You pick up a lot just by glancing at a menu.
Some of it is obvious stuff, of course. Truffles, Kobe beef and a wines bottoming out in the triple digits readies you for one kind of experience while an offer to supersize condemns you to another. A list featuring tacos al pastor, Milanese and tamales requires no guesswork.
Other menus ask only a modest understanding of regional differences. If you spot nachos or chimichangas among the offerings, for example, you’ve stumbled upon a Tex-Mex joint masquerading as authentic.
Detective work begins when chefs reach across established bounds, braiding culinary traditions or shearing them with modern flair.
And sometimes even more interesting items wait beyond the menu’s limits.
Jennifer Allen-Malinowski at Lakeport’s The Wholly Bowl revels in unexpected fusion. Her Korean street tacos, for instance, draw something from Asia, Mexico and a Carolina picnic. Ask her to stretch even further — “make me what you want to eat” — and you might end up with an off-menu dish like the spiked chicken bowl.
A twist on her teriyaki offering, the spike chicken bowl brightens the earthy tang of marinated meat with crisp kale slaw and the raspy din of cilantro — a standard balance of flavors from her little kitchen.
It’s a pleasant calm, a perfect fall afternoon. But as you drift into the chef’s wily trap, pickled chiles whisper a warning of the culinary tempest on the horizon. The heat is hardly dire, slipping evenly under the chicken and slaw. When you recognize it, the bite of pepper perks up, throwing sweet barbs that blend into the mix of cabbage and kale.
“You’re getting heat from a few different sources,” Allen-Malinowski said. “But those pickled chiles — you don’t get that heat right away.”
Once it catches your attention, however, it improves into a steady hum, like a breeze scouting quietly in advance of a gale. Indeed, the heat is hardly strong enough to stifle the fresh impression of the bowl. The play between teriyaki chicken, Carolina slaw and pickled embers becomes so engaging, in fact, you miss the downpour of seasoning until it is upon you.
Suddenly you are buffered by the dense, earthy swale of nori, swayed by an oceanic wave, hauled under by the rich, fishy savor of bonito flakes before falling into a mellow, nutty spell as sesame brings a sense of calm.
This is a wild and wonderful dish.
Allen-Malinowski accomplishes all of this with a toss of nori komi furikake and katsuo fumi furikake — Japanese seasonings that pull vivid hues from meat and rice on the one hand while tugging them back to the brackish sea on the other. She then brings the whole into a swirling, unusual balance with a few dashes of tamari, a tamed soy sauce.
“The we got weird and added a little Tajin,” she pointed out.
Ah, yes — the combination of ruddy toasted chile and parched lime that is a favored Mexican condiment. The clever dose adds a brisk edge to the dish while at the same time lending an earthy rake.
Despite the turmoil as these diverse elements tumble over your palate, the flavors are not overpowering. Each ingredient adds or complements or reins in another. The spiked chicken bowl is both calm and storm at the same time.
Of course, on another day, Allen-Malinowski might take a different approach if you stray from the menu.
“The more you play, that’s when new ideas pop up,” she explained. “It’s nice to be different — in a good way.”
The little place tucked into a walkway near Lakeport’s Grocery Outlet has gained a following over the past two years, which the chef attributes to her staff. And she will likely add to her small set menu after spending the past few weeks exploring Korean dishes.
And that’s just fine. But at Wholly Bowl there is equal reward when you allow Allen-Malinowski to free herself from the bounds of an already eclectic menu.
Dave Faries can be reached at 900-2016
