On Fridays, we feature five food finds selected by local chefs and personalities. Today’s picks come from Todd Grieger, Executive Chef of Red Pump · A Tuscan Kitchen, the new project from the team behind Pippin Hill set to open next month on the downtown mall. Grieger is also a veteran of top area kitchens like Palladio Restaurant, Mas, C&O, and Maya. Grieger’s picks:
1) Pork Belly at BBQ Exchange. “Smoked pork belly?! What else is there to say? It’s just delicious. Covered in Colonel Bacon sauce and Hog Fire sauce . . . that’s legit.”
2) Prix Fixe Menu at The Shack. “Ian is super talented and the food is awesome. It’s the best deal to eat the food of one of the best chefs in the area.”
3) Spencer Crawford’s Salumi at Palladio. “I’ve eaten salumi all over, and his is just fantastic—best I’ve had.”
4) Bocadillo at MAS. “I don’t get in there as much as I like but the chefs there (Ketola and Mick) are my peeps. When I worked there I would eat one every day with smoked tomato aioli. It’s tasty.”
5) Biscuits at Maya. “If you want fluffy and delicious biscuits that are the real deal then you have to get the biscuits at Maya. They are a rite of passage, working the veg station there, and Christian’s biscuits are the benchmark I try to achieve when I make them. My favorite snack when I worked there was two biscuits and ham gravy with Tabasco sauce.”
