Latest news with #GreenChartreuse
Boston Globe
05-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
At Somaek, a chef continues to evolve
Get Winter Soup Club A six-week series featuring soup recipes and cozy vibes, plus side dishes and toppings, to get us all through the winter. Enter Email Sign Up Somaek's tasty but tiny bossam. Slices of steamed pork are wrapped in napa cabbage leaves with radish salad, sliced garlic, and spicy, savory ssamjang. Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff/Boston Globe Advertisement Bissonnette comes to the cuisine by marriage: The story goes that he fell in love with these dishes while cooking with his Korean mother-in-law, Soon Han, who is consulting chef at the restaurant. The menu is less freewheeling, more traditional, than what we're used to seeing from Bissonnette. One of the privileges of eating in a city over time is watching its talented chefs evolve. I appreciate Somaek's thoughtfulness and care. I also miss the sense that there's a spark plug on the other side of the kitchen wall, firing away wildly. (The restaurant has captured national attention from the likes of the Given Boston's less-than-deep Korean dining scene, this is probably the only place in town where one can eat yuk hwe, steak tartare with egg yolk and lightly sweet Korean pear, while drinking a gin and tonic made with Green Chartreuse and ginseng (or a glass of Champagne, for that matter). I love scooping up the tartare with the accompanying gim bugak, fried seaweed chips, craggy and saline with a crackling texture. Advertisement Bibim guksu, cold buckwheat noodles with gochujang, egg, cucumber, and seaweed, feels out of season on a frigid night, but I'm so glad to have it anyway: Even winter meals need light, refreshing counterpoint to dishes like dwaeji bulgogi, a savory, satisfying plate of pork bulgogi rich with umami. Haemul pajeon, a pancake filled with green onions, shrimp, squid, and mussels, is ideal drinking food. Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff/Boston Globe Haemul pajeon, a pancake filled with green onions, shrimp, squid, and mussels, is lightly chewy and a perfect crisp golden-brown. It's ideal drinking food, and a call to order the popular soju-in-beer cocktail for which the restaurant is named. (Take the first syllables of the spirit soju and maekju, beer in Korean, and you've got yourself a beautifully fizzy, goes-down-easy drink.) Cartin's cocktail menu is where Somaek goes to play, with riffs like the Seoul 75 (soju, rice wine, peach tea, lemon, and cava) and the Maekjulada (soju, beer, the chile powder gochugaru, lime, tomato, and soy). Somaek also showcases rice wines from Brooklyn company Hana Makgeolli; the lightly sweet Takju 16 is nice with the pajeon, too. I enjoy ojingeo bokkeum, a dish of stir-fried squid with tteok (chewy, cylindrical rice cakes), vegetables, and fish cake, although I wish for more tteok and squid. Doenjang jjigae, a soybean paste stew with pork, clams, and more, tastes overwhelmingly fishy. Godeungeo gui is a piece of grilled skin-on salted mackerel. That's it, and that's all that's needed. Maybe a squeeze of the accompanying lemon, too. Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff/Boston Globe My favorite dish at Somaek might be its simplest. Godeungeo gui is a piece of grilled skin-on salted mackerel. That's it, and that's all that's needed. Maybe a squeeze of the accompanying lemon, too. With a bowl of steamed rice and an assortment of banchan, side dishes, it makes a perfect meal. Advertisement Now to the quick of things: the banchan. They are the heart and soul of Somaek's menu. (As is the warm hospitality. Somaek is a small restaurant, and I'm recognized and greeted every time I visit.) Love clearly resides in these small plates of radish kimchi, braised burdock root, and jellied acorn muk. So why do my tablemates, Korean and Korean American, look like someone just committed a crime? 'Paying for banchan is anti-Korean,' declares one friend, only half-joking. Banchan are generally gratis. At Somaek, one orders three for $16 or five for $25. When a dollhouse-size serving of bossam arrives, the slices of steamed pork to be wrapped in napa cabbage leaves with radish salad, sliced garlic, and spicy ssamjang sauce, someone says: 'But it's so tiny !' Another tasty crime, committed via six squares of tender meat. Dwaeji bulgogi, a savory, satisfying plate of pork bulgogi. Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff/Boston Globe Which brings me back to the power of food, to the policeman who cried when he tasted his mother's cooking. Somaek's dishes don't always taste or look like what one would get in Korea. When we say 'just like mom used to make,' we fail to take into account just how many different moms there are in the world. Sometimes there's vinegar in a dish here where it wouldn't usually appear. Sometimes gochujang dominates, when the main flavor is traditionally sesame. Sometimes the portions are small. But the dishes aren't a wild departure, either. This isn't Korean food through a kaleidoscopic Little Donkey filter. A little more invention, improvisation, looseness could be fun. At a moment when modern Korean restaurants are flourishing across the country, from Atomix in New York to Baroo in LA, it's hard not to yearn for it. Advertisement Somaek feels like a stage for a talented chef who keeps evolving. As an observer of Bissonnette's career, and a fan of his cooking, I respect and am glad for this trajectory. Twenty years in, every project should be a passion project, and every creative person should continue to grow. SOMAEK ★★★ 11 Temple Place, Downtown Crossing, Boston, 857-449-9003, Wheelchair accessible Prices $14-$25 per plate. Banchan three for $16, five for $25; rice $4. Cocktails $12-$16. Hours Mon-Thu 5-10 p.m., Fri-Sat 5-10:30 p.m. Noise level Conversational. ★★★★★ Extraordinary | ★★★★ Excellent | ★★★ Very good | ★★ Good | ★ Fair | (No stars) Poor Devra First can be reached at
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Chartreuse shortage has bartenders crying and an Ottawa distillery innovating
The French liqueur Chartreuse has become a cult favourite in the bartending community in recent years. That popularity, plus a production cap by the monks who make it, has resulted in a shortage in many markets. In Ontario, a hold on orders has some establishments rationing their supply. "When we felt this was coming on, we stockpiled as much as we could," said Stephen Flood, head bartender at Ottawa's Riviera restaurant "Right now, we're down to what is in that gigantic bottle at the back. We've been pouring into smaller bottles, but that's going to run out pretty soon." Flood describes the flavour as like nothing else, making it an indispensable weapon in a bartender's arsenal, one that he'll miss if he can't get it in the future. "Green Chartreuse is a little higher proof and zingy, I guess, the best word. I know it's kind of a vague word, but you do sense this sort of like a sharp, herbaceous note," he said. "The yellow Chartreuse is a little lower in alcohol and it's a bit more honeyed, a little bit more mellow, but it also has those under notes of herbaceousness." Limited supply Chartreuse is reputedly made of 130 plants and herbs, distilled according to a secret recipe that only two, or at times three, monks know. They aren't likely to divulge the details either, as the order takes a vow of silence. "It's the flavour that has me in and coming back to it so often, but with the story on top of that, I then get to go 1,000 layers deeper," said Paul Einbund, a restaurant owner, sommelier, and Chartreuse expert based in California. A shortage of Chartreuse in Ontario is making it harder for bartenders to mix cocktails like The Last Word, pictured here. (Natalia Goodwin/CBC ) That story is steeped in mystery, but the cliff notes version says it all started when the Catholic monks of the Carthusian order in France received a manuscript from a Marshall of France in 1605. The document contained a list of plants and directions for making an elixir of long life. The monks worked on the recipe over the years and began selling it as a medicine, then when it became popular, as a drink. Along the way, it became the primary source of income for the monastery. Now, centuries later, after a business arm was developed to market the liqueur, it is a brand known throughout much of the world. Stephen Flood, head bartender at Riviera in Ottawa's downtown has been rationing his supply of the liqueur. (Natalia Goodwin/CBC ) The herbaceous flavour has gone in and out of fashion over its history, but recently, has experienced a fresh surge in popularity. "It's less than a decade, probably eight years, that it's been blowing up in America at least. And I believe that we were the creators of the renaissance of Chartreuse in cocktails," said Einbund. "The real blow up probably happened during the pandemic where global consumption of everything ... blew up." In 2021, the monks announced that despite growing demand they would not be increasing production beyond their current record levels. In Ontario, Chartreuse is out of stock at the LCBO because of a pricing dispute, a person with close knowledge of the situation told CBC. The source spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss sensitive commercial matters. In a written statement, the LCBO said that to keep prices competitive it has a long-standing policy of requiring that any product ordered be available at a price equal to or lower than the price at any other government liquor board or purchasing body in Canada. CBC's source explained that Chartreuse recently raised its prices but made a deal with the Quebec liquor corporation SAQ for a lower price than the LCBO. The LCBO didn't answer direct questions about its dealings with Chartreuse, but said in its statement that it continues to work with vendors to fulfil orders, without providing a timeline for the product returning to shelves. Chartreuse's business arm did not respond to a request for comment. An alternative? But the shortage isn't bad news for SFR Distillery in Ottawa's Kanata neighborhood. Master Distiller Adam Brierley is seizing what he sees as an opportunity. "Our Monk's Secret Herbal Liqueur is our answer to the Chartreuse shortage," he said. When Brierley noticed the shortage in Ontario, he was inspired to create an alternative. Chartreuse has been around since 1605 and is made from a secret reciepe (Natalia Goodwin/CBC ) "I grabbed the only bottle that I could find over a year ago, and we've been smelling and tasting and working on it since," Brierley said. After 18 test batches, the resulting liqueur was "85 per cent there", Brierley estimated. They are now ready to sell their concoction, with plans to make their next batch even better.
CBC
10-02-2025
- Business
- CBC
Chartreuse shortage has bartenders crying and an Ottawa distillery innovating
The French liqueur Chartreuse has become a cult favourite in the bartending community in recent years. That popularity, plus a production cap by the monks who make it, has resulted in a shortage in many markets. In Ontario, a hold on orders has some establishments rationing their supply. "When we felt this was coming on, we stockpiled as much as we could," said Stephen Flood, head bartender at Ottawa's Riviera restaurant "Right now, we're down to what is in that gigantic bottle at the back. We've been pouring into smaller bottles, but that's going to run out pretty soon." Flood describes the flavour as like nothing else, making it an indispensable weapon in a bartender's arsenal, one that he'll miss if he can't get it in the future. "Green Chartreuse is a little higher proof and zingy, I guess, the best word. I know it's kind of a vague word, but you do sense this sort of like a sharp, herbaceous note," he said. "The yellow Chartreuse is a little lower in alcohol and it's a bit more honeyed, a little bit more mellow, but it also has those under notes of herbaceousness." Limited supply Chartreuse is reputedly made of 130 plants and herbs, distilled according to a secret recipe that only two, or at times three, monks know. They aren't likely to divulge the details either, as the order takes a vow of silence. "It's the flavour that has me in and coming back to it so often, but with the story on top of that, I then get to go 1,000 layers deeper," said Paul Einbund, a restaurant owner, sommelier, and Chartreuse expert based in California. That story is steeped in mystery, but the cliff notes version says it all started when the Catholic monks of the Carthusian order in France received a manuscript from a Marshall of France in 1605. The document contained a list of plants and directions for making an elixir of long life. The monks worked on the recipe over the years and began selling it as a medicine, then when it became popular, as a drink. Along the way, it became the primary source of income for the monastery. Now, centuries later, after a business arm was developed to market the liqueur, it is a brand known throughout much of the world. The herbaceous flavour has gone in and out of fashion over its history, but recently, has experienced a fresh surge in popularity. "It's less than a decade, probably eight years, that it's been blowing up in America at least. And I believe that we were the creators of the renaissance of Chartreuse in cocktails," said Einbund. "The real blow up probably happened during the pandemic where global consumption of everything ... blew up." In 2021, the monks announced that despite growing demand they would not be increasing production beyond their current record levels. In Ontario, Chartreuse is out of stock at the LCBO because of a pricing dispute, a person with close knowledge of the situation told CBC. The source spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss sensitive commercial matters. In a written statement, the LCBO said that to keep prices competitive it has a long-standing policy of requiring that any product ordered be available at a price equal to or lower than the price at any other government liquor board or purchasing body in Canada. CBC's source explained that Chartreuse recently raised its prices but made a deal with the Quebec liquor corporation SAQ for a lower price than the LCBO. The LCBO didn't answer direct questions about its dealings with Chartreuse, but said in its statement that it continues to work with vendors to fulfil orders, without providing a timeline for the product returning to shelves. Chartreuse's business arm did not respond to a request for comment. An alternative? But the shortage isn't bad news for SFR Distillery in Ottawa's Kanata neighborhood. Master Distiller Adam Brierley is seizing what he sees as an opportunity. "Our Monk's Secret Herbal Liqueur is our answer to the Chartreuse shortage," he said. When Brierley noticed the shortage in Ontario, he was inspired to create an alternative. "I grabbed the only bottle that I could find over a year ago, and we've been smelling and tasting and working on it since," Brierley said. After 18 test batches, the resulting liqueur was "85 per cent there", Brierley estimated.
