Plates piled high with four-cheese macaroni and burgers garnished with onion straws and chipotle mayonnaise represent the latest stage in America's love affair with comfort foods.
The move to comfort was triggered by the approach of the millennium, then fueled by the tragic events of Sept. 11. It seems to be picking up speed with reports of a faltering economy. It's also evolving.
At first, the comfort renaissance simply meant rediscovering the basics: old-fashioned meatloaf, roast chicken, apple pie and the like. But that apparently got old. Now cooks at all levels are taking the basics upscale.
Earlier this year, two national food magazines featured hamburgers on their covers. Restaurants reshaping the all-American burger are taking it to the max. Consider Red Robin in Allentown, Pa. The restaurant's Bonsai Burger includes lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, cheddar cheese, grilled pineapple and teriyaki sauce.
In fact, the restaurant's definition of burger has changed to mean anything sandwiched between the halves of a bun. Pot roast burgers with caramelized onions and slices of roast beef are on the menu. Pulled pork sandwiches have made it, too. Could a meatloaf burger be far behind?
At many restaurants, mashed potatoes aren't just potatoes, milk and butter anymore. They're garlic-smashed or even flecked with little morsels of lobster. Plain toast? It's just too plain when a BLT can be served on a croissant.
Chicken to chocolate
Chicken and waffles, made with light Belgian waffles, are the signature dish at the hot new Philadelphia restaurant Jones. The latest concept from famed restaurateur and idea man Stephen Starr also features Chicken Wing Lollipops, an easier-to-eat, upscale version of Buffalo chicken wings; a shrimp cocktail with Bloody Mary sauce; and a meal called Thanksgiving Dinner, turkey and all the fixings, which is on the menu every day.
Adam DeLosso, chef at Jones, dishes up healthy slices of comfort for dessert, too. Imagine curling up with a blanket, a cup of tea and a take-home portion of the chef's warm Berry Crisp (blackberries, blueberries and strawberries under an oatmeal crumble topped off with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream) or any of his other comfort treats, including Jell-O parfaits, Duncan Hines chocolate cake and rice pudding.
