ThirstyBear Spanish Seared Ahi

By Mary Swift-Swan

Welcome back Chef Trish! After a Herculean and absorbing effort opening a restaurant in Cupertino, Chef Trish Traceyhas returned to San Francisco. Chef Trish was lured back to the City to join the trendy and fun ThirstyBear Brewery and Restaurant, where she has created a new version of her Seared Ahi dish characterized by its robust Spanish flavors. Seared Ahi may be a quick and simple dish to create, but the way Chef Trish makes it has made it her signature dish and a special favorite of this Bay Crossings editor. We extend a special thanks to Chef Trish and the supportive management of ThirstyBear Brewery and Restaurant for sharing the recipe with our home cooks and interested readers.

ThirstyBear Brewery and Restaurant is housed in a beautifully decorated large, two-story brick warehouse just around the corner from the Moscone Center, near the Yerba Buena Center for the Performing Arts. The basement holds the operation end of the brewing equipment, the main level is the restaurant and bar, and the upstairs has three areas for banquet and private functions that collectively hold up to 300 guests.

The idea of brewing fresh, hand-crafted beers to be paired with authentic Spanish cuisine was the brainchild of Ron Silberstein, an attorney turned brewmaster, and restaurant partner Ragnhild, a.k.a. Raggi, Lorentzen, a Norwegian-Brazilian whose specialty is marketing. Each aspired to open a restaurant one day. In December 1994, they combined forces to create this very special restaurant and microbrewery. Ron and Raggi’s efforts came to fruition with their first foamy and smooth pint of beer, poured in September 1996. Now, ThirstyBear Brewing Company brews nine distinctive hand-crafted beers that are rich and refreshing on a summer’s day or evening. ThirstyBear’s full bar also offers an extensive selection of single-malt scotches, a variety of exceptional Spanish brandies, and other fine liquors. On Sundays, ThirstyBear features “The Flamenco Room.” Two beautiful and spirited Flamenco shows, at 7:15pm and 8:30pm, captivate the audience while they enjoy Spanish tapas (small plates), dinner, and tasty refreshments. ThirstyBear Brewery and Restaurant is located at 661 Howard Street (415) 974-0905.

ThirstyBear Spanish Seared Ahi (Serves 4)
Cook 1 minute per serving, rest all four pieces of Ahi for 5 minutes.
Total preparation time is one-half hour if sauces are prepared ahead.
 

Cut Ahi into individual serving pieces. Sprinkle the portioned Ahi with salt, then fresh cracked pepper. Mix the Paprika with the sesame seeds. Pour the mixture onto a flat dish. Crust the Ahi in the paprika and sesame seed mixture. Press to ensure good coverage all the way around, plus on top and bottom.

In a frying pan, heat a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. In a very hot pan, sear the crusted Ahi for 10-12 seconds on each edge until all edges, sides, top, and bottom are seared. Place on a plate to rest while preparing the balance of the meal.

Chef Trish uses a slaw that originated at Pat Benson’s backyard BBQ to complement the Seared Ahi. She uses toasted cumin and lime juice to the dressing to give the slaw a bright and slightly tart flavor.

To prepare the slaw, mix the two colors of fresh raw cabbage. Next add the minced cilantro, lime juice, and oil; sprinkle in the seeds last. Season with salt and pepper. Top the salad with the fried tortilla shreds.

Use your imagination when placing the Seared Ahi, making a lacework of the two sauces. The Cilantro Crema and Pequillo Coulis combine for striking color contrasts, offering wonderfully different yet complementary flavors for the Seared Ahi. The Cilantro Crema is smooth and rich to the palate, while the Pequillo Coulis leaves a slight after-burn from the mildly spicy peppers. Pequillo are different from peppers from Latin America. There is far less heat yet a great deal of flavor.

When everything is ready, slice the individual pieces of rested Ahi approximately ¼ inch thick. Turn the top crusted piece around so it shows the beautiful rare Ahi. With the flat side of a wide knife or a spatula, lift all the pieces at the same time to set partly against the Spanish flavored slaw and partly on the sauces.

Chef Trish Tracey began cooking at home in New Jersey when in intermediate school because she has always liked to eat. “After school, I would make spaghetti or bring out a cookbook to make something, unlike my brother’s penchant to wolf down snack cakes like Twinkies. I used to think my mother was a good cook. She is now, but then she concentrated on putting balanced meals on the table for six kids instead of culinary art. Later, I realized it was a lot of Shake’n’Bake and recipes off of soup cans and frozen vegetables but it tasted good and she hit all the food groups. It was the ’80s.”

At the start of her junior year of high school, a friend who had already made her decision, suggested culinary school. Chef Trish decided that if she was going to go to school for a specific career, she should try it first. At 17, she got a job as a cook in a restaurant where one of her brothers worked. One of her treasured pictures is in that kitchen with her brother’s arm around her and her left hand on his shoulder showing band-aids on all four knuckles. She had to learn to use a knife and peeler quickly. She liked it and chose to go to culinary school. It was a thrill for her mom because Trish was the first of the six kids to head to college with the intention of finishing. “In college, I was like a kid in a candy shop. I’d hated high school because it was frustrating and boring. In college, the classes were only 6-12 days long. You learned a lot in each one. From intermediate school on I had steadily gone down from being an A student, slipping more each year, all through high school. In college, I was an A student because I loved it.” Trish graduated from Johnson Whales University in Providence, Rhode Island, with a Bachelors in Restaurant Service Management, still hoping to own her own restaurant one day.

After college, she cooked in fine restaurants near her home for three years before coming to the West Coast. San Francisco, unlike New York, was a city she felt she could live in, with no commuting. Executive chefs often work long, hard days. Adding a commute makes the work exhausting. “I had ‘itchy feet.’ I told my Mom to expect me back in a couple of years. That was 12 years ago. I just love it here. San Francisco is one of the great cities in the U.S. for chefs. There are awesome opportunities. I fell in with a great company when I first moved out here. I learned a ton from them, the Real Restaurant Group. I worked with them for five years. The first restaurant was Roti. It was then located adjacent to the Griffon Hotel on the Embarcadero near the Ferry Building. It has since changed to a new style and name.”

“I defined my style as a chef while working there. As every good chef will tell you, use only the freshest ingredients, and stay with local seasonal items if possible. I lean toward simple ingredients. The salad with the Ahi dish has three key ingredients. Without manipulating things too much, I like big bold flavors with good contrast in color, texture, and taste.” While at Roti, she invented a recipe for sesame-crusted Seared Ahi. She had to pass the dish by ten reviewers who were dubious about it but she believed in it so strongly that they let her offer it to the customers. It was a hit that has followed her like a hit song follows a singer. Later she opened MoMo’s, across from SBC Park. At the request of her followers, Chef Trish again served Seared Ahi with MoMo’s variations.

“After accepting this position, but before I’d actually started, the manager called me. ‘Trish, I need an Ahi dish right away.’ I thought it through, wanting to create one that would feature bold Spanish flavors. I made it up on the spot. After I got here, I turned it into what it is now. Big flavors is what typifies my style. This has it.” The hits keep rolling as Chef Trish continues to create new dishes for ThirstyBear.