Dish of the week: Chicken liver pate on toast at Spring Restaurant
Since opening his restaurant, Spring, last year, Brian So has been turning heads. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Wyatt Williams awarded the farm-to-table restaurant in Marietta three stars , and So, a Kennesaw native and the former chef at Sobban, is among an elite group of toques under the age of 30 nominated this year for a James Beard Foundation in the Rising Star Chef category . (We'll find out this Wednesday, if he makes the finalist cut.)
When (not if) you check out Spring, be sure to order the chicken liver pate on toast. Make that two. Or three. On the menu since day one, this is no ordinary toast. The starter is a fabulous, unique combination of chicken liver pate, blueberry jam, pickled mustard seed and raw pistachio on grilled brioche.
Credit: Ligaya Figueras
Credit: Ligaya Figueras
What makes it so memorable are the many contrasts. Like cold, silky pate compared to warm, crusty brioche. Or salty pate side-by-side with sweet jam. And then there are unexpected accents, such as the acid and bite of mustard seeds along with the color and crunch of pistachios.
“You can’t really put your finger on it, but it’s (because of) all the multiple contrasts that everything is very lively when you eat it,” said So. “I was thinking of something really rich,” he explained of how the dish came to be. Yet he “didn’t want to do a foie gras and put off anyone in a neighborhood restaurant – or have a $17 appetizer.”
A seat at Spring might be tricky to get these days, but don’t worry, this one is so popular that it will be around whenever you manage a table. “We don’t dare take it off,” So said.
Spring Restaurant, 90 Marietta Station Walk NE, Marietta, 678-540-2777, springmarietta.com.
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