As Good as it Gets

John Besh knows that on every great menu, while many things do change and evolve, there are other items that are, simply put, ‘as good as it gets.’

At Restaurant August, that would be the pumpkin seeds. Since October 2001, when August opened its doors and upped the culinary ante in town, Besh’s signature salad has been his Organic greens with pumpkin seed brittle, Point Reyes blue cheese and pumpkin seed oil vinaigrette. No sense messing with these perfect complements of sweet and salty, smooth and crunchy, all dressing up a pure and simple bed of greens.

Likewise, his foie gras prepared three ways was on the original menu at August – and remains there by popular demand. Two of the three ways it is presented on the plate adapt to the season: these days, his foie gras ‘pastrami’ (cured, smoked, and rolled into a torchon) is served with a pickled local chanterelle salad; and the foie gras blackberry ‘crème caramel’ is dependent on the seasonal berries. But the foie gras in a baumkuchen crust, the delicate liver wrapped in layered sponge cake with aged balsamic and a Champagne gélée, is the constant, having achieved a timeless perfection unaffected by the vagaries of the growing seasons.

The hand-made potato gnocchi tossed with blue crab and Perigold truffle is also a popular favorite from day one, varying only when fresh truffles are not available, and we must resign ourselves (*sigh*) to their dried state. P&J Oysters have always graced the August menu, and as John Besh is a champion of local fishermen and seafood, now more than ever, they always will. He serves them up crispy fried with Louisiana caviar “ranch dressing,” pepper seared, with truffle spoon bread, horseradish crusted.

Some signatures just never go out of style!