How Diverse Influences Shape a Midwestern Tasting Menu

Chaat is a common welcome snack in South Asian homes, and for Barua it’s the ideal starter course. The dish relies on varied textures: a starchy base, crispy toppings, and tangy sauces or chutneys. This twist on French onion soup leans into maximalism with caramelized onion and potato purée, fried spinach and arugula tendrils, crunchy jhalmuri (a Bengali puffed rice mix), and nigella seeds. “The more you add to it, the more cool it becomes,” he says. In that spirit, Barua completes the melange with a trio of drizzles: apple chutney, creamy salsa, and “Heckuvagood” sauce—a homemade riff on the onion dip from Heluva Good, a beloved store-bought, Midwestern brand.

Moqueca de Camarão

Garlock conceived this course around the holidays with shrimp cocktail in mind. He also drew inspiration from moqueca de camarão, a Brazilian stew, creating an aromatic sauce that combines zingy horseradish with tomatoes, garlic, sherry vinegar, coconut milk, and makrut lime leaf. The prawns pay homage to an unlikely patron saint: the fried shrimp at Red Lobster. They’re coated with crunchy buckwheat and toasted coconut, then plated with melted leeks, shrimp chips, and dots of charred allium oil.

红油餃子 (Red oil dumplings)

Chaat is a common welcome snack in South Asian homes, and for Barua it’s the ideal starter course. The dish relies on varied textures: a starchy base, crispy toppings, and tangy sauces or chutneys. This twist on French onion soup leans into maximalism with caramelized onion and potato purée, fried spinach and arugula tendrils, crunchy jhalmuri (a Bengali puffed rice mix), and nigella seeds. “The more you add to it, the more cool it becomes,” he says. In that spirit, Barua completes the melange with a trio of drizzles: apple chutney, creamy salsa, and “Heckuvagood” sauce—a homemade riff on the onion dip from Heluva Good, a beloved store-bought, Midwestern brand.

Moqueca de Camarão

Garlock conceived this course around the holidays with shrimp cocktail in mind. He also drew inspiration from moqueca de camarão, a Brazilian stew, creating an aromatic sauce that combines zingy horseradish with tomatoes, garlic, sherry vinegar, coconut milk, and makrut lime leaf. The prawns pay homage to an unlikely patron saint: the fried shrimp at Red Lobster. They’re coated with crunchy buckwheat and toasted coconut, then plated with melted leeks, shrimp chips, and dots of charred allium oil.

红油餃子 (Red oil dumplings)