LOCAL Houston | The City Guide January 2017 | Page 19

FOOD | ARTS | COMMUNITY | STYLE + LEISURE
Cannoli
Focaccia
stand the product , who do small batch production . People who do it right . Who know how it is supposed to taste back home ,” says Wright .
He knows how it is supposed to taste in the old country . A kid from Kentucky , who , disgusted with the cafeteria food at his college , blew off his studies , packed his bags and headed to the Big Apple . Enrolled in The International Culinary Center , worked in NYC hot spots , hopped over to Italy and did stints around the country absorbing the dialects , the nuances of regional food and an appreciation for flavors and techniques . Headed back to NYC , plunging back into the restaurant scene but vowing that “ Everything I would do in the culinary world would first pass through an anthropological filter . I wanted to have a different cultural experience at each of my workplaces .” He worked at A Voce the year it earned a Michelin star and several years at the Japanese EN ( where he learned the flavor-enhancing peeling of the teeny tomatoes trick ), then the revered , two Michelin star Telepan and fell in love with pizza at a pal ’ s place in Brooklyn . A former anthropology student , Wright understands that cuisines evolve and grow depending on influences and motivations . That true Italian food when transported to this continent becomes by mere change of geography Italian-American . And that the passage of time and the commercialization and mass production of food can change flavors .
“ Traditional , old school ricotta has an acidity to it . But nowadays most commercial ricotta has had cream added to give it a richness but there is not that acid edge .” He has sought out a traditional ricotta for his cannoli . “ More acidic , more traditional , old school product .”
Wright takes a few well-thought-out liberties . The Cannoli is not too sweet , with a luxuriously smooth ricotta filling , a more graceful conical shape ( instead of the more customary tubal ), bright with house-candied orange peel garnish , a customary but usually omitted flavor .
Scarola Salad
Of the cannoli , Wright reflects : “ This is the most personal dish on the menu . To me , the cannoli is the essence of Sicily . It was the first recipe I perfected for Arthur Ave . The shells are made fresh every day and then we assemble the cannoli to order – that ’ s what keeps the shell nice and crisp .”

ARTHUR AVE

1111 B Studewood St . | Houston , TX 77008 | 832.582.7146 | www . arthuravehou . com Mon – Thu , 3 – 10pm ; Fri , 3 – 11pm ; Sat , 11am – 11pm ; Sun , 11am – 9pm january 17 | LOCAL 19