Proliferating condiments are accompaniments to be relished

Nation's Restaurant News, August 24, 1987 by Florence Fabricant

Proliferating condiments are accompaniments to be relished

Condiment accompaniments to appetizer and main-course preparations--and, in some cases, even desserts--have been proliferating across the country. They are called chutneys, salsas, marmalades, relishes, and sometimes concasses, confits, ketchups, and jellies. It is not uncommon to see more than one of those terms on the same menu.

Members of the onion family frequently inspire the trendy condiments, from "21' in New York, where sauteed calves' liver comes with a red-onion marmalade, or Arcadia (which has the same chef), where a roasted shallot and currant confit dresses up the grilled foie gras, to Windows in Rosslyn, Va., where loin of venison is paired with a Vidalia onion compote. At Janos in Tucson, Ariz., spirals of veal are garnished with a caramelized onion marmalade, while at La Panetiere in Rye, N.Y., swordfish is mellowed with a marmalade of shallots.

Tomatoes and the Mexican green tomatillos are also among the preferred ingredients for the homemade flourishes. Actuelle in Dallas serves a green-tomatillo relish alongside grilled swordfish. Routh Street Cafe, in the same city, offers tomatillo chutney with grilled quail. The Strand in Miami tops a grilled pork chop with tomato salsa.

In Chicago, Foley's First Street Express accompanies a fillet of salmon with a concassee of tomato and basil. Another of Janos' condiments is tomatillo chutney served with a number of dishes, including king salmon. Flagons in New Orleans departs from the Creole-Cajun mode with a grilled breast of chicken and eggplant with poblano pepper and tomato salsa. But at Windows the salsa that comes with Belon oysters is a Creole tomato affair.

Fruit condiments, inspired by the typical Indian mango chutney, are also becoming commonplace. For example, Aliettes in Detroit does a mango-papaya garnish for grilled mahi-mahi. A mango chutney comes with rack of lamb at Seasons in Boston, while at Cameos in New York the chutney for the rack of lamb is apple-mango. At Caroline's, also in New York, a tamarind chutney adds tangy flavor to a peppered rib-eye steak.

Peppers are chopped into various relishes, salsa, and chutneys. Here's Janos yet again with tilapia paillard with shrimp and sweet pepper relish. Also, B. Smith's in New York has a grilled chicken paillard with melted Fontina and sweet pepper relish. Most of the menus on which those dishes appear can be categorized as "new American,' and lengthy, detailed descriptions of the dishes are common-place. But sometimes the menus do not specify every ingredient in the condiment. Thus, at the Avenue Grill in Denver, the vegetable burrito comes with salsa fresca ("fresh sauce'), and at the Grand Bay Hotel in Miami's Coconut Grove, a breaded chicken breast with black beans, avocado, and lime has a salsa picante ("spicy sauce') among its elements.

The customer does know whether tomatoes, peppers, or onions figure importantly in the condiment. The garden salsa that comes with the little neck clams and oysters at Seasons in Boston suggests chopped raw vegetables and herbs bound with a vinegar, perhaps.

Janos, the operation that seems to rely the most on these condiments, has a generic salsa as well as the particular relishes, marmalades, and chutneys. A dish called lobster relleno with Nantua and salsa appears on the menu. (As a digression, that restaturant seems to use the term "Nantua' as a shorthand or code for lobster sauce. But the French Nantua sauce is made with crawfish, not lobster.)

Ususual ingredients occasionally find their way into the condiments, such as the wild mushroom chutney served at the Trellis in Williamsburg, Va., with calves' liver, the ginger chutney that adorns a duck salad at Bruxelles in New York or the California orange relish served alongside pates at Windows.

Regardless of whether the chutney or relish is a specific type, like the corn relish that comes with a rib-eye steak at Seasons or a homemade chutney of unspecified variety served with curried chicken at the Ritz Cafe in New York, the embellishments enhance otherwise sauceless preparations. They take the pressure off the kitchen because they can be prepared in advance in quantity and boast a long shelf life under refrigeration. They add style, color, and flavor to the plate, especially for simple grills.