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Dallas Chef Brian C. Luscher of The Grape received the first "Best of Beef" award for a signature beef dish using an underutilized cut that he offered during Restaurant Week 2001, an annual charitable promotion that is held throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Luscher, executive chef at the 28-year-old restaurant on Dallas' Greenville Avenue, captured the Best of Beef's top prize by entering an original creation of the top blade. It was called the single entry that best embodied the culinary style of the entrant's restaurant by the contest's judges. His winning creation features a marinated, pan-seared top blade steak that is known in the restaurant trade as the flatiron. The top blade is the second most tender cut of beef after the tenderloin. It gets its nickname from its triangular shape that resembles an old-fashioned iron. Luscher, the son of a Midwestern meat cutter, said he learned how to benefit from the flatiron through his father's influence. He said the cut's tenderness and flavor are well-suited to a city like Dallas that loves beef and a restaurant like The Grape that prides itself on innovation. "At The Grape, we change our menu every two weeks," Luscher, said. "and being inventive makes us successful. That's what our reputation is built on. Since steak is the food that made the city of Dallas, it's a plus for a restaurant to be innovative with cuts like the flatiron." The winning recipe was a big seller for The Grape during Restaurant Week 2001. During this unique promotion, food lovers enjoyed a three-course meal for $25 at any of 70 participating restaurants in Dallas, Fort Worth and the mid cities. "The flatiron was a real attention getter for our restaurant," Luscher said. "We call our waitstaff 'sales associates' because they do our marketing for us. When our patrons saw flatiron on the menu, they asked what it was. That gave our sales associates the opening to tell them that the top blade is the second most tender cut, that it is marinated and pan-seared. Sales were great, and when the plates came back with everything gone, I knew the customers liked it." From a foodservice standpoint, the flatiron offers a win-win situation, Luscher said. It is an underutilized cut because many chefs are unfamiliar with it. That provides high availability and low cost to foodservice, while translating into a high quality, high value dish for the restaurant diner because of the cut's tenderness. Luscher marinates the cut with red wine and verjus, the unfermented juice of unripe wine grapes. Verjus complements the flavors of wine when both are used in a marinade in contrast to the more acidic vinegar, he said. For winning the contest, Luscher will take a trip to a Caribbean island where he will represent the U.S. beef industry as guest chef at a Texas Beef Festival at a major resort hotel. © |
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