What To Expect From Thistle Hill Tavern Part Deux

Chef Dale Talde / Photo via My Kitchen Diary

Not long ago we got wind that the owners of Thistle Hill Tavern were opening a modern Asian-American restaurant, and that the head chef would be Top Chef's (and Top Chef Masters) Dale Talde. The restaurant, which is to be called Talde, will be that of the fusion kind; mixing Southeast Asian flavors with Japanese and Chinese influences. They also plan to incorporate a lot of Brooklyn into the menu (Prospect Park grass-infused Vodka, perhaps?).

Grub Street caught up with Talde and asked for a preview of the menu. Ready for some competish, Sidecar? 'Cause they're gonna' have fried chicken! 

That'll be done Korean-style, "in a rice flour batter, with a little fish sauce, definitely some Korean chiles. It’s spicy, it’s crunchy, and we’re serving it with peaches that have been dressed with lime and a little mint." Other planned dishes include perilla leaf salad with toasted shrimp, coconut, tamarind, and caramel; and crispy-oyster-bacon pad thai made with Benton’s Bacon, and Frank's Red Hot; also a wedge salad with Sriracha-based dressing and Chinese-style bacon. In honor of his girlfriend, a vegan, Talde plans to offer a "market ramen" based on what's available and fresh. When the restaurant opens hopefully in September that might mean a cold late-season tomato broth, and later on in the fall, roasted-mushroom and squash bases.

What I like more than the idea of Korean-style fried chicken is that Talde and co-owners John Bush and David Massoni of Thistle Hill Tavern will start by serving dinner, then decide whether to move on to brunch or lunch, depending on what the feedback of the neighborhood is.  "We want to be a neighborhood restaurant," Talde says. A business owner who gives a shit about what the customers want? That's what I'm talking about.

Talde is located at 369 7th avenue and will open its doors early fall.