The Killer Dish isn’t going anywhere. …in the sense that it isn’t going away, I mean, though it is moving. I launched The Killer Dish just barely over a year ago, and whoa buddy, has it been a crazy year. I designed and launched a new blog, researched and wrote a number of posts about …
Author Archives: The Killer Dish
Bò Tái Chanh
Raw beef is no stranger to Western culinary tradition. Steak tartare and beef carpaccio have had their day in the sun, and few things embody the spirit of the red-blooded American chophouse more than a black and blue strip washed down with a dry martini. But the Eastern hemisphere is chock full dishes that showcase …
Chilaquiles
When it comes to traditional foods, regional and personal variations can be a rhetorical minefield. What constitutes “authentic” or “proper,” and whether that matters, is an all-too-familiar refrain. Go to Emiglia-Romagna and try to get a pair of neighbors to agree on what constitutes a traditional Ragù alla Bolognese. It’s both rare and somewhat refreshing …
Mignulata
It isn’t often that two strangers discover they’re family because of a dish. But so it was that a customer walked into LAMP Pizzeria one day, saw “mignulata” on the menu, and instantly knew that he was related to owner and chief pizza man, Matt Pilato. In the Sicilian countryside near Agrigento, the customs, the …
BBQ Brisket
Barbecue — along with jazz, abstract expressionism, and ripping a hanging curveball down the left field line — is one of the greatest American art forms. Though styles and methods differ from place to place, one of the most iconic versions is Texas-style beef brisket, and much to Phoenix’s delight, the brisket at the recently …
Uni Panna Cotta
At Posh Improvisational Cuisine, chef Josh Hebert likes to play. More than a mere habit, even, it’s right there in the name of the restaurant and it’s kind of his thing. So while cross-cultural mashups like his Uni Panna Cotta are standard operating procedure at Posh and commonplace beyond, it’s always refreshing to see such …
Pollo en Chiltepín con Cacahuate
Mexico, not to overstate the obvious, is a big country, one possessed of a rich and diverse culinary history to match its size. As such, when you’re accustomed to the Sonoran-influenced Arizona Mex that dominates in Phoenix, a Pueblan dish — like the Pollo en Chiltepín con Cacahuate at Restaurant Huauchinango — can be a striking and delicious …
Gilfeather Rutabaga
If there are two things Charleen Badman does well — there are a lot of things, actually — but if one were to name two, “simple” and “vegetarian” would assuredly be at or near the top of the list. So it stands to reason that among the many outstanding dishes she produces in the tiny …
Naeng Myun
Here in Phoenix, summer is nearly upon us, and soon we will all be on fire. So naturally, this is the time of year when thoughts turn to staving off immolation however possible, and the Naeng Myun at Café Ga Hyang — chilled Korean buckwheat noodles served in an icy cold soup — is as cool …
Crispy Pig Ears
As humble dish beginnings go, it’s tough to top pig ears. Though the fervor for all things porcine has reached a crescendo the intensity of which few would have predicted a decade ago, the more exotic bits, like the ears, can still be a tough sell. And so it surprised everyone in town, including Chef Cullen …
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