Chefs go sweet on rhubarb, find tart taste is real treat in all things, from soup to nuts

Nation's Restaurant News,  May 17, 1999  by Florence Fabricant

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The rhubarb season is in full swing. Chefs are exploiting the tart stalks as never before. In savory dishes the acidity is permitted to dominate, while sugar mellows the impact in desserts and other sweets.

The tartness of lightly sweetened rhubarb makes it an excellent foil for seared foie gras or, as a compote, for a foie gras terrine. For example, at Adrienne in Manhattan, foie gras on duck hash is paired with a rhubarb and Granny Smith apple chutney. At March in Manhattan a confit of duck foie gras with sweet Indian spices comes with crisp pappadams and rhubarb chutney.

Dinner at the James Beard Foundation prepared by Julian Serrano of the Picasso in Bellagio in Las Vegas, with Alex Strata of Melange in Las Vegas' Mirage, included a terrine of foie gras with rhubarb. At the Little Nell in Aspen, Colo., black cod and foie gras are combined in a feuilles de brique with fava beans, parsley jus and a rhubarb reduction.

Rhubarb and fish also are coming to dinner together. At Bayard's in Manhattan slow-poached warm Atlantic salmon is served rare with spring favas, rhubarb and black trumpet mushrooms. Quilty's, also in Manhattan, marinates pork tenderloin in rhubarb and serves it with a rhubarb jus, fennel, asparagus and buttermilk-battered onion rings.

Rhubarb with savories is still unusual. At present, it stars on the dessert plate. A clever rhubarb tarte Tatin is a spring offering at Underhills Crossing in Bronxville, N.Y., and Charlie Trotter's in Chicago has devised a rhubarb duo called a yin and yang of rhubarb and yogurt. A warm rhubarb soup is served with a dollop of cold yogurt sorbet while warm, poached rhubarb floats in a chilled yogurt soup.

In Manhattan, Cafe Boulud serves a rhubarb mille-feuille with orange blossom cream and a rhubarb tart with fromage blanc sorbet. Nearby, at Payard Patisserie and Bistro, a Napoleon of rhubarb is served with fromage blanc sorbet and candied lavender. Also in Manhattan, Patroon embeds rhubarb in a classic creme brulee, and Osteria del Circo features a rhubarb soup for dessert.

The classic combination of rhubarb and strawberries is highlighting the seasonal dessert lists of dozens of operations. At Mariposa in Deer Valley, Utah, a trio of rhubarb and strawberry desserts amounts to a mini-tasting. Cafeteria in New York City reinterprets the typical strawberry shortcake, making it a strawberry-rhubarb shortcake.

In Chicago, at the Hudson Club, a strawberry-rhubarb crisp is served with vanilla ice cream. Similarly, at Tavern on Main in Westport, Conn., a strawberry-rhubarb crisp is on the menu, paired with ginger ice cream. And in San Francisco, at Anzu, strawberry-rhubarb crisp is prepared with a macadamia nut topping and plated with Meyer lemon ice cream.

Strawberry-rhubarb tarts are also popular, as at the Bay Wolf in Berkeley, Calif, where it comes in a puddle of muscat sabayon with rhubarb sauce. The strawberries are uncooked, positioned on a bed of stewed rhubarb. At Macrina Bakery and Cafe in Seattle, petite tartlets combine strawberries and rhubarb.

At Granita in Malibu, Calif., strawberries and rhubarb are paired in a cool soup garnished with poached rhubarb, strawberry sorbet and vanilla-bean ice cream. And at Gordon's House of Fine Eats, in San Francisco, smooth sorbets in rhubarb and strawberry flavors are served with crunchy coconut tuiles.

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