4 minute read
Eats Review
DISH Eats
TAKING IT TO ANOTHER LEVEL
Savoy keeps things fresh with uncommon ingredients and unique offerings
It is always a nice surprise finding something new and exciting on a restaurant’s menu.
Savoy Bar & Grill Executive Chef Dylan de Jonckheere looks for ingredients and offerings that cannot be found around town to turn diners into regulars.
When he is not in the kitchen, de Jonckheere is watching anything food related on YouTube or searching the Internet for exotic grains, vegetables and other entrée pairings.
“I think it’s a big help in keeping the spirit alive of trying to find new things out there and it’s a really good gateway to look into what is going on in the bigger picture rather than seeing what’s around you,” he explains.
De Jonckheere also likes to change things out on the menu every so often. He recently replaced the chicken parmesan dish with chicken carbonara. It features housemade fettucine tossed with some eggs, Grana Padano cheese, artichoke hearts, pancetta and peas. It is served with a pesto tarragon pan sauce that is made to order.
Chicken at Savoy is never dry. Airline chickens are brined for several days in a mixture of lemon juice, salt water, dried rosemary, thyme and black pepper.
De Jonckheere has spruced up the salmon dish by pairing it with something other than the typical asparagus or roasted potato accompaniment.
“With a savory dish, there’s a lot of creativity that can go into it and I love making very colorful dishes when it comes to that,” he explains. I especially like tropical themed stuff on there. Like this next one we’re going to have bamboo rice. That’s what we decided on, bamboo rice, a tropical fruit, a jicama slaw, it’s going to have like pineapple, mango and dragon fruit in
OCEAN ELEMENT Sea asparagus added to Savoy’s Atlantic salmon dish is a succulent grown near coastal waters. It offers a fresh, salty crunch that balances the fish course.
EAST COAST VS WEST COAST OYSTERS East Coast oysters have flavors of brine, copper, seaweed or vegetals. West Coast oysters have flavors of melon, sweetness, butter and cucumber.
SUPPORT LOCAL Savoy searches the state for locally produced, proteins and cheese to use in its dishes and cocktails. It also offers New Mexico coffee, tea, beer and wine.
WINE FOR DAYS Savoy’s extensive wine list features varieties from an array of regions around the world. Wine selections rotate frequently and range in price point.
Savoy Bar & Grill 10601 Montgomery Blvd. NE (505) 294-9463, savoyabq.com
it and it’s going to have like a coconut rum beurre blanc as well.”
De Jonckheere is pretty proud of Savoy’s oyster selection that changes almost daily. He will almost always have an East Coast oyster and a West Coast oyster. Other oyster offerings have included Prince Edward Island oysters from the arctic waters of northeastern Canada. He also consistently keeps the commonly known Blue Point oysters on the menu.
For diners who are squeamish about the texture of raw oysters, de Jonckheere has created his spin on the Oysters Rockefeller with his Baked Oyster Rockefeller ‘Borracho.’
“I took the basic idea of a Rockefeller and was like let’s make this a Southwest drunken oyster kind of thing,” he explains. So I did a tequila creamed spinach and instead of regular bread crumbs on top, took corn tortillas and crush them up and that’s the bread crumb. And there’s some Grana (Padano) cheese. But instead of a classic hollandaise, we did a chipotle hollandaise, so it’s got a little bit of spiciness, smokiness to it and it’s all finished off with some cilantro on top.”
Diners get a slight discount on oysters from 3 to 4:30 p.m. daily in the lounge area. The happy hour menu, available from 3 to 6 p.m., also has some great deals on several savory items including a Togarashi seared tuna appetizer, a prime rib sandwich and duck confit eggrolls. The eggrolls are a menu item from Savoy’s sister restaurant, Zinc.
De Jonckheere says the prime rib sandwich is a steal at $12.
“That’s like 6-ounces of shaved prime beef from the night before,” he explains. “The leftover prime rib we slice up on the slicer real thin, sauté it with some jus and some peppers and onions and top it with gruyere cheese and tabasco remoulade. It’s a real tasty thing.
The eggrolls were created by its Executive Chef Chris Pope, who has since moved over to Savoy following Zinc’s temporary closure.
“He’s been hanging out with me up here since the pandemic hit,” de Jonckheere says. “We’ve been slowly trying to figure out how to get enough staff to open up Zinc again. And so, we’re bringing in all kinds of recipes from Zinc, especially with him here and his wealth of knowledge.” —RM
FEATURED DISHES
BAKED OYSTER ROCKEFELLER ‘BORRACHO’ $18
tequila creamed spinach, tortilla crumb, grana, chipotle hollandaise, picked cilantro
‘USDA PRIME’ WOOD FIRE ROASTED PRIME RIB $38
sour cream mashed potatoes, vegetable of the day, jus, onion strings
WOOD OVEN BAKED ATLANTIC SALMON $30
bamboo rice, sea asparagus, tropical fruit & jicama slaw, coconut-rum beurre blanc
