four square restaurant

Triangle Restaurant Week Kick Off

2012-01-23T08:56:00.000-08:00

Today may be the start of Triangle Restaurant Week, but

Four Square Restaurant kicked things off a little early.

Last Saturday, Chef Shane and Sous Chef Kyle put together a special three course,

$30 menu featuring the heirloom sesame, Benne Seeds from Anson Mills.

Appetizer: winter lettuces, orange, charred green onion, shaved carrot,
Chapel Hill Creamery's goat's milk yogurt and honey dressing, Four Leaf Farm pea shoots, Benne seeds

Entree: crispy sweet breads, broccoli and Benne seed tortellini, smoke house chili

Dessert: pear strudel with Benne seeds, vanilla ice cream

The party has started! The Triangle Restaurant Week party, that is.

We have an all new three course menu waiting for you. See you soon!

Triangle Restaurant Week

2012-01-18T09:50:00.000-08:00

Triangle Restaurant Week is coming soon! Next week in fact (January 23rd - 28th). This is a wonderful opportunity to try the new spots you've been meaning to visit and the tried and true local favs. Many places are open for lunch and dinner so theoretically, you could visit two restaurants per day for the whole week! That's a lot of good food! The kicker is that it's also at a great price. Three course meals are available for $15 for lunch and $20 and $30 options for dinner. This is a fantastic deal!

Four Square Restaurant has been participating in the fun for a while now and it is always a great success. We love the opportunity to provide guests with a delicious, lovingly prepared meal at a very approachable price. Many times this is someone's first visit to Four Square and our goal is always to knock their socks off and turn them into regulars! We will be offering a wonderful three course menu for $30! This is great price that we hope you all take advantage of!

January/February menu

2012-01-11T17:53:00.000-08:00

The new menu is out!

The staff had our menu tasting today and it was amazing!

We tasted it all... monk fish, wild boar, barley cakes, squid (only to name a few)...

Delicious!

We licked the plates clean.

You can too.

Take a look at the menu and make your reservation.

We look forward to seeing you!

Happy New Year!

2011-12-30T21:16:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

Four Square Restaurant rang in 2012 in style!
Guests enjoyed champagne and a four course menu.
Just some of our offerings included:

Smoked Quail Ragu

Diver Scallop in the Shell

Grilled New York Strip

Pan Seared Olympic Peninsula Steelhead Salmon

Butter Poached Prawns and Crab/Snapper Cake

Chocolate Turtle Torte

Lemon/Huckleberry Semifreddo

Vanilla Cheesecake with Candied Kumquats

Setphanie serving champagne and hors d'Oeuvres

With New Year's Eve celebrations over, the staff is eager to start their annual winter break when Four Square is closed for the first week of January. Some of us will be taking stay-cations and others will be hitting the road or the airport! But regardless of where we will be, our batteries will be recharging for the new year ahead and all of the exciting events happening at the restaurant.

What, you ask, does Four Square Restaurant have in store for 2012??

Some things to look forward to include:

Triangle Restaurant Week

Triangle Wine Experience

a special Valentine's menu

a wine dinner featuring South African wines

Tomato Fest

special menus featuring local farmers

See you in 2012!

What are you doing for Christmas Eve dinner?

2011-12-21T08:25:00.000-08:00

The Christmas tree is up and decorated and the stockings are hung from the mantle.
We are ready for Christmas Eve dinner. Are you??

If you have unexpected family or friends coming into town or if the prospect of cooking an elaborate dinner is just too much to think about, let us do the cooking! We will be offering our full December menu with a couple of specials thrown into the mix (We like to torture you with lots of delicious options and watch you decide which one you will enjoy!)

It's not too late to make your reservation! We would love to see you!

Collard Cook Off Recipes!

2011-12-12T17:35:00.000-08:00

Just in time for the holidays!

Straight from the Durham Farmer's Market

Collard Cook Off!

Here are the collard recipes you have been asking for!

(Please keep in mind, these recipes were created by professional chefs who cook by feel and regularly use a "pinch" of this and a "handful" of that. Exact proportions depend on your taste preferences. Please feel free to use your heart and your gut and not your measuring cup while cooking these collards.)

Pig Jowl and Sweet Potato Collards

By Kyle Wilkerson

Create a bacon stock by adding bacon to chicken stock and let it simmer away.
Use this stock to blanch your already cleaned collards
Dice pig jowl and saute in pan to the render fat.
Dice sweet potatoes and julienne onions. Add these to the pig jowl and saute these all together.
Add chicken stock and beef stock to the sauteed sweet potatoes, pig jowls, and onions.
Add whole grain mustard, chili flakes, Worcestershire and Tobascco (to taste) to the sweet potato mix.
Add your blanched collards to the seasoned sweet potato mix.
Set on low, cover and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Vegan Apple Cider Collards

By Shane Ingram

Boil a large pot of water.
Add already cleaned collards to the boiling water to blanch them.
Saute onions and garlic until soft.
Add chipotle in adobo sauce to onion mixture and reduce heat.
Add apple cider, apple cider vinegar, rosemary, thyme and black pepper to the onion mixture.
Add the blanched collards.
Simmer the collards until tender.

Local in the Bar and in the Kitchen!

2011-12-07T17:54:00.001-08:00

southernartisanspirits.com

You may already know that at Four Square Restaurant we strive to use local ingredients as much as possible. We regularly work with local farms to source our produce and meats and chef often makes trips to the Durham Farmer's Market to do a little shopping for dinner service. But did you know that we have some local items behind the bar?

One of the recent additions to our liquor selection is Cardinal Gin from Kings Mountain, North Carolina. It is a small batch gin made with a secret recipe of 11 different herbs and botanicals. Some of the flavors that come from sipping this gin include: anise, spearmint and floral notes. That's right, I said sipping! This a gin that can be savored all by itself, no mixer needed. But, if that sounds too bold for you, it also tastes great in a St. Germain cocktail (a mixture of St. Germain liquor, gin, lemon juice and simple syrup). Which ever way you prefer it, you should come on in and try some Cardinal Gin!

The Collard King has been crowned!

2011-11-13T10:43:00.001-08:00

Durhamites sure love their collards!

Thank you to everyone who tasted and voted for their favorite collards this past Saturday at the Durham Farmer's Market! Over 150 people cast their vote! That's a lot of collards! Chef Shane and Sous Chef Kyle had a great time dishing up their creations, giving away their recipes and encouraging the crowd to vote for their collard concoction.

The People Vote!

And boy did they run the gamut! All the way from pig to vegan. Yes, you heard correctly, vegan collards made with apple cider, mustard seed and a kick of spice were lovingly made by Chef Shane. In the opposite tent was Sous Chef Kyle with pig jowl and sweet potato collards. More a traditionalist he was overheard saying, "the more pork fat the better".

Kyle with a roast pork shoulder.... aaahh love...

It looks like the crowd agreed because Kyle's collards were the winner! Many people had a very tough time deciding between the two greens and one person suggested blending the two together for a perfect marriage of porky-richness and tangy-spice. Maybe next time, but for now the Collard King is Kyle Wilkerson!

Staff Tasted, Chef Approved

2011-11-06T07:43:00.000-08:00

Our November/December menu is out! Since our wait staff are such dedicated professionals, we always feel it necessary and important to taste every appetizer and entree on our current menu. That being said, we had a killer menu tasting this past week!

Yes, it's true. It's a tough job. Don't be jealous. You too can try everything on the current menu. The bonus is you don't have to fight over the plate with 10 other people!

The Great Collard Cook Off

2011-10-23T11:46:00.000-07:00

Are you ready to eat some tasty collards?

The great collard cook off is coming!

In this corner, Chef and owner of
Four Square Restaurant... Shane Ingram

In this corner, Sous Chef of
Four Square Restaurant... Kyle Wilkerson

The location: Durham Farmer's Market
The date: Saturday, November 12th

Cast your vote for the best collard cooker!

Trigger Fish

2011-10-22T07:24:00.001-07:00

We just got in a beautiful trigger fish yesterday and chef has been getting it ready for dinner service. Our trigger fish is wrapped in parchment paper, liberally drizzled with Italian black truffle butter and then baked in the oven. We serve it with pearled cous cous, fall vegetables and a pumpkin broth.

Have you ever had trigger fish before? It is a sweet, firm fleshed fish. Not fishy at all and so delicious! But hurry! Our menu will be changing the first of November and our truffled trigger fish will be swimming away!

Vegetarians, enjoy!

2011-10-15T06:22:00.000-07:00

You might be surprised to learn that one of the most popular dishes at Four Square is our vegetarian entree. We have many regulars who are vegetarians and they come back to Four Square time and again because they know they can enjoy a delicious and unique vegetarian meal.

This menu's vegetarian entree is "Beet Bolognese" with squash ribbon "pasta", creme fraiche and an herb salad. It's a play on a traditional meat laden bolognese and as a guest said last night, "The beets are so creamy and so packed with flavor. How did they do that?" The secret is slow roasting the beets almost to the point of dehydration then they are simmered with all the usual bolognese spices and vegetable stock. The beets suck up all that great flavor of the simmering liquid and take on a perfect texture.

Our September/October menu will only be around a couple more weeks so don't miss our "Beet Bolognese" whether you are a vegetarian or not!

Come have Thanksgiving at Four Square!

2011-10-09T07:35:00.000-07:00

Fall has arrived and that means Thanksgiving is right around the corner! Some people consider this their favorite holiday of the year. After all, it's all about the food! What are your plans for Thanksgiving this year? Going to be slaving away in the kitchen all day? You should relax and take the day off. Come into Four Square and let us cook for you!

Four Square will be offering a 3 course menu at $55 per person. There will be several appetizer choices as well as several entree choices (yes, of course one of them will be turkey with all the fixings) and we would never forget dessert. We will be seating from 3:30pm to 7:30pm and we would love to see you and your friends and family! Gobble, gobble!

It's our 13th anniversary!

2011-10-04T09:30:00.000-07:00

This Wednesday, October 5th marks the 13th anniversary of Four Square Restaurant. That's a lot of great food. It made me stop and think about how many amazing dishes that really is. We put out a menu every two months, that's six a year (not including special occasions). That means Four Square has created over 700 entrees and 500 plus appetizers. That doesn't even include nightly additions! And don't forget our regularly changing desserts and cocktails.

Come in this week and celebrate with us! You know where to find us and we'll be doing what we do best, making some of the best dishes in the Triangle.

There's a lot of good food in your future...

2011-09-30T12:56:00.000-07:00

Bloggers and diners look out! Four Square has entered their 13th year of creating some of the most delicious dishes in the Triangle and chef and owner, Shane Ingram is filled with excitement and anticipation. It's all about looking toward the future and the future has a lot of exciting things going on at Four Square Restaurant!

Just a taste (pun intended) of things to come include: guest chef appearances, a dinner at Elodie Farms, Halloween celebrations, participating in the great collard cook off at the Durham Farmer's Market (we make some mean collards), and of course our 13th Anniversary.

Don't worry you will not miss a thing because the blog, facebook, twitter and the website will be updated regularly so you can mark us in your calendar for all these events and more!

Durham Central Park Dinner

2010-10-14T20:40:00.001-07:00

This year we were lucky enough to do another dinner to raise money for Durham Central Park and bonus it was on of top the Kress building again. Truely amazing place to have a dinner party.

The dinner was music themed with each course paired with a different style of music. We had a blast cooking with great music blasting and the guests were jamming right along with us.

Brinkley Pork Belly on Bourbon Barrel Lids with Smoking Tobacco for the Blues course. We paired this with native pesimmon, popcorn soubise.

Painted Hills Beef Tartare and Carpaccio with vegetable ash, black garlic bbq, horseradish mustard, and garden herbs. This was paired with Johnny Cash.

We plated the last course on the granite countertop island in the kitchen. Pretty much awesome, everybody threw down for the grand finale.
Ancho Chile Truffles, raz el hanout-graham cracker streusel, brown butter powder, and lemon curd paired with the Minutemen.

We don't have pictures for a few of the courses but I think you can get the idea, we had a good time.

Thanks to the crew Scott, Kyle, Mike, Nick, Liz, Susan, and Dave for working on a Sunday.

October-November Menu

2010-10-08T07:07:00.001-07:00

October 2010

Our Eleventh Year

First Courses

Salad of Fall Farmers Lettuce and Marinated Feta

beet quinoa, hari cots vert, pickled walnuts, buttermilk tarragon dressing

Roasted Pumpkin and Salsify Bisque

Elodie Farms goat cheeze marshmallow, fall spiced cranberry churro,

mulled agave nectar

Pan Seared Foie Gras

sweet potato biscuit, pickled apple, fennel sausage gravy, blis maple syrup

House Cured Sunburst Farms Trout Crudo

smoked roe, grapefruit, black garlic streusel, popcorn pesto, radish

Duck Confit Rillette

whipped lardo, brown butter brioche, parsnip mustard, red onion jam, Little Tree Honey

Roasted Gold and Red Beet Carpaccio

butterbean hummus, pimiento cheese, local shitake pickles, grilled benne seed flatbread

Baked Johhny Blue Mussels

miso coconut broth, carrot-ginger salad, coriander olive oil sponge, chili

Entrées

Pan Seared North Carolina Flounder

bibb lettuce, kaffir lime scented basmati rice, seaweed salad, green curry

Pan Roasted Springer Mountain Chicken

cremini mushroom, hand cut pasta, lobster san marzano tomato ragu, braised artichoke cream

Grilled Wild Alaskan King Salmon

brussel sprout slaw, horseradish potato puree, smoked onion rings,

fried chicken jus

Slow Cooked Leg of Broken Arrow Ranch Venison

kohlrabi kim chee, roasted eggplant, scallion pancakes, Korean bbq sauce

Raz El Hanout Spiced Virginia Scallops

red watercress, panisse, tomatillo-preserved lemon vinaigrette,

avocado king crab salsa

Buckwheat and Butternut Squash Maki Rolls

tempura, smoked tofu custard, bourbon barrel ponzu, fried cashew,

petite basils

Milk Braised Brinkley Farms Pork Shoulder

apple butter, pickled red cabbage, chestnut-celery root confit, country ham jus

Creole Spiced Tuna Loin

braised collards, andouille cracklin, black eye pea and whole grain chile

Duo of Painted Hills Beef Coulotte Steak and Shortrib

smoked cheddar mac n cheese, broccoli, radicchio marmalade, date reduction

Stolpman Wine Dinner

2010-09-08T19:29:00.000-07:00

We are very excited about our upcoming wine dinner with Stolpman Vineyards. The dinner will be attended by Mr. Stolpman and we want to show him how much we appreciate what he is doing at his vineyard, North Carolina style. The dinner will be October 6 at 6:30, call the restaurant to reserve your seat.

Passed Snacks L Avion 06
Crispy Oysters, Lardo, Smoked Vanilla
Raw Oysters, Heirloom Pear, Bay Leaf Mignonette

1st Course Sangiovese 06
House Cured Sunburst Farms Trout, Cherry Spaetzle, Marcona Almond, Long Pepper Gastrique

2nd Course Estate Syrah 07
Roasted Kabocha Squash Bisque, Elodie Farms Chevre Marshmallow, Mulled Wine Syrup

3rd Course Hilltops Syrah 06
Pumpkin Carpaccio, Oxtail Croutons, Red Wine-Paw Paw Sorbet, Petite Herbs and Lettuces

4th Course La Croce 06
Bourbon Barrel Roasted Duck, Green Farro, Cremini Mushrooms, Brussel Sprouts, Puffed Sorghum, Fall Spice Duck Jus

5th Course
Heirloom Pear Tarte Tatin, Bay Leaf Ice Cream, Smoked Vanilla Essence

Cheers, hope to see you there!

Porktoberfest 2010?

2010-09-05T16:53:00.000-07:00

We have an idea for a festival celebrating the animal that we love the most and in the process raising money to give back to our community! We need help and are looking for lovers of swine that want to take part in the process. If you have ideas, criticism, professional advice, free time, I would love to hear from you. For more information email me justin@foursquarerestaurant.com

Cheers

New Menu For August

2010-07-25T23:03:00.001-07:00

First Courses

Baby Romaine and Honeycrisp Apple Salad

grilled onions, preserved egg, parmesan, black garlic Caesar dressing

White Bean, Roasted Garlic and Eggplant Soup

pickled tomato, burrata cheese, candied pinenuts, basil essence

BBQ’d Foie Gras

sweet tea brine, sea island field pea succotash, fried pickles, maple cracklin jus

NC Shrimp and Green Farro Salad

potato gaufrettes, oven dried tomatoes, sugar snap peas, tarragon and corn remoulade

Chickpea Pizzette

local figs, Chapel Hill Creamery yogurt, walnut-mint pesto, green tomato chutney

Crispy Brinkley Farms Pork Belly

pickled cherries, scallion tempura, forbidden rice, bourbon barrel soy

Albacore Tuna Tartare

charred pineapple, crushed avocado, benne seed crisp, smoked tahini-ginger dressing

Entrées

Steamed Carolina Swordfish

water chestnut, sea bean and rock shrimp lo mein noodles, star anise won ton soup

Country Ham Brined Chicken Breast

pimiento cheese fresh corn polenta, grilled cabbage slaw, brown butter truffle jus

Hay Smoked Sunburst Farm Trout

watercress, citrus crème fraiche, Benon’s Bacon, caraway gnocchi, golden beet borscht

Pope Farms Veal Milanese

Italian sausage, spicy rabe, cocoa orchiette, late summer tomato and alium broth

Honey and Chili Glazed Tuna Loin

piquillo pepper, whole wheat cous cous, braised fennel, native fig curry

Purple Sweet Potato and Quinoa Canneloni

grilled baby artichoke and peach salad, ratatouille, mushroom and sherry consommé

Grilled Berkshire Pork Chop

mustard soubise, cauliflower mac n cheese, smokey balsamic lentils, pulled shoulder jus

Snake River Wagyu Beef Coullotte Steak

wilted chard, confit carrots, pommes frites, rosemary salt, pickled ramp hollandaise

Oven Roasted Pacific Cod

bacalao panzanella salad, celery root-olive oil fondant, hyssop pesto nage

Laaatttttaaahhh

2010-05-26T19:15:00.000-07:00

We just want to thank Edwin for being such a great member of our team. Day in and day out he gave of himself to make the restaurant better and for that we are very grateful. This week Ed Money had two great moments, first and foremost he got engaged to his long time girlfriend Jeannie!! We are very happy for both of you. Secondly, Ed started his new job at Town House in VA. We are proud, happy, and jealous all at the same time to be working in one of the best kitchens in the country. Good luck my friend in all these new challenges. Cheers!!

May is crazy

2010-05-12T20:47:00.000-07:00

I apologize for the lack of posts but we are extremely busy and I want to thank everyone for that!

Our garden is starting to turn out some really cool vegetables

and everything is looking good for the summer crops.

This was a dish for some great friends of ours (John and Amy)

Radish, Carrots from the garden

Burrata Cheese

Garlic Scape

Benton's Bacon

Parsnip Sponge

Peppercress

Toasted Hay

Wedding Bells!

2010-04-08T16:36:00.000-07:00

We want to congratulate Kyle on getting married this coming Saturday. Kyle has been an integral part of the kitchen team for over a year. Best wishes and success to you and Laura in your new life together. We are very happy for you guys! Cheers

Early Spring

2010-03-22T20:12:00.000-07:00

Scott made a Suckling Pig Head Torchon. The flavor and texture was killer.
I wish more people would enjoy this.

Our seeds in the hothouse are starting to grow.

Fresh Chickpeas from Mikuni, amazing!

The kitchen crew acting like farmers.

Hebi

2010-03-08T15:21:00.000-08:00

Tataki of Hawaiian Spearfish (Hebi)
Chilled Green Apple and Ginger Bisque
Peppered Crab Gelee
Watermelon Radish
Green Tea
Pickled Seaweed
Ginger Poprocks

Spring Garden 2010

2010-03-01T15:19:00.000-08:00

We begin this year's planting with very high hopes. Last year we had some success and we had some failures. Overall I would say we were happy with the end results and want to learn from the mistakes that we made. Trust me there is alot to be learned, It could take a few years to really get this going. This year we will do more successive planting every couple of weeks to spread out the bounty over the course of the spring and summer. I think we have a little better grasp on what to direct sow and what to start in the greenhouse.

In the greenhouse

Lettuces
Dear Tongue, 4 Seasons, Devil Ear, Rouge Grenobloise, Little Gem

Tomatoes
German Green, Cuor Di Bue, Dads Sunset, Egg Yolk, German Lunchbox

Herbs
Shiso, Anise Hyssop

Melons
Honey Rock, Anne Arundel

Dragon Egg Cucumbers, Calabrese Broccoli

Directly Sown into the ground

Radish
Helios, Jaun D' Or Ovale, Watermelon

Carrot
Atomic Red, Amarillo, Red Core

Beets
Bulls Blood, Craupadine, Gold

De Grace Peas, Parsley Root

In all I think we have about 2500 seeds planted and hopefully we can add to that every couple of weeks, next we tackle the garden at the restaurant.
Again I have to thank Mr. Brinkley and his family for graciously letting us take up space on his farm where they could be planting crops to make money. I think they are entertained watching a bunch of cooks act like they know what they are doing in the field. All of the seeds that we will be using this year are coming from Baker Creek Heirloom Seed. Wish us luck, we will need it. Cheers

I think we found a spot on the farm to raise a few of our own pigs. Shhh don't tell the USDA

Benton's

2010-02-22T15:09:00.000-08:00

In our kitchen smoked pork in the form of hams and bacon rule! If you could hear some of the conversations we have had to conjure up new ways to use bacon, you might cringe. Nothing savory or sweet is safe from a little bacon fat embellishment. For example one morning while doing some prep the idea to do country fried bacon came to reality. Some things are better left in the notebook and not on my breakfast plate.

The past few years Allan Benton has become quite the buzz when talking about bacon. I have had the fortune of tasting his products as well as meeting Mr. Benton. He actually gets mad if you call him Mr. Benton, so lets just say Allan is first an amazing person to get to know and deal with as a supplier. If they were all this polite and gracious for our business!! Second his product is like no other, I had the "oh that's what is supposed to taste like moment" after trying his bacon. The first time I tried locally pastured pork, same thing. The first time we grew vegetables and pulled them out of the ground and ate them. Aha moments! Purple Asparagus in April from local farmers vs. Peruvian Asparagus in January. Aha! These are the moments that make cooking for a living feel like we are the luckiest people alive. Back to Benton's Bacon, the flavor reminds me of what bacon tasted like before mass production, I can taste history and the pride he takes in his product. I am thankful of the farmers, foragers, and producers of food that open my eyes daily to the ethos "more is not better".

Allan Benton, Cheers you have a customer for life. Plus he is from VA so....hope to see you at the restaurant to enjoy some of his great products.

A Few Photos From The New Menu

2010-02-08T17:15:00.000-08:00

"Apple Pie" Brioche
Brioche with apple butter, baked pie crust, and apple pie spices rolled into the brioche dough before baking. This is being served with Chicken Liver and Foie Gras Mousse.

Rabbit "Porchetta"
This is the rabbit loin with the belly attached. We braise the front legs in red wine and use the back legs to make a sausage. The sausage gets a brunoise of vegetables, mint, orange zest and we cover the loin with it and wrap the belly around using a little activa to help seal it. We confit it in aromatic olive oil and then pan roast to finish. The rabbit is plated with Carolina Gold Rice, Smoked Farmers Cheese and Walnut-Fennel Seed Granola.

Tuna "Wellington" Part 2

2010-02-08T16:59:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately we were not able to take pictures of the finished dish due to lack of time. It turned out pretty awesome though. The puff pastry was beautiful. Janna, our pastry chef did an amazing job, this dough would have risen 3-4 inches if we had not docked it. We finished it off with some maldon sea salt and more crushed bonito flakes.

The finished dish included
Seared NC Tuna with currant mustard glaze
Baby Spinach creamed with a peppered onion soubise
Sauteed yellowfoot, hedgehog, and black trumpet mushrooms
Truffled parsnip coulis
Bonito laced puff pastry
Foie Gras Red Wine Butter Sauce

Satsuma Mandarin

2010-01-31T08:39:00.000-08:00

We received these beautiful Satsuma Mandarins from our good buddy Jacob at Mikuni. Right away we knew what a great piece of fruit we had. The fruit is sweet, juicy and has an incredible texture, while the skin is great to eat right off the fruit.

Tonight we did a simple salad featuring the Satsuma.

Satsuma Mandarin

Easter Egg Radish

Golden Pea Shoots

Shaved Beets

Mustard Seed

Smoked Olive Oil

Tuna “Wellington”

2010-01-29T21:23:00.001-08:00

While writing our menu for the Cakebread Wine Dinner this coming Thursday, we thought a tuna “wellington” would be great for the entree. To add a little twist we decided to laminate the puff pastry with bonito flakes. Will it work? We will let you know how it turns out. Unfortunately, after the dough was made the idea of using seaweed butter and bonito to create a dashi puff pastry came out. That will be the next experiment.

Fingerlimes and Chile “Snow”

2010-01-21T20:50:00.001-08:00

Fingerlimes are an amazing new ingredient that we are using. They have a caviar like appearance with a beautiful pop in your mouth feel, while delivering a great acidic lime flavor. We are in love with these little guys. For a little information check out the link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finger_Lime or google it.

“Snow” is a method I learned from John at Townhouse. Basically you can infuse milk with a flavor and freeze it and use your Paco Jet if you are lucky enough to have one, and spin it into a “snow.” We took the method and ran with it and infused the milk with dried chile from our garden. When you taste it at first its a very cold sorbet or ice and then your mouth fills with the heat from the chile and you go from cold to hot in one bite. Awesome. So tonight we brought the two new kids together on an appetizer special.

Ceviche of Tuna and Lobster, Fingerlimes, Chile “Snow”, Crispy Plantains, Chilled Avocado and Buttermilk Soup

Red Hots

2009-12-27T19:07:00.000-08:00

In the past weeks we have been playing with different ways to use red hot candies in the kitchen. I was craving some red hots one day and said it out loud and before I knew it we were shouting out ideas excitedly during prep. Some ideas included foie gras, applications for bar drinks, pairing with chocolate for dessert. One of the better ideas was to use them to cure duck legs for confit. We paired the confit with Roaring 40s Bleu Cheese in a salad that we also melted some red hots with duck stock to paint the plate.

Locally Foraged Mushrooms

2009-11-24T20:55:00.000-08:00

These oyster mushrooms were picked in the woods of Hillsborough.

Fall Garden

2009-10-30T20:42:00.000-07:00

The restaurant garden is starting to produce some tasty vegetables.
Komatsuma Tendergreens, Rainbow Swiss Chard

Parisienne Carrots, Golden Beets, Helios Radish, Jaune D' Or Ovale Radish

Austrian Crescent Fingerling Potatoes

Four Square is Ten Years Old

2009-10-07T21:29:00.000-07:00

The new menu is up and rolling for October and we are also celebrating our 10th Anniversary this week.

Every day this week we are doing a different tasting menu featuring the greatest dishes over the past 10 years. Four courses for $35, come on its almost theft, the menus for each day are on the website so check it out and celebrate with us.

Congratulations to Shane and Elizabeth for creating a great restaurant!! Ten Years!! What to do next??

Meals From The Market

2009-10-07T20:44:00.000-07:00

Recently we were able to take part in the Meals From The Market dinner series that benefits the Durham Central Park. All of the proceeds went to the park that includes our great Farmers Market and the soon to be built Skate Park among many other things.

The dinner that we participated in was a pre theater Cirque Du Soleil at the Durham Performing Arts Center. The great part about the dinner is that it was on a terrace atop of the Kress builiding, so while we served the courses the guests had killer views of dowtown Durham. Obviously we needed to do some "avant garde" food to match the theme of the night and these are some of the things we came up with.

Roasted Baby Beets on
Pipettes of Porter
Mustard Seed Cotton Candy

"Chicken and Bisquits"
Soubise of Fried Chicken
Soubise of Bisquit
Confit Chicken
Hot Soss Orb

"Black"
Crispy Pork Belly
Vegetable Ash
Puffed Rice
Black BBQ

"Tongue n Cheek"
Pastrami Spiced Beef Tongue
Braised Veal Cheek
100x10 Dressing
Rye Crisp

Root Beer Float
Root Beer Caviar
Vanilla Ice Cream
Frozen Root Beer Effervescence

We had a few other dishes that unfortunately I have no photos of. Really wish we had a shot of the Tuna Snowcones but what you gonna do. This was a great night and we think everyone that came had a great experience. Glad to be able to have fun cooking for such a great cause. Thanks to Dolly, Lee Ann, and Amanda for getting us involved. Also a big thanks to James for helping us! He acutally made some of the service pieces, what a guy.

Umami

2009-09-13T17:07:00.000-07:00

Sour, sweet, salty, bitter and then you have umami. If you ever had food with MSG added thats an attempt to add umami. We achieve it naturally with foods high in umami deliciousness. Check this article to learn a little more
For this dish we tried to create an umami bomb of flavor, and it started like this

Quinao cooked in Worcestershire

Next we fried them until crispy. The smell was amazing and we served them with this

28 Day Aged Brinkley Farm Beef Ribeye
Sherry Mushroom Coulis
Truffle Tomato Jam
Tallo Roasted Red Bliss Potatoes
Charred Leeks
Garrotxa Cheese
Malted Red Wine Steak Sauce

Norfolk Canyon Scallops

2009-09-09T21:19:00.000-07:00

Barely Seared Norfolk Canyon(VA) Scallop
Hash
Local Figs
Basil
Micro Mustard Greens from the garden

Feedin Time

2009-09-09T21:03:00.000-07:00

The pigs love it when we bring food from the restaurant because its cold. They don't know whether to eat it or lay in it. That guy looks pretty happy!

We fed them some BBQ Field Peas (Vegetarian), how ironic, that's what they might be served with. Thanks to Mike for going out on your day off to help the restaurant take care of the piggies.

Wine Dinner

2009-08-25T21:58:00.000-07:00

Chef Shane leading the crew in plating for the Raffaldini Wine Dinner. If you haven't sampled Raffaldini you should. Its a great example of the up and coming NC wine scene.

Summertime

2009-08-25T21:26:00.000-07:00

Summertime is a slower time at the restaurant so we have
a little more
free time to try new techniques. Good or bad we gotta try, this idea was sparked by Moto in Chicago that serves pureed cooked pancakes on an anti-griddle.

So we pureed cooked pancakes with onions, blueberries, mustard. Good but not great.
Next we tried cooked biscuits, yummy!

Today we had fried chicken for lunch. We peeled some of the fried chicken crusty skin goodness off and made fried chicken soubise with it. Ideas started jumping in the kitchen.

The hopeful outcome will be chicken and biscuits spaetzle. Weird how ideas progress!

Under Way

2009-08-25T20:52:00.000-07:00

We are diving headfirst into a proper charcuterie program. The tools and curing chamber are in place so hopefully by Oktoberfest and the celebration of our ten year anniversary we will have some tasty snacks. Currently curing we have

Salami Luccese
Bresaola...from the cow that chased me one day fishing, revenge is mine!
Coppa with Ramson Leaf
Sopressata with Long Pepper and a secret ingredient
Pumpkin Pie Spiced Pork Lonzino
Guanciale cured with Fennel Flowers and Basil ( Picture Above)

We are very excited to see how the first run turns out and to hopefully start crankin
out some cool charcuterie items. All the pork and beef was provided by Brinkley Farm, so we thank them for giving us a great product to start with. If you want more information about charcuterie check out Len Poli.

Go Check It Out

2009-08-10T16:57:00.000-07:00

To all that may be interested the new Four Square website is up and running. Mark did an amazing job with the photography, as did the rest of the team creating a beautiful website. Thank you for your hard work.

Check it out http://foursquarerestaurant.com/

Christmas in July

2009-07-27T17:45:00.000-07:00

We always have the Christmas Party in July. It is the first chance we all have to come together, and what a great time we had. The staff and restaurant patrons enjoyed some great food, libations, ping pang, darts, and of course badminton.

Chef Shane Ingram dominating the Badminton Court as usual

2009-07-27T17:21:00.000-07:00

Scott made a killer terrine with the heirloom tomatoes from our garden, this is what we served it with.
Basil Crusted Goat Cheese
Grilled Zuccini Bread
Tomato Truffle Jam
Murray River Salt

NC Snapper Ceviche and Green Apple Summer Roll
Chilled Tomato Ginger Dashi
Basil Grilled Peanut Powder
Soy Yuzu "Sorbet"
Garden Flowers

Straight Outta Compton Quail

2009-07-17T07:56:00.000-07:00

Compton Farm Quail is being raised by Steve, a former line cook of ours, in Efland, NC.

Brown Butter Roasted Compton Farm Quail

Roasted Beets

Almond Milk

Garden Arugula

Smoked Grapes

Mustard Seed Funnel Cake with Rosemary Sugar

Thanks Tarver

2009-07-15T21:02:00.000-07:00

After my recent stage at The Goodstone, I left with many good ideas. They served this killer dessert in a coffee cup, so we decided to play around with the idea. We wanted the cup to look like it had spilled its contents on the plate and this is what we came up with.
Alaska King Salmon
Cornbread Soubise
Green Tomato Gazpacho
Country Ham
Pickled Okra Seeds
Thanks Tarver

2009-07-08T07:29:00.000-07:00

Purple Hull Pink Eye Peas

Our tomato plants are in full swing

Organic Salmon and NC Shrimp
Sushi Risotto
Calabrese Broccoli from the garden
Seaweed
Grilled Corn Dashi

Staff Meal

2009-07-08T07:18:00.000-07:00

Van Vooren Game Ranch recently moved from Ontario to North Carolina. They sent us some samples to try and we really liked the Guinea Hen. We took the leftovers and made staff meal. Look for Guinea Hen on next months menu.

Its not delivery its BBQ Guinea Hen Pizza

Goodstone Inn

2009-07-08T07:02:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Tarver and crew for an awesome trip to northern VA. Hiking, fishing, cooking, and eating what could be better.

Durham Farmers Market

2009-06-25T21:00:00.001-07:00

Currently the Durham Farmers Market is leading the nation in votes. Why not vote and show support for all our local farmers.

Random Pictures

2009-06-24T07:24:00.000-07:00

Shane "El Jefe", Darty Dave, and Janna serving Sunburst Trout at the Durham Farmers Market to promote Best Dish NC

Hebi

Our Purple Hull Pinkeye Cowpeas

Blackened Tuna using burnt broccoli stems and onions to make powder

Our first German Lunchbox

Maple Springs Gardens and Farm To Fork

2009-06-24T06:46:00.000-07:00

Maple Springs Gardens

Farm To Fork was a great event with over 30 restaurants paired with local farms to showcase the great diversity of food being produced in this area. The event helped raise money for the farm apprenticeship programs

Ken and Libby (far right) of Maple Springs Gardens

They are pioneers of sustainable farming in this area and were great to work with

Our dish not pictured used their fennel, chard, carrots, cauliflower, basil, summer squash, grapes

We did a terrine with raw, roasted, and grilled vegetables, gazpacho of fennel and cucumber,

pickled vegetables, and grape mostarda. Plus fennel spice cake with candied fennel

Our First Potatoes

2009-06-24T06:24:00.000-07:00

We planted these back in April

Austrian Crescent, La Ratte, and Red Thumb from Irish Eyes Garden Seeds

Cooked the potatoes by size in baked potato stock, broccoli stock, or confit in pork fat
Wild Salmon Grilled and Goujonette
Fried Onion Coulis
Warm Prosciutto and Caper
Deviled Eggs
Arugula
Fennel Creme Fraiche

App Special

2009-06-16T19:58:00.000-07:00

Citrus Cured Salmon

Baby Yukon Gold Potatoes

Nasturtium

Raz El Hanout

Fried Onion Coulis

Bacon, Fennel, and Green Apple Soup poured tableside

Farm

2009-06-16T06:41:00.001-07:00

Todays Haul: Our first German Lunchbox, sixty plants getting ready to throwdown
Beurre De Rocquencourt Beans
Last of the Beets
Pulled what was left of the english peas after the groundhogs pillaged

This guy is going to be stone grinding grits real soon

Anne Arundel Melon

Beurre De Rocquencourt Beans

I feed the pigs and they just roll around in it. Maybe it was the whipped cream and candied fennel.

Food

2009-06-16T06:27:00.000-07:00

Beets and Carrots from the farm
Garden Garnishes
Pickles
Fried Onion Coulis
Baby Heirloom Tomatoes

Sunburst Farm Trout
Pioppini Mushroom
Roast Cauliflower Risotto
Swiss Chard
Pickle Tomatoes
Summer Truffle Broth

Tuna Ceviche
Cucumber, Baby Heirloom Tomatoes
Running Squirrel Lettuce and Flowers
Pickled Rhubarb
Green Apple and Summer Truffle

Cracklin Sausage

2009-06-07T22:07:00.000-07:00

This started a creative buzz in the kitchen. First thing we tried to recreate pancetta with salt cured pork tenderloin butterflied open and stuffed with cracklin farce and rolled to mimic pancetta. Good but too salty. Try again, but what about
Cracklin Rillette
Creamed Corn Consomme
Steamed Buns with Cracklin Filling, Green Tomato Kim Chee
Cracklin Salame
Cornbread Buttermilk Consomme??????

Creating A Special

2009-06-07T20:03:00.000-07:00

So Mr. Brinkley in frustration brings a saw a piece of pork and says you cut it because I couldn't communicate to him what I wanted for a pork chop. Bonus we got the belly and other tasty bits!

Rendered out the leaf fat and confit the belly with onions from the farm.

Cracklin Sausage!

Our good friend James brought us these carrots randomly on the same day. Welcome back bro

Sous Vide kinda with black truffle, thyme, garlic scape, butter

Garlic Scapes also from James roasted in bacon fat

Crisping the belly

Pan Roasting the vegetables in rendered belly fat

Brinkley Farm Pork

Confit Pork Belly, Grilled Rib, Cracklin Sausage

Roasted Carrots

Squash from the garden

Baby Yukon Gold Potaoes (also Brinkley Farm)

Garlic Scape

Summer Truffle Jus

Post Service Snack

Aligot Potatoes, Pork Belly, Yukon Frites, we love the starches!

They're Almost Ready

2009-06-02T08:04:00.000-07:00

Craupadine and Golden Beets, Dwarf Carrots patent pending

Green Tomato and Broccoli Stem Kim Chee

Border Springs Lamb

2009-05-27T21:25:00.001-07:00

Border Springs Lamb Shank

Pickled Tongue

Sunflower Shoots

Red Deer Tongue Lettuce

Shaved Cauliflower

Fried Squash Blossom

Lucques Olive

Respect to Sean Brock

2009-05-27T20:47:00.000-07:00

Fried Liquid Foie Gras
Poulet Rouge
Bacon Waffle
Peanut Soubise
Bourbon Maple

I just checked the Food Bible and they don't list Blis Maple or Bourbon as a companion for foie gras. They should have talked to Sean at McCradys first. I guess his recent post sublimely inspired this. Thanks brother!

Chefs Challenge at The Farmers Market

2009-05-27T07:48:00.000-07:00

This was a blast! Great experience and exposure for the restaurant. Iron Chef type challenge with radish as the secret ingredient. They did not pick a winner but I think Aaron from Panciuto, and Chris from Rue Cler did a great job under the circumstances. My favorite part of the day was being accused of "gilding the lily" by one of the commentators, thats what I do.

We did some Anson Mills Polenta infused with honeysuckle, and cherry wood. A ragout of house guanciale, radish, and farmers vegetables. Fennel frond cured egg yolks.

Thanks to Scott once again for all the hard work

Charcuterie

2009-05-27T07:43:00.000-07:00

Pastrami spiced Pate
Liver Mousse en gelee
Rillette in butter
Bourbon Golden Raisin
Apricot Mustard
Helios Radish
Garden Snips
Challah

The Restaurant Garden

2009-05-27T07:33:00.001-07:00

This is our smaller garden outside the restaurant. With around twenty different herbs and flowers, garnishing is alot more fun in the summer. We also have okra, tomatoes, squash, egplant, spinach, peppers, beans, arugula, lettuce, and our potatoes.

Purslane

The Doughman

2009-05-27T07:16:00.000-07:00

The sandwich, everything from the flour to the tomatoes were either grown by us or from Mr. Brinkley's Farm

The Four Square Team
Anny, El Jefe, Walker, Darty Dave

Man vs Food from the Travel Channel filming for the race

Racing up on bikes to throw down on a BLT with chips and pickle.

http://doughman.pratt.duke.edu/

"Maxi offered to stake me"

2009-05-27T07:01:00.000-07:00

Beets and Broccoli

Parisienne and Red Core Carrots

Anne Arundel Melon

Staking the tomatoes

What Happened!

2009-05-21T20:03:00.000-07:00

Helios and Breakfast Radish that we grew

The Philadelphia King aka Shane my mentor, taking down a whole Pope Farm Lamb

The restaurant has been crazy busy which is a good thing but I will put together a post soon of whats been going on.

Town House+Allan Benton+Sean Brock Continued

2009-04-24T05:40:00.000-07:00

Again sorry for the picture quality. Good people, good wine, great food and of course swine was king. I met the man himself Allan Benton, Mike "Rathead" Riley from SFA, and Josh from Local Roots.

Town House+Allan Benton+Sean Brock

2009-04-24T05:27:00.000-07:00

Find the moonshine in the picture above

I apologize for the picture quality, new camera.

Border Springs Farm

2009-04-21T06:49:00.001-07:00

On Monday I met Craig Rogers of Border Springs Farm in Patrick Springs, VA. After several conversations on the phone I decided I had to meet him. At first I was interested because the farm is a few miles from where I grew up, but the more I talked to Craig and hear the excitement and joy he has in raising these animals I decided to check it out.

Amazing!! Craig's passion for raising "happy" animals is certainly infectious. One reason I love working with local farmers is because of my heightened awareness to the hard work and care these animals are raised with. It really affects how we treat them in the kitchen, respect! Craig is on a another level and I look forward to working with him in the future. Thanks for the hospitality.

Craig Rogers

This guy was born as I arrived

Bonus
Besides living in New York, the best pizza I've had is from my home town. Sicilian from Elizabeth's

2009-04-20T06:41:00.000-07:00

Transplants of Anne Arundel and Honeyrock Melon.

Waiting for a Transplant

Little Tree Farm Chicken
Many different preparations but my favorite
Olive Oil Poached Breast with The Flavors of Waldorf
Wild Lettuces and Flowers
Smoked Walnuts
Bacon Bourbon Jam
Celery Heart
Creamy Cider and Tarragon Dressing

Pope Farm Lamb

2009-04-20T06:35:00.000-07:00

Pope Farm Lamb Loin Slow Roasted in Green Garlic
Crispy Braised Breast
Goat Cheese Gnocchi
Baby Turnip confit in Chicken Fat
Spring Peas and Carrots
Rosemary and Mustard Flowers
Duck Rabbit Porter

Easter Sunday

2009-04-13T15:36:00.000-07:00

What a great day! The weather finally permitted us to get into the fields and plant seed directly into the ground. Thanks to William at Brinkley Farm for giving us the space. The greenhouse plants are looking great and we hope to transplant them this week.

Tomatoes, Brocolli, Carrots, Beets, Radishes, Cow Peas, English Peas, Wax Beans, Snow Peas, Lettuces, Cucumbers, Melons, Overwhelmed

We also received our potato seeds from Irish Eyes Garden Seeds. Today we planted some La Ratte, Austrian Crescent, and Red Thumb fingerlings.

And bonus we got to fish and put a fresh coat of mud on the bike while at the farm.

Farmers Market Special

2009-04-11T21:44:00.000-07:00

Roasted Lyon Farms Strawberries
Wild Lettuce
Easter Egg Radish
Creamy Goat Cheese
Purple Asparagus
Spring Pea Hummus
Beet Balsamic
This dish crushed tonight

Soft Shell Crab

2009-04-10T21:10:00.000-07:00

Triangle Brewery Batter

Lobster Leg Gribiche

Salt and Vinegar Artichoke Chips

Tarragon

"Old Bay"

Veg App

2009-04-08T20:24:00.000-07:00

Salsify Noodles

Roasted Salsify Coulis

Morels

Running Squirrel Wild Lettuce

English Peas

Saffron

Grilled Vegetable Emulsion

Just To Recap

2009-04-07T19:38:00.000-07:00

Running Squirrel Wild Lettuces from Jacob at Mikuni

Blue Crown Shiitake Mushrooms from Bob

Pope Farm Lamb Carpaccio
English Pea Crostini
Running Squirrel Wild Lettuce
Creamy Goat Cheese
Beet Balsamic

A small army of soft shells

Little Tree Farm Purple Asparagus

Sneak Preview for April

2009-03-28T21:30:00.000-07:00

Starters

Spring Farmers Lettuce and Garden Herbs
Pecorino Fresca, Crispy Onions, Black Truffle Caesar Dressing

Little Tree Farms Asparagus Bisque
Deviled Southport Shrimp, Confit Shallot, Lemon Melba Toast

Prosciutto Wrapped Shad Roe
Roasted Banana, Cornmeal Spaetzle, Verjus Brown Butter

Assorted Housemade Charcuterie
Golden Raisin Bourbon Coulis, Apricot Mustard, Griddled Challah

Salsify “Noodles”
Spring Peas, Smoked Feta, Morels, Saffron

Yellowfin Tuna and Avocado Ceviche
Mango Vinegar, Raz El Hanout, Yogurt, Chile, Miner’s Lettuce

Broken Arrow Ranch Wild Boar
Shiu Mai, Sweet and Sour Ramps, Yuzu

Entrees

Roasted NC Rainbow Trout
Fiddlehead Ferns, Sunnyside Egg, Risotto alla Carbonara, Bacon Nage

Pan Seared Scallops
Citrus XO Glaze, Blue Crown Shitakes, Miso Braised Turnip, Crispy Soba Noodle

Lemongrass Steamed Red Snapper
Pea Shoots, Jalapeno, Forbidden Rice, Pink Lady Tomato and Lobster Curry

Grilled Wild King Salmon
Rainbow Chard, Green Garlic, Roasted New Potatoes, Shrimp Consommé

Poulet Rouge Chicken Breast
Sorrel, Fava Bean and Braised Thigh Tortellini, Parmesan, Crackling Jus

Grilled Grass Fed Beef Tenderloin
Spicy Sausage, Brocolli Rabe, San Marzano Tomatoes, House Orecchiette, Sauce Verde

Lightly Smoked Brinkley Farms Pork Loin
Celery Root and Radish Slaw, Baked Heirloom Field Peas, Kumquat BBQ

Anson Mills Polenta and Farro Verde Roulade
Fried Baby Artichokes, Local Goat Cheese, Piquillo Broth

Pope Farm’s Spring Lamb Croquettes
Purple Asparagus, Mint Gremolata, Fingerling and Lamb Pancetta Hash, Highland’s Ale

John Hope Franklin

2009-03-27T20:37:00.000-07:00

We lost a true hero this week. A regular at the restaurant, look him up and get educated.

Head Games

2009-03-27T20:15:00.000-07:00

Pig Head and Smoked Belly Ravioli
Green Apple Soubise
Pumpernickle
Malted Pork Jus
Not Pretty but very tasty

Going Green

2009-03-27T19:44:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Jacob at Mikuni we got our fix on Fiddleheads, Ramps and Miner's Lettuce.

NC Blackfin Tuna Ceviche

Avocado

Mango Vinegar

Raz El Hanout

Stinging Nettle Coulis

Yogurt

Popcorn

Miner's Lettuce

Popcorn Sutton

2009-03-18T20:29:00.000-07:00

This is Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton. One of the last OG moonshiners around, he passed away on Monday. He wrote a book "Me and My Likker" and had a documentary about his life "The Last Run." In a time where we celebrate local everything its sad the government still torments guys like this. He was facing 18 months in jail for his home brew. Check the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPuWX7d7yEw A true Smokey Mountain Legend.

Tonight we paid homage to him on our tasting menu with a few tongue in cheek additions.

R.I.P. to"Popcorn" a man that very proudly kept his heritage alive.

The Process

2009-03-16T20:31:00.001-07:00

Creativity begins with seasonality and what mood we are in, sometimes a good beer helps the process of writing a menu. Plus these guys look like my uncles.

We planted around 1200 seeds on Sunday. Hoping to go straight into the ground but the weather did not cooperate. We will start in the greenhouse and hopefully direct sow in a few weeks. Thanks Scott and Kristen

I 81

2009-03-09T08:39:00.000-07:00

On a recent trip to do some biking and fishing in Va. I was driving down 81 and started thinking about the great things happening in the area.
John and Karen at Townhouse Grill,Chilhowie, (picture above, 1st dish I had of theirs a year ago)
Joshua at Local Roots Cafe in Roanoke
Tucker at the Red Hen in Lexington
and Tarver "I cuss a lot" King, at the Goodstone Inn, Middleburg
Growing up in Martinsville, high cuisine was Appleby's. To think that some of the best food on the east coast is now coming from my home state is amazing.

April 23, Sean Brock of McCrady's ( Va Native) + Allan Benton + John and Karen at Town House Grill = Oh Hell Yeah

We used Baker Creek Heirloom Seed for our spring-summer planting. If you haven't checked these guys out, please do. A small family run operation in Missouri. They have a great selection with lots of Asian varieties.

2009-02-27T21:27:00.000-08:00

I love the new school of cooking but sometimes a good pate makes the world right.

Rabbit

Foie Gras

Golden Raisin

Smoked Pecan

We served this with toasted Challah Bread and Green Apple Mustard, Holla

Seafood Special

2009-02-25T20:33:00.000-08:00

Tonight we featured NC Seafood for the tasting menu and by the way NC Bay Scallops are the sh*t, forget Taylor Bay. The Black Bass which I have a personal vendetta against due to the butchering is totally worth the work.

NC Bay Scallops
Mango Vinegar
Bacon
Cherry Wood Maple Infusion ( Thanks Townhouse)

NC Black Bass
Carrot Celery Root Coulis
Citrus
Long Pepper

Charcuterie

2009-02-23T10:21:00.001-08:00

This is the real deal.

2009-02-23T07:27:00.000-08:00

So last week I went to the Brinkley's to check out our plants. After a quick victory lap around the greenhouse I snapped some photos of how amazing they are looking. Coming from a guy who once killed a house plant because I forgot it was mine, I am very proud to be a part of the process that yields such a tasty product. We actually harvested the breakfast radish, and will be transplanting the lettuce, beets, and onions. William quickly reminded me that he was the farmer and that I was the cook, maybe after a couple of farm "stages" he will cut me some slack.

I left the farm and headed to Sunset Ridge Buffalo Farm to meet Buffalo Jack. This farm has been in Jack's family for 200 years and began the Buffalo herd in 2001. I can't say that I have ever been this close to a Buffalo, all I could see were tasty primal cuts in a brown coat with a goatee.
Thanks Jack for graciously giving me a tour to check out these really cool animals. Look for Jack at the Durham and Carrboro farmers market and buy some buffalo, its good for you!

Black Truffle Sunny Side Up Farmer's Egg

Grilled Flatbread

Prosciutto

Our Breakfast Radish

Blood Orange

Vin Cotto

Brinkley Farms Continued

2009-02-16T07:23:00.000-08:00

Brinkley Pig Head and Foie Terrine
Maple Pear Mustard
Bell Pepper Cipollini Jam
Walnut Whole Wheat Bread ( Wheat grown and ground at Brinkley's Farm)

Valentine's Day

2009-02-16T07:01:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day is over and I would consider it a complete success. The v-day "tree" above is evidence of how busy it was.

We are also very proud to announce our involvement with the Doughman. A triathlon meets eating competition that benefits the Seeds/Dig programs.

Durham Inner-city Gardeners (DIG) empowers teens by teaching organic gardening, sound business practices, healthy food choices and food security values. The program emphasizes sustainable living and growing practices, ecological balance, and the natural recycling of organic materials for plant health and nourishment. DIG youth are paid a stipend to cultivate fruits, vegetables, herbs, flowers and mushrooms, which they sell at the Durham Farmer's Market.

Thanks to Emily from Builders of Hope for getting us involved.

St. Patrick's Day Beer Dinner

2009-02-04T19:33:00.000-08:00

We are doing a beer dinner on St. Patty's day with Duck Rabbit brewery!! My two favorite things food and beer are coming together like Voltron, this is going to be lots of fun. The menu is not set but I can say that Pumpernickel with Pork Belly Pastrami might be present and some local Buffalo Bresaola. Fingers crossed there could be a special beer that they have not released for us to use. Make reservations by calling us at 919-401-9877

Wrap It Up

2009-01-29T21:28:00.000-08:00

Lots of things are happening at the restaurant lately so I have not been able to post as frequently as I would like. To summarize we started the new menu on Monday and we are really happy with the outcome, we have been doing a Truffle Tasting Menu with great success and hope to offer some sort of tasting menu on a regular basis. This guy below is a Golden Tilefish brought to us from Steve in Wilmington. He is one of the really great vendors that we have. His product is always beautiful, we don't need to check it for quality, just sign the invoice.

Tasty things are in store for him or her!

Puffed Sauerkraut, thanks to Kevin at Salt Of The Earth. This is one of the garnishes for the new soup.

Truffles and Vacuum Bags

2009-01-28T21:01:00.000-08:00

While wandering under the house the other night trying to turn off the water due to cold
temps, I found some old school vacuum sealers. Most of my friends in the industry might laugh because they have much bigger and costlier machines. Call me old school! So we use these machines to ...it would take too long to describe, check out the link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sous-vide. Basically we can get uber concentration of flavor in a bag.

We applied some of these techniques for tonight's Truffle Tasting Menu.

Amuse: Deviled Quail Egg, Truffle Mousseline, Smoked Char Roe, Petite Lettuce that we grew!
First: NC Oyster and Crab Gratin, Pumpernickel, Truffle Mignonette
Second: Grilled Scallop, Housemade Orchiette, White Truffle
Third: Arancini, Pork Confit, Heirloom Carrot, Black Truffle Hollandaise
Dessert: Dark Chocolate Truffled Truffle, Truffle Ice Cream, Poppy Seed Cookie

Staff Meal

2009-01-19T08:34:00.000-08:00

Being in an industry based on serving food to others, its ironic the small amount of time we have to actually enjoy a meal for ourselves. Usually consumed in under two minutes, everyone scatters to their respective corner and eats what could be the only meal of the day at a frantic pace. Most meals are something you can grab with your hands, silverware only slows you down!

One of the kitchen favorites is breakfast at any hour of the day. Unfortunately, this generally leads to everybody in need of a nap. Occasionally we will order out, support local Durham business right, Randy's Pizza takes top honors, followed by more napping.

One day last week we made fish tacos that got a collective thumbs up. Grilled and Fried Mahi, Pineapple Red Cabbage Slaw, Chipotle Aioli with Roasted Beans and Cucumbers. The best part no sudden drowsiness afterwards.

Brinkley Farms Part 1

2009-01-15T06:49:00.000-08:00

To talk about Four Square and not mention Brinkley Farms would be impossible. They have become a big part of the day to day functioning of the restaurant.

Brinkey Farms was established in 1941 by Mildred and Abram Brinkley, and is now run by William, Diane, Michael and the rest of the family. Initially a tobacco farm, they turned to vegetable production in the 90's and pasture raised pork and beef in 2000. Located in Creedmore, it is only a 15 minute drive from the restaurant.

The cows and pigs have ample room and plenty of mud to live as stress free as possible. Compared to mass production farms, well I will leave that for other blogs and websites to discuss. Much of what they eat is grown on the farm, and occasionally some leftovers from the restaurant make it into the field.

The difference in flavor that this extra care and attention the animals receive is something you will have to taste for yourself. To be continued....

Grouper Cheeks

2009-01-13T20:15:00.000-08:00

We just started working with Jason at Southport Seafood Company and are very excited about his passion to offer North Carolina Seafood with a conscience. Today we received some beautiful fish that included Grouper Cheeks.

Grouper Cheeks , Blood Orange, Radish, Country Ham, and Beet Arancini

Back At It

2009-01-09T20:17:00.000-08:00

Winter vacation is over and the kitchen is back in full swing. We received some beautiful produce from the Santa Monica Farmers Market, not exactly local but winter in NC offers a limited selection. It helped to inspire a vegetarian appetizer.

Raw Farmers Market Vegetables, White Bean Hummus, Black Olive, Grilled Bread Crumb, Different Textures of Beet, Puffed Grains.

We also did a rabbit bolognese with housemade orcchiette pasta, and preserved egg that immediately earned its way on next months menu.

Motivation

2009-01-07T14:10:00.001-08:00

So why do we work when we are on vacation? The restaurant comes first? Who knows. Could it be that I want the day to be easier for all the cooks and myself tomorrow when we open. Maybe I just like being jacked on caffeine listening to loud music without staring at the clock worried about when service starts. The pastry chef was there to see a few rock star moments (i.e. Cracker Euro Trash Girl). Rock Band will have to wait, but the key is she was there on her day off because she cares. Who needs motivation when you love what you do.