Anthony Bombaci

Monday night the Hub and I went to see a cooking class given by Anthony Bombaci at Central Market.  It was a fascinating class.  Chef Bombaci is into molecular gastronomy and we got to sample quite a few dishes that I’m certain we won’t be trying at home.  The evening turned out to be like a tapas tasting menu.  Well worth the $65 a piece we paid to see his class.  We would have paid far more to eat at his restaurant, Nana on the 27th floor of the Hotel Anatole.  We have visited the restaurant and it is very elegant.  The view of Dallas at night is stunning.  Bombaci was a very unassuming and down to earth guy considering that the restaurant is very high-brow.  Here are the dishes he created while we sat with our mouths open like little birds…

Biquini of Serrano Ham & Fresh Buffalo Milk Mozzarella- These were basically little grilled cheese sandwiches with “Faux Truffles” on the side.  The truffles were basically dehydrated mushrooms that were rehydrated with Port, Cognac, Madiera and a touch of truffle oil.  They actually tasted like the real thing.  There was another slice of ham draped over the top, much like one would serve prosciutto.  I couldn’t catch the name but they finally mentioned that the ham was over $100 a pound and that it’s exlusive to Central Market.  Bombaci said he couldn’t even get it for his restaurant from any of his vendors.

Salmon with Vanilla Caviar, Trout Caviar & Greek Yogurt with Saffron – The salmon was basically gravlax which he cut into a 1 1/2 hunk for each plate.  Topped it with trout caviar and vanilla caviar.  The vanilla caviar was made with calcium chloride and a mixture of water infused with vanilla and sugar.  He made little droplets that gelled on the outside and were still liquid on the inside.  So, they popped in your mouth just like the trout caviar and were almost exactly the same size at the real caviar.  Then he infused the yogurt with saffron and served a little of that on the side.  This recipe actually takes several days for everything to set up and infuse.  Not something I’ll be trying, though I did buy some Greek yogurt yesterday.

Asparagus “La Plancha” with Lemonade Bubbles, Mandarin and Parmesan – Everything in this dish was pretty standard.  Grilled asparagus, Mandarin reduction, grated Parmesan.  But, the lemonade bubbles looked like a handful of Dawn dishwashing bubbles, though it tasted like lemonade.  Lethicin powder and citric acid went into this dish.  Very tasty actually.

Marinated Manchego Cheese with Almonds, Capers and Texturized Extra Virgin Olive Oil – Nothing unusual about this one except the texturized oil.  He basically froze the oil for 24 hours, let it thaw in the fridge and then scooped it out like little balls of ice cream.  That’s what it looked like.  Of course, it tasted like olive oil.  Yummy.  I might actually try that one at home.

Baby Artichokes with Curried Spaghetto & Lime-Honey-Ginger Vinaigrette – The weird part of this one was the little curried spaghetti strings that he made.  Pushed some kind of gelatin mixture into these tubes that he later blew out of the tube with compressed air, looked like one of those soda water dispensers.  Anyway, if you get carried away the little spaghetto string with fly across the room.  Most didn’t. 

Chocolate Truffles with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Toast – The tiny little truffles were served in a small glass that had a 1/4 inch pouring of olive oil in the bottom.  This was accompanied by a hearty piece of toasted bread and sea salt.  He said the idea was that at some point in his life (forgot when or where) he ate toast with chocolate melted on top and salt.  This was his fine-dining version of toast with chocolate.  It was very pretty to look at, as well as tasted good.

Bubbly Sangria with White Chocolate-Coconut Ice Cubes -  This was pretty much what it sounds like.  Except the sangria was cooked down to a syrup like state and then blasted with a shot of soda water and the ice cubes were added at the end.  Served in a small wine glass.  A perfect ending.

The whole event lasted almost three hours and my only complaint was that they only served two glasses of wine over that time.  I like a little more wine than that if I’m being entertained.  Keep in mind, these are small glasses of wine.  I will say that I was pleasantly full and had a very nice time.  I know I should have brought a camera and taken all kinds of pictures of the food.  But, I just don’t feel right doing that.  Don’t ask my why.