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26 | December 8, 2016 | The New Lenox Patriot life & arts newlenoxpatriot.com The Dish Adventure inspires Dancing Marlin’s menu Owner, chefs draw from experiences, creativity to craft changing cuisine Kirsten Onsgard Contributing Editor From Hawaiian shrimp trucks to Japanese street food, Dancing Marlin’s menu is a curated conglomeration of owner Ed Nemec’s culinary experiences. It is enough to warrant a running list of his ideas, culled from memorable meals and food trends. “I love bringing those flavors and those experiences from all over the country — or the world — to the Dancing Marlin,” If I have something amazing in Japan on the street, and I come back, I’m like, ‘All right, you guys, this is what I had. I don’t know how we’re going to do this.’” Thanks to Dancing Marlin’s seasonal evolutions and the occasional entrée tweak, Nemec incorporates these The New Lenox Patriot ® Contact Lora Healy culture-fusing flavors into his American small plates restaurant beyond its namesake fish dishes. Dancing Marlin made its latest menu switch just this past Friday. Dancing Marlin has a few mainstay, “home run” dishes Nemec will not shelve, such as The Fig & The Pig ($11) — bacon stuffed with sausage, fig and goat cheese — and crab-stuffed peppers ($15). But even with these menu changes and no definitive style on which to fall back, Nemec said there are Attention Builders: Advertise with 22nd Century Media Reach 92,000+ Southwest Suburban homes. ® Contact Lora Healy 708.326.9170 ext. 31 l.healy@22ndcenturymedia.com 708.326.9170 ext. 31 l.healy@22ndcenturymedia.com two things at the 3-year-old restaurant’s core: shareable dishes and unique takes on trendy global cuisine. “What can we bring to our guests that they just can’t find anywhere else,” he asked. “And then make it shareable at the table, so that whatever comes out, it’s, ‘Hey, give me one of those,’ and, ‘Give me one of those.’” Seafood might be Dancing Marlin’s bread and butter, but this season includes heartier meat dishes, too — a counterbalance to the lighter summer fare. That means bratwurst and kielbasa seasoned, ground and cased in house by head chef. It’s a marriage of skill and flavor — “Jon loves to make sausage, and I love to eat it,” Nemec said — and, served sliced, is inherently shareable. The restaurant plans to eventually expand to apple and boar sausages. “We’re inspired by what our butchers say, ‘Hey, I’ve got this cut of meat that would be great in a sausage,’” Nemec said. Local restaurants and customers serve as inspiration for dishes, such as a roasted chicken, which is cooked sous vide and topped with a demi-glace and wild mushrooms. Nemec was wowed by a whole chicken at a Michelin-Starred restaurant, which in part kick-started his drive to satisfy guests’ desire for a chicken dish. The challenge, he said, is to do things people have not had a chance to try yet. “We don’t want to do something somebody’s already done, or is kind of passé,” Nemec said. Dancing Marlin’s new, shell-on garlic shrimp is one of those. An homage to Hawaiian food trucks, it is a food throwing back to The Dancing Marlin’s Chicken Dinner is brined, sousvide and pan-seared for a juicy center and crisp skin. It is topped with a Cabernet reduction and mushrooms. Kirsten Onsgard/22nd Century Media Nemec’s trips to Oahu, enjoying peel-and-eat shrimp on the beach. Dancing Marlin’s limited-time sea bass — as sweet and flaky as lobster, Nemec said — also is sourced from Hawaiian fisheries and shipped express to the restaurant. Other dishes making their debut include a New Havenstyle clam pizza, pear bruschetta and eight on-tap cocktails. Dancing Marlin also has 18 wines on tap, and is growing its budding Sunday brunch with breakfast standards, seafood and a bloody mary bar. But among these shifts is something even bigger: an expansion. Nemec said he is looking into opening a second restaurant in the suburbs — one that will be different while maintaining the ethos of Dancing Marlin. “For us to go to store No. 2, the key is, ‘Does all of this work? Does everybody get it?’” he said. “After three and a half years, we finally feel that we understand this.” For now, Nemec and his Dancing Marlin 20590 S. La Grange Road in Frankfort Hours • 4:30-10 p.m. Tuesday- Thursday • 4:30-11 p.m. Friday • 3-11 p.m. Saturday • 10 a.m.-2 p.m. (brunch), 3-8 p.m. (dinner) Sunday For more information ... Web: www.dancing marlinrestaurant.com Phone: (815) 464-6646 chefs are looking forward to the next challenges, such as fish sticks and tater tots — without the jarred tartar sauce and ketchup — for the Lenten season this spring. It does not always work right away, he said, but he and his staff will be constantly tasting and tweaking. “That’s the beauty of what we do here,” he said. “It just really challenges us. We love doing that, that’s all part of the inspiration and what we do here.
newlenoxpatriot.com new lenox the New Lenox Patriot | December 8, 2016 | 27 Mike McCatty and associates 708.945.2121 mccattyrealestate.com Year End Opportunities Investors • Buyers • Developers $3 to $30 Million Exclusive Buyer Representation Named as one of the top brokers in the country closing over a half billion in real estate sales since 1999. #1 Worldwide Winter Wonderland HOLIDAY MATINEE SATURDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2016, 3PM Lincoln-Way West Performing Arts Center 21701 Gougar Rd., New Lenox Featuring the music and narration from The Polar Express, plus selections from The Nutcracker Suite and other holiday classics. Special pre-concert activities in the lobby from 2:15-2:45PM. With special guests: Conductor Francesco Milioto, narrator Mark Meier, SYSO violinist Joshua Litao, Ballet 5:8, and the Grande Prairie Singers and Children’s Choir Family friendly! Student tickets just $5 with ID. Adult tickets from $25 in advance. IPOMUSIC.ORG 708.481.7774
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