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2 0 | t h e c l e v e r r o o t DECONSTRUCTING DISHES NOT SURPRISINGLY, MANY chefs cook dishes inspired by the culi- nary memories of their childhood. Do you remember how meatloaf was all the rage a couple decades ago? And how about the tater-tot madness bubbling at the surface more recently, with tots filled with artisanal bacon and served with decadent toppings like truffles and caviar? Both were ef- forts to recreate a motherly dish in a professional setting. In the case of Chris Phelps, Chef at Salt's Cure on the edge of Holly- wood, California, his defining dish comes in the form of the oatmeal griddle cakes he first made by his mom's side when he was just 14 months old. By age 4, he was mak- ing them by himself so they'd be ready for her when she woke up, and by 14 he was catering meals in Baltimore, the city where he grew up—and the reason crab cakes make an appearance on the menu at Salt's Cure. Of course, he doesn't serve oat- meal griddle cakes quite like his mother did. During brunch, they come with cinnamon-molasses butter he makes in house, and for dinner they're served with duck breast and blueberry jus. It's the food of his childhood born again for a trendy Los Angeles crowd, who seem happy to pull them- selves away from their paleo diets for some retro indulgence. Merrill Shindler: Your griddle cakes will probably not show up on the menu at IHOP anytime soon . . . Chris Phelps: They have a very nice texture to them—not unctu- ous like pancakes, but more flavorful. If anything, they're more savory. I grew up eating them with syrup, but here, there's no syrup—the blueberry is for the duck. I want people to actually taste the griddle cakes. Any idea where your mother got the recipe from? Was it passed down from generation to gen- eration? I was born in Pennsylvania. I think my mother got it from an old Amish cookbook, so it was passed down from generations, but not in my family. Coming from Baltimore, you know the dangers of trying to cook good crab cakes. People there are obsessed with them, whether they're from Faidley's, Pierpoint, Costas, or so many other iconic joints. I worked in a major restaurant in Baltimore where they served super-expensive, jumbo-lump- meat crab cakes. I had that down, but I wanted to come up with my own take on it. I make it all from scratch—the mustard, the bread crumbs, the mayo—and mix it with egg and the crab meat. Essentially, it's a biscuit, so you use the same techniques—the in- gredients should be barely holding together and it should fall apart as you toss it. Have Marylanders tasted it? I made it at a wedding out here and a fellow from Baltimore tasted it. I could see he didn't want to admit it was good, but it was. Made right, it's a perfect, glowing thing with tartar sauce we also make ourselves using our own pickles. We even get raves for our grits, which we make from hominy in a coffee grinder. I just do it to do it. Otherwise, Anson Mills makes great grits—though, of course, everyone's mom makes the best. At Salt's Cure in Hollywood, CA, Chef Chris Phelps' griddle cakes come with cinnamon-molasses butter for breakfast and duck breast and blueberry jus for dinner. Caking It On CHEF CHRIS PHELPS SERVES UP GRIDDLE AND CRAB CAKES WITH A TOUCH OF NOSTALGIA AT SALT'S CURE IN HOLLYWOOD by Merrill Shindler ■cr

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