Brian C. Luscher Brian C. Luscher, the 29 year old Executive Chef at Routh Street Brewery began learning about the food business at a very early age. "My grandfather and uncle owned a hamburger café in the Chicago area. Because I was so young, my uncle would hold me up and let me flip the burgers". When Brian's family moved to Wisconsin, he had a job, at age 12, washing dishes and cleaning equipment at a restaurant in Chequamegon National Forest in Pike Lake, Wisconsin. He joined the National Guard and for 11 years he lived in Illinois and Ohio. While in Ohio, Brian began working with Brewmaster Cameron Mitchell, the start of his interest in the compatibility of certain ales and beers to certain food flavors. After leaving the National Guard, Brian attended the prestigious Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in 1994 and in late 1996 he arrived in Dallas and joined Routh Street Brewery & Grill as Executive Chef. Brian describes The New Texas Cuisine he created for Routh Street Brewery & Grill as original recipes indigenous to the region prepared using classical methods yet maintaining the integrity of their origin. This includes seasonal cuisine in order to utilize the freshest Texas products available; preparing all foods in house from scratch; maximizing each foods' natural flavor and presenting with a modern upscale flair. WALLEYED PIKE Serves 4 6 ea. Walleyed pike fillets, pin bone removed, skin off A.N. flour, a.p. T.T. salt & fresh ground black pepper AN oil, corn 12 ea. carrots, baby, peeled, cut 12 ea. Squash, sunburst, cleaned and trimmed 24 ea. mushrooms, shitake, stem removed, sliced 1 oz. fresh herbs, chopped A.N. oil, olive 2 pt. Tomatoes, red and yellow pear tomatoes, washed 1/2 lb. Peas, English, hulled 2 ea. juice, lemon, fresh 2 T parsley, fresh, chopped and washed 6 oz. wine, white 1. Place two large sauté pans on stove at medium-high. 2. In a large bowl, toss vegetables, herbs, and salt and pepper and just enough olive oil to light coat vegetables evenly, reserve. 3. Place olive oil in one until the oil starts to "shimmer", and add vegetables , not stirring or tossing for at least two minutes, or until vegetables start to caramelize, toss and cook to desired doneness. 4. Season fish and lightly dredge with flour, in the other pan, and add oil until "shimmering", and place fish "meat" side down. Cook on top of range or in a 450 degree oven until lightly crisp and golden brown, turn over and return to vegetables. 5. Place hot, perfectly cooked, vegetables on plate to form a bed that is the same size as the bottom of the plate. 6. Remove fish to top of vegetables, discard excess oil, return to heat. 7. Add tomatoes and peas to the hot pan and cook until tomatoes receive color and becomes hot, while still retaining firmness, de-glaze with lemon juice and white wine, season, add parsley, and spoon over top of the hot fish. RSB Rueben Serves 1 6 oz. corned beef, sliced very thin 1/2 oz. (4 slices) big eye Swiss cheese 2 oz. Sauerkraut 1 oz. Thousand Island dressing 2 slices deli rye bread 2 oz. butter 1. In a hot pan or griddle, separate the sliced corn beef. 2. Spread butter evenly on both pieces of bread. 3. Move beef to side and place bread, buttered side down, into the hot pan. 4. Place sliced Swiss cheese on top of bread. 5. Place hot beef on top of the cheese on one of the slices of bread. 6. Put Sauerkraut where meat was, cook until hot and place on top of meat. 7. Remove from pan to a cutting board and spread Thousand Island dressing on top of cheese on the other piece of bread. 8. Assemble sandwich, cut in half and enjoy. Nominate your favorite chef for a profile "Chef Profiles" email: jwdineline@aol.com