How Dale does it

We talk to executive chef and mixologist, Dale Levitski, to get the scoop on the specialty menus at Stone Lotus.

We ordered the rum treatment when we visited. What were you thinking when you designed that?
„Instead of pairing wine to food, in tasting rum, it’s picking what foods and mixers go with [liquor]. … With the rum treatment, putting hibiscus and cranberry juices, coconut and passion fruit punch, and profiteroles with pineapple kind of speaks to the Caribbean, where rum is produced.

„I’m keeping it congruent to some of the cultural significances. Even with the vodka treatment, we’re serving French fries and wasabi-caviar dip. Potatoes and vodka: That completely makes sense. We serve Russian and Scandinavian food.“

What about the tequila one?
„There’s more Latin flair for the tequila treatment. It’s probably our most ornate one, with three different types of salt for sipping tequila. We also serve watermelon margarita mix, and sangrita (tomato and orange juices, chilies and shallots) to be used as a spicy chaser with sipping tequila. Food is really straightforward. I tried to keep flavors simple and approachable for the lounge environment, a simple flavor to accentuate the liquor, such as Kobe beef with chimichurri, and avocado and cucumber salad.“

How did you come up with the specialty cocktails?
„I have no bartending experience at all. I’m just coming up with these flavors [then working with the bartenders to figure out pours]. Many are desserts I’ve done before that I can deconstruct into a drink, like Black Forest Cake made with freeze-dried tart cherries.

„One of my favorites is in a big Bordeaux glass: Absolut Apeach and a bit of soda, fresh peaches, orange juice and a housemade chamomile-thyme syrup served on the rocks with fresh peaches. It’s like summer in a glass.“

You used to be at restaurant Trio. How do you like working in nightlife?
„It’s obviously a complete 180, which is one of the reasons I did it. Every project I’ve done is completely opposite of the last. It’s definitely a different schedule. It’s a different type of energy.

„It’s good to have a break in feeling social again, and feeling like you’re part of the experience. I now understand that my job is to make people happy and that’s why I do it. And I just can’t be the stodgy chef in whites saying, ‘Look at me and how fabulous I am.’ I’m always the one running around the kitchen and making everyone taste everything. This project is about not taking myself seriously: Take it outside the box.“

How closely do you work with the staff and servers?
„I put them through two weeks of menu training, and every trainer had to pass a four-page written test [before going out onto the serving floor]. I did a training like at Trio … it’s bringing that kind of integrity to nightlife.“

Karen Budell is the metromix nightlife producer.

Source: metromix.com