by Steven Doyle
We often reel about the charcuterie program at The Grape and for good reason. Brian Luscher is a mad man and has an insane meat program going on at his Greenville Avenue restaurant. Today we heard about a new program at Scardello and it smacks of Luscher’s DNA. We just got off the phone with one of Scardello’s cheesemongers, Ali Morgan, and she gave us the skinny on the new charcuterie being offered at the cheese shop on Oak Lawn.
“We have been wanting to offer charcuterie for some time. We have a few nice things currently like a Prosciutto di Parma, but we wanted much more. I spoke with Brian and he had me stop in for this whole charcuterie lesson,” said Morgan.
From there Luscher created a few products for Scardello so they can offer a few locally sourced selections for their new charcuterie board. For $15.95 you get a choice of three including Luscher’s Country-Style Ham & Pork Terrine and Chicken Liver Mousse with Cognac Soaked Currants. You also get a stash of fresh sliced baguettes and pickles on the plate.
We asked Luscher what he had planned for Scardello and he said, “Baby steps, Dr. Marvin… baby steps. We decided to start small with a couple of offerings and see how the honeymoon goes. I couldn’t be more excited to be a very, very small part of such the “into-it” food culture at Scardello’s.”
The chef speaks wise, Scardello has quietly been entertaining high-end food types with classes, dinners and other fun events since Rich Rogers opened the store a few short years ago.
Morgan said she is excited to work with the Luschers and reminded us that she did a wine cheese pairing last fall. She said that she and somm-owner Courtney Luscher plan to do so much more in 2012. Look for wine and cheese talks from the pair very soon. If you own a restaurant and need a lift in your cheese program, call Morgan. She makes housecalls.
Thanks for the tip. I can’t wait to try them.