Three: The Fervor of Flavor
At Norman Van Aken’s new Three at Wynwood Arcade, a contemporary, polished space in the midst of this frenetic artsy district, his New World cuisine embraces Florida’s cultural diversity, foods and food history, quite literally. After all, Van Aken points out, spices were driving global exploration.
“The reason the New World was ‘discovered’ by Europeans, (the native Indians ‘discovered’ it since they first inhabited it many centuries before whomever is hailed as the first European) was the search for a shorter, more cost-effective and a safer route to the spices of Asia,” he says. “Tantalized by the spices Marco Polo, his father and uncle brought back to Italy, the genie came out of the bottle and the lust for spice, botanicals and flavor turned into a fervor.”
Van Aken, who has bought from artisanal spice houses since he was a young chef in the 1980s, loves them all – from fresh and dried chilies, and aromatics such as cumin, allspice berries, star anise, long pepper, citrus peels, curry leaves, fennel seed, galangal, ginger and saffron. For diners, spice turns up immediately in the seasoned butter served with the warm, slightly sweet wheat rolls (left). Fennel, cumin, espelette and sea salt, plus a gentle drizzle of maple syrup, turn the rolls into spicy, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth morsels from pastry chef Mame Sow. The peanut opera cake (right), a compact layered square of chocolate with milk chocolate chantilly and candied peanuts, gets an exotic boost from a masala cream made with green cardamom, clove, vanilla beans, black pepper and cinnamon.
Cracked conch chowder, flavored with saffron and star anise, is a soup Van Aken has been making for 25 years. “It evolved from a recipe I learned from James Beard’s work,” he says. “One of the keys in his recipe was orange juice that was reduced. I loved the exotic citrus-meets-licorice notes that resonate with that citrus as well, as the liquor obtained from steaming clams and mussels that provide the stock for this soup.”
Van Aken laments the thoughtless use of herbs and spices by some chefs. “The biggest mistake I see is chefs using herbs and/or spices irrespective of their flavors!” he says. “They pin them on a dish for looks. I learned to hate that when I was told to shower on poor-quality paprika on otherwise excellent fish back in the days before I got to determine menus and dishes.”
Three at Wynwood Arcade
Lunch: Thur.-Sat., Sunday brunch
Dinner: Tues.-Sat.
