Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/760410
8 6 | t h e c l e v e r r o o t CHEF DAVID BARZELAY OF LAZY BEAR REDISCOVERS CONIFERS' DELICIOUSNESS by Meg Maker Ever eat a pine tr? Actually, many parts are edible. The Japanese have long cooked with the tree's slender needles, the Scandinavians with feathery fir and spruce. Evergreens can be dried for tea, infused into oils and spirits, and tossed onto the hearth to add campfire crackle to meats, fish and vegetables. Adventuresome American chefs are bringing evergreens indoors, too. Conifers are spiking everything from cocktails to desserts at restaurants like Prune, Daniel, Gramercy Tavern in New York and cult restaurant Noma in Copenhagen. At Lazy Bear, in San Francisco's Mission District, chef- owner David Barzelay can't get enough of the stuff. "It's rare we have a menu without some conifer on it, some- where," he says. "It's just an ingredient I love so much." Barzelay especially loves working with redwood greens, which he views as iconic of the Bay Area. He forages the frilly new growth that sprouts from the base of the trunk. "It'll be bright green—like lime green—and super tender," he says. "You can just shove it in your mouth and eat it. And it's delicious! Just this citrusy, piney kind of flavor." Lazy Bear's fifteen-course tasting menu, served communal- ly, highlights seasonal ingredients hauled in by the fishers, FLAVOR Evergrn Ingredients CRUSH There's a new way to eat your greens: Conifers add complex flavor, served with a side of nostalgia.