Recipes: Tea Smoked Tombo Tuna with Carmelized Shallot Marjoram Quinoa and Asian Delight

Tribeca Restaurant
"Fresh Food From Around The Globe"

Chef Treavor Hudgens Joins Tribeca Team

Tribeca Restaurant which opened in the Rockridge District in Oakland on December 1995, offers an extensive menu of healthy and varied multi-ethnic food cooked to order and served in a cheerful and modern dining room. Tribeca owner Ali Ghafouri is pleased to announce the arrival of Chef Treavor Hudgens (Now & Zen, SF; Porcini, Berkeley) who joined Tribeca in March and has fine-tuned the menu and is offering daily lunch specials served from 11:00 am-3:30 pm. Live jazz is performed Friday and Saturday starting at 8:30 pm.

At Tribeca, customers can choose a culinary style: Thai, Chinese, Caribbean, an Italian pasta or a Mexican burrito, three fresh seasonal vegetables with chicken, flank steak or tofu which are immediately cooked to order. All entrees are $5.95. Tribeca menu options also include a variety of salads and sandwiches as well as a children's menu. Lunch specials are $4.25 ($4.50 with soda) and feature dishes like Thai Chicken or Steak with Bean Sprouts and Mushrooms in Coconut Sauce with Basmati Rice or Thai Tofu with Snow Peas and Broccoli with Red Curry Sauce with Basmati Rice. Tribeca offers counter service during lunch and full table service at dinner.

Owner Ali Ghafouri worked with consulting chefs William Grove-Fanning and Loretta Rampone of The California Culinary Academy on developing a fresh, flavorful and healthy menu that could be prepared quickly. "The vegetables we serve are the finest available and are prepared fresh throughout the day. Our sauces are made fresh daily and we never use preservatives or MSG. All our food is cooked to order in the open kitchen using the minimum amount of soy oil for maximum flavor."

Ghafouri, who majored in business and engineering, was introduced to the food business by way of a Subway Sandwich franchise where he learned how an efficiently run fast food operation works. Today Ghafouri owns five Subways in the East Bay. The development of Tribeca and its concept came about because of a vacuum Ghafouri saw in what restaurants were offering. "Tribeca's combination of fast service, low prices and a low-fat, healthy multi-ethnic menu served in an attractive dining room was needed in this area," comments Ghafouri. Ghafouri chose Tribeca as the name of his restaurant because its namesake, Tribeca (which stands for Triangle Below Canal), a neighborhood in New York City, is an exciting, diverse and modern district—not unlike the several culinary styles available at Tribeca.

In addition to the start-up of Tribeca and running his Subway franchises, Ghafouri is currently working on his M.S. in Economics and is planning to open more Tribeca locations in downtown San Jose and San Francisco later in 1996.

Tribeca Fact Sheet

What: Tribeca Restaurant (open December 22, 1995)

Where: 5915 College Avenue, Oakland
   Tel: 510-653-3200 Fax: 510-652-3708

Key Players: Proprietor: Ali Ghafouri
    Chef: Treavor Hudgens
    Consulting Chefs: William Grove-Fanning and 
    Loretta Rampone of the California Culinary
    Academy

Hours: Daily from 10:30 am-10:00 pm
   Friday and Saturday 10:30 am-11:30 pm
   Live Jazz Friday and Saturday
   starting at 8:30 pm

Cuisine: "Fresh food from around the Globe"
   Healthy entrees cooked to order with customers'
   choice of three vegetables with chicken, flank
   steak or tofu in any of the following culinary 
   styles: Thai, Caribbean, Chinese, Mexican burrito 
   or Italian pasta. All entrees: $5.95 Daily 
   lunch specials $4.25 ($4.50 with soda Salads,
   Sandwiches,Children's menu available. Espresso 
   drinks and desserts served throughout the day.

Wine/Beer: Wine and an international selection
    of bottled beers

Capacity: 50

Ambiance: Contemporary California-style cafe
   with marble topped tables and exposed brick 
   walls. Light-filled dining room with picture 
   windows facing College Avenue.

Decor: By Bay Area architect, Marcy Wong. 

Parking: Parking lot in the rear of the building
   and on-street.  
    
Notes: Counter service at lunch;
   table service during dinner.

Tea Smoked Tombo Tuna
with Carmelized Shallot Marjoram Quinoa

By Treavor Hudgens, Chef
Tribeca Restaurant, Oakland

Yield: 1 serving

Ingredients:

8 oz. piece tomba tuna
1 cup loose aromatic tea leaves
1 cup quinoa
2 cups fish stock
1/2 bunch marjoram chopped
8 shallots peeled and sliced
3 garlic cloves minced

Equipment:

Aluminum foil
wire rack to fit in a sauté pan
2—12" sauté pan with tight lid
2 quart sauce pot with lid
wooden spoon

Season Tuna with salt and pepper. Heat one 12" sauté pan and place olive oil in it. Sear fish on all sides.

Line other sauté pan with the foil. Now place the tea on top of the foil; followed by the rack. Put the tuna on the rack and cover with the lid. Turn heat on high and allow the tea to burn. Let smoke for about 20 minutes.

Rinse quinoa thoroughly. Place pot on stove with olive oil and turn heat on low. Add shallots and allow to caramelize. Add garlic and sauté for four minutes. Add quinoa, sauté and stir, then add the marjoram and the stock. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Cover and let simmer for 20 minutes. Remove lid and see if there is any stock left. If there is cook longer. If not, turn off heat and leave lid on. Allow to steam for 10 minutes. Plate and serve.

Asian Delight

by Treavor Hudgens, Chef
Tribeca Restaurant, Oakland

Yield: 1 serving

Ingredients:

1 medium sized Asian pear, peeled and cored
2 cups Mirin
1 cup Madeira
1 cup water
1/2 cup mesquite honey
2 T freshly grated cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup dried cranberries
4 sheets fillo (Athens is my preferred brand)
1/4 cup apple juice (fresh if available)
2 medium johnny apples, peeled cored and placed in a food processor.
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 T Cinnamon
1 T ground ginger
1/2 cup water

Equipment:

1 quart pot
1 2 quart pot
sheet pan or pie tin
bowl with ice water
food processor

Place pear in boiling water for 5 minutes. Transfer to ice water. Remove and let dry. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Put mirin, madeira and water in a pot and bring to simmer. Add the pear let poach for 10 minutes. Remove and let dry. Fill pear with the mixture of cranberries, pecans, honey and cinnamon.

Place 1 sheet of fillo on work surface. Brush with apple juice. Repeat process 3 more times Put pear in center of sheets and pull the corners to form a pouch. Brush the outside and place on a cookie sheet or pie tin. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Process johnny apples then put apple purée in a sauté pan with ginger, water, cinnamon and sugar. Cook for about 10 minutes on low heat.

Serve fillo wrapped pear on top of apple sauce.

This page originally published as a FoodDay article in 1997.