Fine Southern At Marigold Kitchen

Even Trey Popp’s complaints are complimentary in his take on Marigold Kitchen and its new chef, Erin O’Shea.

Sweetbread nuggets won converts who usually steer clear of pancreas. Their toothsome breading countered the often slippery texture of the glands, whose richness was expertly cut by a bed of French lentils that rang with a pleasantly acidic tanginess. The subtly hammy flavor of O’Shea’s milk-white turnip soup married well with a little biscuit frosted with apple purée in the middle of the bowl.

O’Shea extends her palette further in the entrée course. Two dishes were particularly good. The first was a chicken breast — an item that big agribusiness has sucked virtually all the flavor from. This one came stuffed with pears and corn bread, whose flavors penetrated the succulent meat, while a side of braised cippolini onions added an earthier sort of sweetness to round it out. Even better was a perfectly pink cured pork tenderloin topped with pickled peaches — an almost forgotten gem of the Southern pantry that brought a dazzling ray of summer into the heart of this winter meal.

Margin of Erin [City Paper]
Marigold Kitchen [Official Site]