Even in a city with a virtually limitless array of dining options, some dishes are way too good to
miss—they demand immediate consumption. Every month, our feature Served Up gives you
the lowdown on a standout dish in the city. Dig in.
Seeing absinthe on the menu isn't news...if you're drinking it.
Which is why when we heard that a chef was cooking with absinthe, we were intrigued enough to be lured all the way down to Santana Row for a taste test.
Only available at the Yankee Pier in San Jose, chef Steve Wallin makes a mean Oysters Rockefeller—even meaner because it's laced with absinthe. His version, which does not include cheese or spinach among its 18ingredients, is as close to the secret 100-year-old recipe from Antoine's Restaurant in New Orleans as you can get. The mixture's heavy on onions and greens, with a few dashes of hot sauce, Worcestershire, butter, breadcrumbs and a healthy pour of the green poison. And now that the absinthe ban's been lifted, chef Wallin's dish has a smoother, more intense anise flavor (not to mention better mind-altering potential) than the recipes that still use Pernod.
Rich yet refreshing, these deliciously souped-up oysters pair nicely with the Gloria Ferrer Sparkling Brut, but we think it's best to stick with a wormwood-inspired the me and get the Absinthe Cocktail (sugar cube, chilled water and the Alameda-based St. George's Absinthe Verte to keep things local). Of course, the jury's still out on whether this once taboo liquor is hallucinogenic.
So eat responsibly.
Seeing absinthe on the menu isn't news...if you're drinking it.
Which is why when we heard that a chef was cooking with absinthe, we were intrigued enough to be lured all the way down to Santana Row for a taste test.
Only available at the Yankee Pier in San Jose, chef Steve Wallin makes a mean Oysters Rockefeller—even meaner because it's laced with absinthe. His version, which does not include cheese or spinach among its 18ingredients, is as close to the secret 100-year-old recipe from Antoine's Restaurant in New Orleans as you can get. The mixture's heavy on onions and greens, with a few dashes of hot sauce, Worcestershire, butter, breadcrumbs and a healthy pour of the green poison. And now that the absinthe ban's been lifted, chef Wallin's dish has a smoother, more intense anise flavor (not to mention better mind-altering potential) than the recipes that still use Pernod.
Rich yet refreshing, these deliciously souped-up oysters pair nicely with the Gloria Ferrer Sparkling Brut, but we think it's best to stick with a wormwood-inspired the me and get the Absinthe Cocktail (sugar cube, chilled water and the Alameda-based St. George's Absinthe Verte to keep things local). Of course, the jury's still out on whether this once taboo liquor is hallucinogenic.
So eat responsibly.
