At The Desk
By: Zachary Blumberg
Take a scenic journey to Wayne, PA, and you might very properly end up “At The Desk”. This distinct restaurant with an equally distinct title is the work of chef couple Alex Hardy and Tara Buzan-Hardy. The couple’s collective culinary data is superbly showcased at this contemporary restaurant with a newly acquired liquor license that gives each a 6-course tasting menu and à la carte choices.
A recurring theme of each menus is seafood, making At The Desk a seafood-lover’s dream. À la carte appetizers embody grilled Spanish octopus, full with chorizo, confit potato “cash”, hummus, roasted crimson pepper aioli, and pimentón (AKA smoked paprika). After which there’s the restaurant’s uncooked bar, that includes “colossal” shrimp cocktail and a wide array of east and west coast oysters. These oysters embody (however aren’t restricted to), Pink Moons, Kuushi, and Kumamoto, amongst others. The spotlight of the uncooked bar is arguably the elegant seafood tower that mixes U10 cocktail shrimp, crab Louis, a dozen assorted oysters, Hokkaido scallop crudo, pastrami-spiced ahi tuna, and numerous sauce accoutrements. (“U10” refers back to the measurement/weight, and on this case, lower than 10 shrimp per pound). If pastrami-spiced tuna enhanced with candy mango and an Aji Amarillo aioli doesn’t whet your urge for food, friends at At The Desk can add a “bump” (or small spoonful) of caviar to any uncooked bar choice for an extra, small price.
Listed as an entrée on the à la carte facet of the menu is Large Glory Bay salmon with potato fondant, American lobster, maitake mushrooms, grilled lemon, and fried Swiss chard. For pasta followers, there’s a squid ink bucatini with crab lump, chili butter, native mushrooms, and parmesan in a lemon alfredo cream sauce. One other spotlight of the à la carte menu are U10 Hokkaido scallops with leek crema, Romanesco, crispy guanciale, and fried tarragon.
At The Desk’s 6-course tasting menu is on the market for events of six or extra and reservations are strongly inspired. For a primary course, Hokkaido scallop crudo is plated with pickled radish, yuzu ginger, crisp nori, peach purée, and leche de tigre (a citrus marinade originating in Peru used to remedy seafood). The second course options langoustine with east coast uni, egg yolk confit, caviar, and chives atop a raft of pullman bread toast. The tasting menu additionally contains tilefish with parsnip noodles, horseradish, and crème fraiche gel, cooked in smoked butter and garnished with pickled poppy seeds. Course 4 is an Applewood-smoked brook trout with apple cider nage, apple cider purée, roasted celery root, celery root punch, and celery root chips. The menu is capped off with duck breast and, final however not least, chocolate espresso pot de crème.
At The Desk is a particular place crammed with artistic dishes and an ambiance “evoking oceanic vibes”. Pull up a seat “At The Desk”, and see for your self.
