Leaning forward with his elbows propped on his knees, burly executive chef Will Artley of Evening Star Cafe in Alexandria’s Del Rey neighborhood exudes energy, enthusiasm for life and cooking, and an upbeat attitude. He also reveals some arty arm tattoos that include an Aztec god, a Polynesian symbol from Hawaii, a bear claw and some Chinese characters.
“I even have a tattoo of my dad’s Irish family crest on my leg,” he says. “That gives me stability.”
A native of Albuquerque, N.M., exuberant Artley grew up in a household where solid home cooking was a matter of course.
“My mom cooked every day,” he says. “She’s Mexican, and I was always asking her how to do things, like make tortillas, sopapillas. I could make mole by the time I was 10.”
Even before that age, Artley was preparing dishes, like the birthday meal he made for his mom.
“It was a bologna and Swiss cheese omelet. It was disgusting, but my mom said it was the sweetest thing,” he says.
So does that mean he comes by his cooking passion naturally? Was his mom his inspiration?
No, says Artley.
“Cooking picked me. I can’t remember doing anything else. I never went out to play as a kid,” he says. “After breakfast, I started in making lunch. I used to weigh 420 pounds.”
By the time he was 15, Artley had to find a job, and he ended up in a restaurant washing dishes. After two months, the chef asked him if he wanted to learn how to cook, and Artley jumped at the chance.
“I worked as a saute cook without any experience. I had no idea what I was doing. I just did what I was told,” he says.
Learning about cooking and kitchen management from the bottom up, Artley got his big break: He enrolled at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in New York. While there, Artley took advantage of his free time by working in some big-name/big-chef kitchens, including Swedish chef Marcus Samuelsson’s Aquavit restaurant and an externship with CIA graduate Seth Bixby Daugherty at D’Amico Cucina, both in Minneapolis. After graduation, however, Artley headed to D.C. when he was hired by Bob Kinkead to help open the now-closed Colvin Run Tavern in Virginia.
After stints in several other local D.C. restaurants — Kinkead’s, Indebleu and the now-closed Butterfield 9 — Artley has ended up with his own staff and kitchen — he’s even appeared as a guest chef at the White House — and he’s loving every minute. It’s his attitude, after all, that puts Artley at the top of his game.
“It’s not about the chef, or celebrities. It’s about the food,” he says. “No one chef is bigger than the food. And yes, it’s great to be competent, but a number of things make a chef successful: respect for the food, humility and a great staff.”
In Artley’s case, you’ve got to figure he wins big on all counts.
If you go
Evening Star Café
2000 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria
703-549-5051
Hours: Lunch — 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; Dinner — 5:30 to 10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 5:30 to 11 p.m. Friday-Saturday; Brunch — 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday
Q&A with Chef Will Artley
Where do you go to eat out?
I love to go to all the Neighborhood Restaurant Group restaurants (Evening Star Cafe is one of several in this local group). We all work with the same ingredients. But I also love ethnic restaurants.
Do you cook at home?
To be honest, my significant other — she is the most influential person — I’ve cooked for her every single day.
What is your comfort food?
Mexican food, and anything I have to do with my hands, like make sopapillas, gnocchi. I can put my energy into it.
What are your basic must-have ingredients?
Salt (my staff would laugh if I didn’t say that). At home, it’s peanut butter and fresh thyme.
From the Chef’s Kitchen
Dr. Pepper Braised Short Ribs with Butternut Squash Risotto
Serves 4
Short Ribs
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
4 short ribs sections, 12 ounces each, trimmed of excess fat
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 large shallots, peeled, trimmed, split, rinsed and dried
2 medium-sized carrots, peeled, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths
2 ribs of celery, peeled, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths
1 medium-sized leek (white and light-green parts), coarsely chopped, washed and dried
10 cloves of garlic, peeled
2 bay leaves
2 thyme sprigs
2 Tbsp. of tomato paste
1 bottle red wine
2 cans Dr. Pepper
3 quarts unsalted beef broth
Center a rack in the oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Heat the oil in a large, heavy, ovenproof pot over medium-high heat. Season ribs all over with salt and pepper. Then, when oil is hot, slip the first section of ribs into the pot and sear 4 to 5 minutes on each side until well browned. Transfer the ribs to a plate. Repeat with remaining ribs.
Remove all but 1 Tbsp. of the fat from the pot, reduce the heat to medium and add the vegetables and herbs. Brown the vegetables lightly, 5 to 7 minutes, then stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.
Add wine, ribs, Dr Pepper and broth to the pot. Bring to a boil, cover tightly and place in the oven to braise for 2 1/2 hours or until the ribs are very tender. Every 30 minutes, skim and discard fat from the surface. When they are finished, remove the ribs and begin to reduce your braising broth to desired consistency.
Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto
1/2 pound butternut squash
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1⁄4 tsp. ground cumin
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
3 cups braising liquid (from ribs) with added salt to taste
1 medium-sized white onion, chopped
2 Tbsp. butter
3⁄4 cup Arborio rice
1 tsp. minced garlic
4 Tbsp. Boursin cheese
1 1 ⁄ 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh sage
Preheat oven 450 degrees.
Cut squash lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Season with salt, pepper and cumin, and toss with olive oil. Cover with foil and place on a shallow baking pan on the center rack of the oven. Bake about 50 minutes or until fork-tender. While still warm, place squash pieces in a blender and purée until smooth; add water if needed for processing.
Start risotto by bringing seasoned water to a simmer in a large skillet and hold. In a medium-sized heavy-duty pot, cook onion in 1 Tbsp. butter until translucent. Add the rice and garlic, and stir for 3 minutes. Add one-third of the hot liquid and begin stirring. Repeat until the rice has absorbed all liquid and has creamy consistency; add the purée, cheese, butter and sage and season with salt and pepper.
Place risotto in bowl and top with short rib.
