Rant: In Simplicity, Restaurants Prove Themselves

Yesterday, I enjoyed a delicious Brunch at Island Creek Oyster Bar (ICOB) in Burlington, and my choice of entree was their Yellowfin Tuna Melt. It had been over six months since the last time I ate this sandwich, one of my favorites, here. At most restaurants, a Tuna Melt is rather ordinary, if not disappointing, but ICOB has created a marvel, frankly the best Tuna Melt I've ever tasted. 

It's a simple dish, but created with quality ingredients, and everything is properly balanced. The ample, creamy and tasty tuna filling doesn't ooze mayo like some other tuna melts. The home-made pickles add a bit of crunch and some acidity. The melted cheese adds some nutty notes and the white rye bread, with panini-like grill marks, adds a touch of spiciness and is just the right thickness. Everything meshes well together, and it's consistently excellent. Great comfort food.

The ICOB Tuna Melt is also indicative of a basic rule about chefs and restaurants: In Simplicity, Restaurants Prove Themselves. If you want to judge the quality of a chef or restaurant, you can assess how they prepare simple dishes. Do they elevate that dish above the ordinary? Do they remain true to the essence of that dish, without transforming it into something unrecognizable? Is it a dish you would order again, one you would highly recommend to others?

I've often heard it said, even by some chefs, that they judge another chef by how well they prepare Roast Chicken. It's probably not a dish you usually order at a restaurant, because it seems so ordinary, yet a skilled chef can elevate it to levels that would amaze your palate. With Japanese restaurants, I commonly assess them based on their Tempura, another simple dish but which some places elevate to an art. And it is those restaurants which are usually the best. 

These chefs don't use fancy tricks to change these simple dishes into something they are not. They embrace the essence of the dish, but know how to make it shine. They use quality ingredients and perfect cooking techniques to transform the ordinary into something much greater than the norm. I wouldn't order a tuna melt in almost any other restaurant, but at ICOB, as it's so enticing. And ICOB also makes plenty of other excellent dishes, from their Lobster Rolls to Tuna Poke. The skill and taste evidenced in their simple tuna melt is indicative of their greater excellence for their entire menu.

Which restaurants offer compelling simple dishes which you love?