OLIVIER CRIADO AND Alexandre de Jesus worked together at San Anselmo’s L’Appart Resto for more than three years before purchasing it in January 2015, but their journey to wnership was many years in the making. De Jesus was raised by Portuguese parents in Paris, where he was exposed to cooking that fused both cultures. After stints in kitchens both in Paris and on Reunion Island, he made his way to Portugal and became chef at the
world-class resort Villa Vita Parc in Armação de Pêra. He came to the Bay Area in 2005, eventually finding his way to L’Appart. Co-owner and general manager Olivier Criado also has French roots: he grew
up in La Celle Saint-Cloud, a town of 22,000 residents located bet ween Paris and Versailles. His love of
cooking led him to culinary school at l’Ecole Hôtelière de Paris CFA Médéric and later to a number of
restaurants in Paris, including L’Auberge Dab. La Maison d’Aurore in Gargenville was the first restaurant Criado owned and managed, and like L’Appart, it featured fresh, house-made fare and a refined
wine list. In 2010 Criado came to the U. S. to open L’Appart Resto, which became famous for a salad
whose recipe the owners share here. The dish has (almost) always been on the menu, Criado says: “It is
a really flavorful salad, perfect for a warm day on the patio with a glass of rosé or Sancerre. We took it off
the menu once and people were mad. They asked us to bring it back, so we did.” Fresh lobster tail from
Maine is used, since its quality and taste do not vary much throughout the year. The tarragon dressing
adds freshness, and fruits (yellow peaches in midsummer, Granny Smith apples the rest of the year )
bring crispness and sweetness to the fan-favorite dish. lappartresto.com KASIA PAWLOWSKA
Out & About / FLAVOR
Lobster Salad with
Tarragon Dressing
SERVES 2
Ingredients
1 yellow onion, sliced
1 bay leaf
2 raw whole lobster tails still in the shell
2 heads butter lettuce
2 Granny Smith apples
½ cup whole-kernel corn
½ cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1 teaspoon honey
½ teaspoon lemon juice
½ cup olive oil
1 teaspoon champagne vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh tarragon, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
To Prepare
For lobster 1 To a large pot add 6 cups
water, raw onions, bay leaf and a pinch of salt.
2 Bring to a boil. 3 Place the lobster tails
inside the pot, cover and steam in the shells
for 8 minutes. 4 Transfer with tongs to bowl
to cool. 5 When tails are cool, remove the
meat from the tails and slice into bite-size
pieces. For salad 1 Separate the lettuce
leaves, wash, rinse and dry. 2 Cut the apple
in half and chop into ¼-inch-thick slices.
3 In a large bowl, mix the butter lettuce
and apples with corn and cherry tomatoes.
For dressing 1 In a medium bowl, whisk
together the honey, lemon juice, olive oil,
champagne vinegar and tarragon. 2 Add salt
and pepper to taste. To serve 1 Lay the slices
of lobster tail on top of the plated salad. 2
Add the tarragon dressing just before serving.
RECIPE
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French Fare Sans Stuffiness
An elegant salad ideal for almost any gathering.
