A plate with crudo
The most surprising trend during the past year has to be the arrival of crudo. Suddenly, you can’t trip over a restaurant opening without landing on their crudo manifesto. Crudo, the Italian word for raw, refers to the preparation of raw seafood. If sashimi is the expression of freshly sliced raw fish with soy and wasabi, crudo is that expression with olive oil, citrus, and salt. More than oysters with a squeeze of lemon or tuna tartare, the current crudo plates are landscaped with luscious hunks of sliced Hamachi with a drizzle of lemon oil and crispy garlic, or scallops touched with basil oil and herbs, then hit with crunchy black sea salt. For the most part, these are delicate but toothsome dishes with lots of pure and clean flavors. Truth be told, the folks at Sea Change and Burch Steak were playing around with such things before the fancy terminology came about, but now that we know what to call it, crudo could be here to stay.
Lela's crudo
Among the crudo options at Lela, you will find the beauty. Thick slices of ahi tuna are lightly decked with radishes, avocado puree, miso aioli, unagi sauce, Maldon salt, and crunchy chips.
Monello
Here, there’s a robust list of crudo, but the single prawn with charmoula and ramps was a summer standout.
Il Foro
Il Foro’s focused three offerings of crudo include the brilliantly vibrant yellow tail dish with fruity olive oil, passion fruit, and notes of curry.
Parella
The crudo dishes here play with simplicity, freshness, and texture as seen with gentle slices of fluke touched with citrus, basil, and crispy corn.
