One of D.C’s many talents in the restaurant arena is New York native Richard Beckel, executive chef of the newly opened Market Tavern in Arlington. Actually, both the chef and the restaurant are a perfect match: good food served in a sleekly elegant steakhouse ambiance, especially in its upstairs Chophouse. Beckel attended the Culinary Institute of America. From there, his career has sizzled forth with kitchens stints at Manhattan’s La Cote Basque. “I externed here,” he said, telling of how he followed up with an opening from none other than steakhouse magnate Charlie Palmer, who referred the young Beckel to his first major job and first major chef. “It was to Jean-Jacques Rachou who was the chef at La Cote Basque, and that is where I got my first job in NYC, just as [Palmer} did,” Beckel explained. “I showed up on a Monday, and at 20 I was the youngest line cook at the restaurant.”
Later, he cooked at Le Bernardin, then at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Pentagon City, and then he went to work with two other D.C. chefs, Yannick Cam and Michel Richard. To top all that off, Beckel staged in a Michelin-starred restaurant, Eric Westermann’s Buerehiesel in Strasbourg. He tells of pestering the executive chef for a tryout, and having the chef finally agree to give him a chance, and pointing him to a pile of vegetables to trim. Apparently, the chef could scarcely believe that a young American cook could produce such classically prepared vegetables. Beckel was hired.
| If you go |
| Market Tavern |
| Where: 2800 Clarendon Blvd., Arlington |
| Info: 703-778-7788 |
| Hours: 3 to 11 p.m Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to midnight Saturday; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday |
After nine months on the job, Beckel moved on to tour around Europe, sampling haute fare in numerous cities. “I studied a lot of cuisines globally,” he said. “I have learned to apply the best techniques so I can work on every cuisines. That way I can branch out to use other ethnic ingredients and incorporate them in American cooking.”
He cites as an example pairing Middle Eastern tahini with Mexican jalapeno chiles for a dipping sauce. “I work on a product until it is 100 percent perfect,” he said, noting that the jalapeno tahini didn’t work. Instead, Beckel chose a jalapeno-ginger emulsion instead.
Obviously, Beckel gets a kick out of being a chef, which for him is more following a passion than just going to work for the day. After all, before taking up his current position, Beckel co-owned his own seafood restaurant, Hooked, in Northern Virginia, and not so long ago worked with the renowned former Blue Duck Tavern chef Brian McBride.
With such diverse influences shaping his skills, its no wonder Beckel creates such stunners as the appetizer of fried green tomatoes stacked with honey goat cheese and the warm asparagus salad with a fried farm egg. And the very meaty, very unusual and very thick veal chop, grilled just to perfection. “Nothing I prepare is monochromatic,” he said. “I always use a unique component when creating a dish. I am mindful of that, so nothing is always the same.”
Q&A
What is your comfort food?
Chinese food. They deliver on my day off. I like egg foo young from Cheng’s in Sterling.
What’s in your fridge?
A bunch of condiments, organic milk, Mexican Coca-Cola, Hebrew National hot dogs, apple slices for my son.
Do you have a favorite cookbook?
Multiple, but in particular: “Simply French” by Patricia Wells and “Ma Gastronomie” by Escoffier
Which is your favorite ingredient?
Sea salt. It makes all the difference in the world. Every one of them, from fleur de sel to Korean sea salt. Each has an individual character and different personality.
Which chef do you admire most in the world?
It would probably be Fredy Girardet. He is a great chef … and has maintained his humility despite his fame. When he retired, he did so graciously, and walked out quietly.
Recipe
Lemon tarragon chicken
Serve with mashed potatoes, couscous, polenta or steamed rice
Serves 4 to 6
Zest of 6 lemons, zested with vegetable peeler; set lemons aside
1/2 cup vegetable oil plus extra for browning chicken
1/2 cup chopped garlic
1 ounce chopped tarragon
Freshly ground black pepper plus extra for seasoning
8 boneless chicken thighs, skin on
Salt
Sauce:
1 quart chicken broth
2 bay leaves, preferably fresh
1 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp cornstarch dissolved in ? cup water
1 bunch tarragon, chopped
Mix together the lemon zest, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, garlic, tarragon and pepper, and pour over the chicken. Store the chicken and marinade in a sealable plastic bag, and refrigerate for at least four hours or overnight.
To cook, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat about 2 Tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and brown the chicken, skin side down first and season with salt and pepper. When browned, turn chicken over to other side and place in an ovenproof roasting pan.
Roast until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Remove chicken from pan, and place in a warmed serving dish. Let chicken rest in warm place. Drain most of the remaining oil and fat from pan.
Meanwhile, to make the sauce, using the same skillet over medium heat, brown the garlic and thyme, and deglaze with chicken broth, and then add all ingredients except soy sauce and tarragon. Reduce the heat to medium low, and cook 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings and color with soy sauce and lemon juice. Thicken with the cornstarch slurry, slowly stirring it in until the desired thickness. Strain or puree the sauce as desired, and add freshly chopped tarragon. Season to taste, and serve.
