhisa is famous for signature dishes like tuna tartare tacos; toro tartare with caviar; and yellowtail sashimi with Jalapeño, which are served at his namesake Nobu restaurants worldwide, from the flagship New York City restaurant to Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Miami, San Diego and beyond.
Raw vegan cuisine
Raw vegan diets of mainly uncooked foods like veggies, fruit, nuts, grains and seeds are a growing trend. One of the best restaurants to try raw vegan delights is Rawlicious in Toronto. There is no wheat, meat, dairy or refined sugar in anything served at this restaurant chain. As the name suggests, the menu consists of appetizers, salads, entrees, desserts and beverages, all made with raw foods. From spring rolls with finely sliced vegetables and fresh herbs wrapped in rice paper to nori rolls with Alfalfa sprouts, marinated mushrooms, avocado and fresh vegetables to the Rawitch (onion bread with guacamole, tomatoes, cucumbers and alfalfa sprouts drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette), there are many satisfying options for lifelong vegans and first-timers alike.
Ceviche
Ceviche or cebiche is a dish of diced fish tossed with aji, red onion, cilantro, garlic, lime juice, salt and leche de tigre (“heart of the tiger” – a mixture of ceviche marinade of lime juice and pureed fish pieces). The father of modern Peruvian cooking, Peruvian chef Gastón Acurio serves a quintet of sublime Peruvian cebiches at Tanta in Chicago. From the tanta cebiche (scallops, shrimp and creamy rocoto-aji Amarillo) to criollo (chef’s selection fish, scallop, shrimp and smoked-creamy aji Amarillo), there is a ceviche for every taste. Can’t decide? Try the ceviche tasting, a trio of ceviches: clásico (chef’s selection fish, red onions and cilantro), mixto (chef’s selection fish, squid, shrimp and rocot) and nikei (ahi tuna, avocado, cucumber and tamarind).
Crudo dishes
Crudo is Italian for raw and refers to many dishes. “Top Chef” season 9 winner Paul Qui, who was awarded the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef: Southwest 2012 and the San Pellegrino Cooking Cup 2013, creates a mesmerizing albacore tuna crudo with peach, Thai chili, shiso and ponzu at his eponymous restaurant qui in Austin, Tex. Trained in classic French and Japanese cuisine, Qui served the albacore tuna crudo dish as part of his seven-course tasting menu.
Slider image: Artangelo, Rolls via Flickr CC BY-SA 2.0
