Putting Food to A Face: Best Chefs for Casual Dining
Want to know who's whipping up your favorite meals in Beijing? We've rounded up three of Beijing's chefs who won you over for the 2013 Reader Restaurant Awards and tell you why they've made it to the top of the food chain.
Best chef (casual dining): Adam Murray, Home Plate Bar-B-Que
Adam Murray brought Beijing its best burger according to the 2012 Reader Restaurant Awards, but what he's really known for is surprising expats with an authentic taste of the American South. One reviewer said about Home Plate: "I am a southerner, and I am proudly snobbish about American style BBQ. When I read about Home Plate I assumed no restaurant in Beijing could provide true southern BBQ. I am glad to say I was proven wrong. The food is fantastic."
So, what's so great about a menu featuring classic southern comfort food like pulled pork, fried pickles, brisket sandwiches, ribs, cornbread, coleslaw, Texan-style beans and potato salad? There’s always extra barbeque sauce.
Home Plate was also chosen as Outstanding Restaurant of the Year (Non-Chinese Casual), and co-owner Seth Grossman was voted Best Personality (Casual). Both Grossman and Murray were voted Best Restaurant Entrepreneurs.
Outstanding Chef: Jun Trinh, 4corners
Neighborhood haunt and regular drinking hole, 4corners is the first solo project of Vietnamese-Canadian chef Jun Trinh (formerly of Luga’s Pho Pho). His hot-and-sour fish head soup with lime leaves, pineapple and chilli stands out for its rich flavor, but he's also known for his Vietnamese rolls filled with toasted rice, pork skin and leafy herbs. At 4corners, a Canadian-style breakfast is a weekend staple and features a menu of “morning-after” cocktails.
Here's what our reviewers had to say about Trinh's cooking:
“4corners is an absolute favorite of mine and many of my friends. It has consistently delicious food, great music and good local and foreign beers. The egg and cheese banh mi is the best banh mi I have ever had outside of Vietnam and the chicken curry is always a dinner standout. Their ingredients, creativity and knowledge of Vietnamese cuisine make for a great meal every time.”
4corners’ Jun Trinh was also chosen for Outstanding Personality (Casual).
Outstanding Chef: Jeff Powell, Back Alley Bistro / Frost
Panned by our own reviewer Josh Ong as a rising star, Jeff Powell (the personality who helped compile the menu for Element Fresh, Flamme, and Gung Ho Pizza) creates an intimate atmosphere that focuses on the food he makes. At Back Alley Bistro you'll find filling, but light and refined Californian cuisine, including Chicken on a Brick and fried calamari.
Here's what one of our readers has to say about Powell:
“Jeff changes the menu, from time to time, based on what quality ingredients are currently available. Jeff won't settle for second-best, just to keep an item on the menu. He is seriously concerned about food quality, freshness and preparation.”
Frost Coffee, Nails, and Cocktails
Adjacent to Back Alley Bistro, is Powell’s other project, which is more suited to the ladies. Professional cuticle care is combined with coffee and pizza. Cocktails are the highlight, including their signature drink, Frosty Nails, which delivers a rush of melon, coconut, and pineapple. Cupcakes from Lollipop Bakery and deliveries from Gung Ho! are just a phone call away, but one of the main reasons why people come to Frost is to eat Powell's burger.
“I am a man so I don't pay money for people to paint my toenails so I can't comment on anything other than the burgers which are pretty good. They are a little small but it isn't too expensive so I go there a decent amount I usually just get a burger after working out. 10 times better than blue frog.”
How will Powell's Frost Burger hold up in the 2013 Burger Cup? Vote here and find out.
