I always thank my Mexican ancestry for encouraging to brave non-traditional dishes. Brains, tripe, pig ears, you name, I've had it...and I've loved all these dishes. But one thing I am not as familiar with, is eating a "whole" pig, rabbit, quail or lamb.
This "whole animal" food trend, is something that Michael's Restaurant Group is perfecting at all three of their Long Beach restaurants:
Michael's Pizzeria,
Michael's on Naples and
Chianina Steakhouse.
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| Michael's Pizzeria |
The "whole animal" cooking is similar to butchery, in the sense that nothing from the animal goes to waste. As I said before, I pretty much experienced this before it was a food trend, while others might be familiar with this way of cooking, and eating, because it is done in more rural areas. Being that LA or Long Beach don't qualify as rural cities, whole animal cooking is not often done.
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| Porchetta, smoked mozzarella, confit artichokes and caramelized onion pizza. |
But during a summer tasting headed by renowned
Chef David Coleman, I had the opportunity to sample items off the new whole animal menu that are available during the summer and extended to the fall months (depending on seasonality and availability).
I also learned more about cooking "the whole animal" trend, that is a major focus of Michael's Restaurant Group: beyond using from the tail-to-the-head butchery in cooking, the folks behind Michael's also practice sustainable food policies by visiting the farms to examine the animals they cook with, run their own vegetable and herb garden, and make everything from scratch.
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| Housemade fennel sausage with rapini and garlic. |
Michael's Pizzeria was the first restaurant of our foodie excursion, and also the most casual. Fortunately for us, the food was anything but.
The pizza had a very thin crust that packed the flavor in not just the dough, but in the house-made fennel sausage made with rapini and garlic which was absolutely delicious.
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| Duck prosciutto goat cheese mouse, mission fig and aged balsamic appetizer. |
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| Smoked duck neck with homemade cavatelli pasta. |
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| Sliced Liberty Farm duck with lavender and local honey |
For our appetizer course we walked down the street to the award-winning restaurant Michael's on Naples.
A more upscale experience, Michael's on Naples kicked-it-up-a-notch by showcasing how even "blood" and "bones" can be crushed to make an amazing sauce.
Whereas the meat from the duck neck was cooked to make a surprisingly flavorful and hearty smoked duck neck with homemade cavatelli pasta dish.
A
Liberty Farm duck was cooked with lavender and local honey and sliced to order. Duck usually being a more robust meat, was cooked in such a way that made the meat tender and delicately sweet flavor. A complete surprise to my palate.
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| Corned beef tongue, pickled ramps, rye bread crostini and mustard seed vinaigrette. |
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| Whole roasted leg of lamb and Farm Lot 59 summer squash. |
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| Sliced leg of lamb. |
For our final meal, we walked to Chianina, which is the newest member in the Michael's Restaurant group.
Touted as a "boutique steakhouse," Chianina delivers on the white tablecloth restaurant experience, together with the dimly-lit dining room and formal restaurant dress-code.
We started with a corned beef tongue, pickled ramps (sweet onion) rye crostini with mustard seed vinaigrette. An appetizer robust with flavor that was the perfect sedge way to the whole roasted leg of lamb carved in front of us and served with summer vegetables.
To finish our meal, we were given the option to either enjoy a bacon gelato, that was reminiscent of a butter pecan ice cream, or the blueberry muffin gelato.
By the end of the evening, it was perfectly understood how this true, slow food movement brought farm-to-table authenticity to Long Beach; and, working with Devil's Gulch Ranch, these three restaurants and Michael's Pizzeria in Rancho Mirage, use pigs, rabbits, quails and lamb in their entirety in different dishes. As a foodie, I appreciated the attention to detail in all dishes, but also the creativity in perfecting a trend that very few people are familiar with.
I highly recommend that my South Bay/Long Beach friends stop by any of these three restaurants for a special night out and enjoy this new trend. From a more casual lunch to a perfectly staged night-out, everyone now has various options to try to whole animal trend in Long Beach.
