Friday, August 31, 2007

Science fiction

Chef Richard Blais lifts the fog on molecular gastronomic cuisine

Dry-aged, corn-fed beef CREDIT: Spark St. Jude

Essential Elements Element Gastro Lounge + Food Lab 1051 West Peachtree Street, Midtown 404-745-3001 www.elementmidtown.com Hours: Brunch: Sun. 11 a.m.–3:00 p.m.; Dinner: Tue.–Thurs. 5 p.m.–12 a.m.; Fri.–Sat. 5 p.m.–2 a.m. Reservations: Not necessary, but available on Open Table (www.opentable.com) Cuisine: Molecular gastronomic Alcohol: Full bar, complete with liquid nitrogen to create a fabulous margarita Cost: A la carte dishes range from $7 to $19; Element also offers a tasting menu at $65 per person. Outdoor Seating: Yes, patio and wrap-around porch Parking: Free parking at AVS Video on West Peachtree weekdays after 5 p.m. or street parking

By Kameko Nichols

Chef Richard Blais has always been forward thinking with food preparation. From his days as executive chef at One Midtown Kitchen to his brief stint with his eponymous restaurant from late 2003 to early 2004, Blais fears no new cooking style and bravely goes where few chefs will enter. The daring chef’s newest laboratory, Element Gastro Lounge + Food Lab, is an appropriate forum for him to whip up dishes based on molecular gastronomic cuisine, which is the application of scientific principles to the understanding and improvement of gastronomic food preparation. Think “Weird Science” meets “Iron Chef”—it’s all about experimenting with tastes, chemistry and defying conventional methods.

A Google search for Richard Blais reveals multiple references to his impressive background. You can find countless reviews praising his avant garde culinary style of molecular gastronomy. But what you cannot find is how it feels to have a seemingly innocuous clear cube of jelly melt in your mouth to reveal a burst of salsa. Or how watermelon caviar pops in your mouth, leaving only the wonderment of how exactly someone can turn watermelon into translucent spheres. Luckily, those of us living in Atlanta need not rely only on articles such as this. Only blocks away from the bustling Midtown nightlife scene of Crescent Avenue and Peachtree Walk, Element sits almost unnoticed on the corner of 11th Street and West Peachtree.

My mind is filled with lofty expectations as I enter Element. The first encounter my taste buds have with Blais’ molecular gastronomic experiments is with the liquid nitrogen frozen margarita, which is solidified to the point of requiring a spoon until room temperature runs its course. The decidedly different cocktail is smooth and prepares my palate for the sensory journey on which I am about to embark.

The dishes offer familiar flavors, but in such a different form, that I quietly wonder how the kitchen is able to create such a culinary oddity. I love the concept of fruit and vegetable caviar—shaped and texturized exactly like the roe of salmon—with the same pop. We sample watermelon and beet varieties, both of which pack robust flavor in a capsule the size of a pearl, showcasing the chef’s ability to alter the chemical and physical properties of everyday foods. Another highlight is the velvety pork belly, cooked sous vide, and presented in a free-form BLT. I also enjoy the chef’s effort in the red velvet tartare served with cream cheese ice cream, honey in powder form, and mango gel. Since red velvet cake is my absolute favorite Southern delight, I can appreciate the nod and marvel at the ability to crumb the cake, although I would have preferred the original. The best dish is the French turbot (a mild-flavored variety of white-flesh fish) with lines of interesting accoutrements adorning the plate, including butter foam, balsamic reduction, spinach, lemon sauce, tarragon and dried capers. The fish is perfectly pan-fried with a slight crisp to the outside—and changes its taste with every different combination my fork can hold.

I find myself incredibly satisfied, despite the sparsely decorated and dimly lit surroundings. Diners around me are as excited as I am as the next plates arrive, trying to figure out how it was created. My only concern is that Blais’ influence on Element is outside of its element. Atlanta—with all of its rapid growth and increasing sophistication—is not New York or Spain. Too many Atlantans trade what they believe to be trendiness for quality cuisine and are happy to do it. I fear that there are too few in our city who can appreciate what Blais brings to the table, but those who try are in for a spectacular treat. SP