#9 / 52 Food Adventures: Food from The Playground

This weeks food adventure was all about trying a new twist on things I've already had.

We went to dinner at The Playground for our friend Courtney's birthday.

It is a food lover's playground for sure.

I'll be doing a full post later at Eating the Orange but I couldn't help sharing some of the fun here.

First up we had crispy broccolini with a calabrian chili vinaigrette.  I've never heard of calabrian chili but now that I've seen the name I'm starting to notice it around.  The vinaigrette had the perfect balance of zing, smokiness, spice and salt.

We also had the honey roasted scarlet turnips.  I never knew that turnips could be gobbled up like candy.

I'll be keeping my eye out for more scarlet turnips as a fun way to mix things up a bit.

The best fried chicken I've ever had in my life.

Apparently the chef/owner (who is a mere 25 years old) had this amazing chicken in New Orleans and came back home to re-create it.

It starts with a soak in Thomas Keller's brine, then gets dredged in a mixture of 3 parts Wondra, 1 part black pepper with a dash of cayenne and cinnamon.  Then it's tossed in a mixture of honey, red wine vinegar and Louisiana hot sauce.

It's not like any fried chicken I've ever tried and it's absolutely incredible.

This last dish is so simple.

Sumo tangerines (or any kind of tangerine) with good quality olive oil and sprinkled with maldon sea salt.

I'd never thought to season tangerines or oranges with olive oil and salt.

I'm not sure why as I love salads with citrus on top.

I'll be doing this again.

I can't wait to go back to The Playground for some more food fun.