The Whole World on Your Grill

Mexico | Greece | Japan | China | Thailand | Italy | India

Styling by William SmithPhoto: Mitchell Feinberg

We think of grilling as an all-American pursuit. It’s a perfectly charming thought, conjuring images of fat Weber grills spilling over with glistening porterhouses, barbecued chicken, and hot dogs. The thing is, man has been grilling since he discovered fire, and just about every culture since has seared one thing or another over an open flame. Nowhere will you find a more diverse collection of fire-cooked foods than in New York. To celebrate the city’s embarrassment of grilling riches, we asked seven of the most renowned ethnic chefs in town—Mercadito’s Patricio Sandoval (Mexican), Onera’s Michael Psilakis (Greek), Masa’s Masa Takayama (Japanese), Rickshaw Dumpling Bar’s Anita Lo (Chinese), Kittichai’s Ian Chalermkittichai (Thai), Una Pizza Napoletana’s Anthony Mangieri (Italian), and Devi’s Suvir Saran (Indian)—to design a complete summer menu, starring a main course cooked on the grill, plus a perfectly matched side, dessert, and drink. We sifted through the latest grilling gear with extreme prejudice to offer a selection of only the best gadgets. And so that you might sharpen your own barbecuing skills, we asked an avid West Village griller to allow Food Network star and grill master Bobby Flay to observe—and critique—his grilling technique. How did our test subject do? As you’ll see, we’ve come a long way since man discovered fire.

Greece | Japan | China | Thailand | Italy | India

Styling by William SmithPhoto: Mitchell Feinberg

Mexico: Patricio Sandoval, Mercadito
MENU: Grilled red snapper in adobo, napa- and red-cabbage salad, Grandma Sandoval’s flan

Patricio Sandoval practically grew up in his father’s Acapulco restaurant and worked for a while at his brother Richard’s, Maya, so it only makes sense that he’d open his own restaurant one day. At Mercadito in the East Village (with a second branch debuting soon on Seventh Avenue South), Sandoval cooks the market foods he loved as a child. He still grills fish the way he ate it on the beach every Sunday—marinated in a smoky guajillo-chile-fired adobo, with a crunchy cabbage salad on the side for a bit of textural contrast. The light, fluffy flan recipe comes from another great cook in the family: Grandma.

The Menu
On the Grill
Grilled Red Snapper Marinated in Adobo

On the Side
Napa- and Red-Cabbage Salad

For Dessert
Grandma Sandoval’s Flan

To Drink
To match the kick of his food, Sandoval likes a cool but spicy chelada: Salt the rim of a highball glass, fill it with ice and Modelo Especial beer, and finish with an ounce of lime juice, two drops of Tabasco, and two drops of Worcestershire sauce.

Where to Shop
Kitchen Market
(218 Eighth Ave., nr. 21st St.; 212-243-4433). All things Mexican, including the largest selection of chile products on the East Coast.

Mexico | Japan | China | Thailand | Italy | India

Styling by William SmithPhoto: Mitchell Feinberg

Greece: Michael Psilakis, Onera
MENU: Salad of warm grilled octopus, tomato, sweet onion, and feta cheese; fava purée with grilled baguette; creamed yogurt with grilled summer fruit

Michael Psilakis came late to cooking, and even later to Greek cooking. But since he opened Onera on the Upper West Side, he’s been busy rewriting ancient Greek-food history, recalibrating flavors and refining presentation for today’s palate. He loves to combine classic tastes in unexpected ways, like the smoky char of succulent grilled octopus intensified by a pungent anchovy-laced vinaigrette, and melded with the classic sweet-salty counterpoint of tomato and feta. Herb-flecked fava, or puréed chickpeas, gets its trademark Mediterranean tang from sun-dried tomatoes. And the ultrathick, intensely creamy yogurt that Greeks traditionally adorn with walnuts and honey offsets the smoky edge of grilled summer fruit.

The Menu
On the Grill
Salad of Warm Grilled Octopus, Tomato, Sweet Onion,and Feta Cheese

On the Side
Fava Purée with Grilled Baguette

For Dessert
Creamed Yogurt with Grilled Summer Fruit

To Drink
Psilakis likes a wine that intensifies his bold Mediterranean flavors. The Boutari Moschofilero Mantinia A.O.C. 2003 is made from a pink-skinned grape, producing a clean, crisp white with a big, floral nose.

Where to Shop
Titan Foods
(25-56 31st St., nr. Astoria Blvd., Astoria; 718-626-7771). Phyllo dough, grape leaves, fifteen varieties of feta, a sea of olives, and baklava made on the premises.

Mexico | Greece | China | Thailand | Italy | India

Styled by William SmithPhoto: Mitchell Feinberg

Japan: Masa Takayama, Masa
MENU: Japanese sea bass with shiso-leaf dipping sauce, cucumber-and-wakame sunomono, grapefruit granité

You may think of Masa Takayama as Mr. Raw Fish—as in the $350 symphonies of sushi he conducts at his Time Warner Center aerie. It turns out he’s just as masterful behind a grill. His bamboo-wrapped sea bass with shiso-leaf dipping sauce sounds exotic, but the technique is common in some parts of Japan. So are the ingredients: “Shiso leaf grows a lot in the garden,” says Takayama. “We grab it and put it in a blender with vinegar and salt.” The sweet, mild, and flaky fish succumbs to the leaf’s subtle flavor, and comes alive with a dip in the bright, zingy sauce. Cucumbers and seaweed are just as ubiquitous, and ideal partners in a light, fresh salad. And grapefruit granité anointed with Grand Marnier and yuzu zest makes a terrifically tart palate-cleanser.

The Menu
On the Grill
Japanese Sea Bass (Suzuki) with Shiso-Leaf Dipping sauce

On the Side
Cucumber-and-Wakame Sunomono

For Dessert
Grapefruit Granité

To Drink
Masa recommends a high-end sake, such as a ginjo or daiginjo from Kakunko. The delicate sweetness balances the smokiness of the fish and the acidity of the shiso dipping sauce.

Where to Shop
Sunrise Mart
(4 Stuyvesant St., nr. Third Ave., second fl.; 212-598-3040).Japanese delicacies from sashimi-grade fish tomiso pastes and sauces, and Japanese sweets.

Mexico | Greece | Japan | Thailand | Italy | India

Styling by William SmithPhoto: Mitchell Duffy

China: Anita Lo, Annisa and Rickshaw Dumpling Bar
MENU: Tea-smoked duck, chilled sesame noodles with julienned vegetables, almond float with fruit salad

Chinese-American chef Anita Lo has cooked Pan-Asian at Mirezi, modern American at her critically acclaimed Annisa, and Chinese street food at the recently opened Rickshaw Dumpling Bar. Chalk up her versatility to a food-obsessed family and a mother who adapted authentic recipes to her American kitchen. She’s the source of Lo’s tea-smoked duck, which is dunked in boiling water, lacquered, air-dried, and slowly smoked in a kettle grill to a delectable degree of confitlike crispness. Cold sesame noodles on the side are made with hoisin—that prototypical roast duck condiment—and offer a sweet, nutty contrast to the smoked meat. And Lo’s almond float is a riff on the cooling gelatin desserts that proliferate in China, served here over a summery fruit salad.

The Menu
On the Grill
Tea-Smoked Duck

On the Side
Chilled Sesame Noodles with Julienned Vegetables

For Dessert
Almond Float with Fruit Salad

To Drink
Light, fruity white wines pair well with rich Asian flavors. Lo likes the Albariño Pazo de Senorans 2003, Rias Baixas, from Spain, made by Mariol Bueno.

Where to Shop
Dynasty
(68 Elizabeth St., nr. Hester St.; 212-966-4943). Live fish, lobsters, and crabs, dried and fresh noodles, exotic vegetables, and hundreds of Chinese spices.

Mexico | Greece | Japan | China | Italy | India

Styling by William SmithPhoto: Mitchell Feinberg

Thailand: Ian Chalermkittichai, Kittichai
MENU: Spicy Thai beef salad with long beans, sticky rice, tapioca pearl

Ian Chalermkittichai’s food at his sizzling hot Soho restaurant, Kittichai, is a savvy modern take on authentic Thai, incorporating local and seasonal ingredients without stinting on the spice. For this summer menu, the chef tones down the flash to focus on traditional Thai classics, like this iconic grilled-beef salad—rare strips of grilled flank steak tossed with sweet-and-sour tamarind dressing and dusted with rice powder. Sticky rice is its natural companion. Everything achieves that elusive, cuisine-defining balance of sweet, salty, and sour—even dessert, a creamy tapioca pudding that soothes the salad’s delicious burn.

The Menu
On the Grill
Spicy Thai Beef Salad with Long Beans

On the Side
Sticky Rice

To Drink
A dry, floral white softens yet stands up to the spiciness of the Thai beef salad. Chalermkittichai likes an Alsatian Gewürztraminer, Pierre Frick, Grand Cru, Steinert 2001.

For Dessert
Tapioca Pearl

Where to Shop
Asia Market Corporation
(711⁄2 Mulberry St., nr. Canal St.; 212-962-2028). Thai specialties, including curry pastes and chili sauces, plus fresh herbs such as galangal, Thai basil, and cilantro root.

Mexico | Greece | Japan | China | Thailand | India

Styling by William SmithPhoto: Mitchell Feinberg

Italy: Anthony Mangieri, Una Pizza Napoletana
MENU: Grilled pizzas, cauliflower-and-spinach salad, lemon-lime gelato

Anthony Mangieri’s version of a pizza party is as irresistible as the spectacular brick-oven pies he crafts at his East Village parlor, Una Pizza Napoletana: Gather your best pals, whip up some dough (his normally takes days to rise; here, he uses fast-rising yeast to save time), stoke up the grill, and let everyone pile on the toppings of their choice (Mangieri’s personal favorite is the pecorino Romano with fresh herbs). Mangieri’s cauliflower-and-spinach salad is very Southern Italian—befitting his devotion to Neapolitan-style pizza—dressed for summer in lemon and olive oil. And what better finale than extra-zesty, refreshing, and creamy lemon-lime gelato, especially when it’s based on a recipe from Mangieri’s grandparents, who ran a Jersey gelateria in the twenties and thirties?

The Menu
On the Grill
Grilled Pizzas

On the Side
Cauliflower-and-Spinach Salad

For Dessert
Lemon-Lime Gelato

To Drink
Red and white wines both work with grilled pizzas, Mangieri says. He likes the earthy red Aglianico and the light, dry white Fiano di Avellino, both produced in his home region of Campania.

Where to Shop
D. Coluccio & Sons, Inc.
(1214 60th St., nr. Twelfth Ave., Borough Park, Brooklyn; 718-436-6700). Prosciutto di Parma, imported pastas, 30-plus cheeses, and dozens of gourmet Italian coffee blends.

Mexico | Greece | Japan | China | Thailand | Italy

Styling by William SmithPhoto: Mitchell Feinberg

India: Suvir Saran, Devi
MENU: Lamb shammi kebabs with green chutney, grilledvegetable-and-fruit salad, pavlova with fresh berries

While many a backyard barbecuer’s thoughts turn to hot dogs and hamburgers around this time of year, Devi’s Suvir Saran starts thinking kebabs. “Kebabs are excellent for summer,” he says. They’re fun and festive and, done Saran style, fairly bursting with fresh mint and cilantro, just like the ones sold on the streets of Northern India from the guys stoking the portable tandoor ovens. With his lamb kebabs, Saran aims to pique the taste buds, not overwhelm them. The key is to play it cool and keep it light (the spicing is subtle, to highlight the flavor of fresh summer herbs). That goes double for the accompanying yogurt-enhanced green chutney, not to mention the crunchy grilled-vegetable salad, which is given extra zing by the addition of sweet apples and pears. What’s typically Indian for dessert? For casual entertaining, nothing beats a good old English pudding, according to Saran, except for his Indian mother’s Australian pavlova.

The Menu
On the Grill
Lamb Shammi Kebabs with Green Chutney

On the Side
Grilled Vegetable-and-Fruit Salad

For Dessert
Pavlova with Fresh Berries

To Drink
To cool off from the spicy kebabs and salad, Saran suggests combining half a Krait Indian beer with half a good Jamaican ginger beer, suchas Reed’s, for a tangy postcolonial English ginger-beer shandy.

Where to Shop
Foods of India
(121 Lexington Ave., nr. 28th St.; 212-683-4419). A vast selection of spices, rice, beans, breads, and fresh vegetables.

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The Whole World on Your Grill