Welcome to "You Like This," in which we ask chefs two questions: 1) What's the best-selling dish at your restaurant? and 2) What's your favorite dish at your restaurant? We hope the answer to the first question will open your eyes to the fan favorites and the Dallas palate, and that the answer to that second question will inspire you to go out on a kick-ass food limb once in a while. This week, we're talking with Gemma's chef and owner, Stephen Rogers.
Hey, chef! What's the best-selling dish at Gemma right now?
The rabbit pappardelle (pappardelle, braised rabbit, pancetta, Swiss chard, thyme) is one of the most popular dishes and has been ever since we first added it to our menu awhile back. We featured it as a special one night and had many requests to add it to the menu; now, we can't take it off.
What's your favorite dish at Gemma right now?
I'm really liking the calamari dish lately ... The lamb merguez, olives and crushed Marcona almonds add a lot of flavor without making the dish heavy. I love using teff, a tiny, gluten-free grain popular in Ethiopia, now grown in Idaho.
I think Dallas has grown up a lot in the past several years. It's certainly a very different city than even three to five years ago. We have some fantastic variety and are blessed to have a culture of chefs and restaurateurs here who take passion and pride in making our city and dining scene better every day.
The face you make when you eat the rabbit pappardelle at Gemma is the same face 6-year-olds make when they open the one present they were truly hoping for on Christmas morning. It's an "Oh, shitchyeah, Santa!" moment in your mouth. Go to Gemma and watch all your mouth dreams come true. I promise: You like this.