Fat Rice opened in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood in 2012 as a nod to Chef Abraham Conlon’s Portuguese roots, business partner Adrienne Lo’s Chinese heritage and their combined travels and tastes. Fat Rice Chicago focuses on cuisines of the Portuguese-speaking world with an emphasis on Macau, presenting unique takes on heritage recipes that combine techniques and ingredients from Portugal, Brazil, Africa, India and China. The acclaimed concept has been recognized by Bon Appetit as one of the Top 10 Best Restaurants in America, and Conlon was the recipient of the 2015 StarChefs Rising Star Award.
Fat Rice by Abe Conlon at Chefs Club New York will present vibrant global cuisine as seen through the Portuguese lens—not only reflecting on the restaurant’s roots in Macanese cuisine and the colonial paths of the Portuguese travelers who were influenced by ports of call over the past 500 years, but also highlighting the growth of the Fat Rice project as it evolves. The residency launches just off the heels of an extensive trip Conlon took around the world in June and July, where he continued to trace the deep history of global Portuguese gastronomy, and explored Eurasian heritage cuisines from Japan, Malaysia, and beyond.
“Fat Rice is a story that continues to be discovered,” says Conlon. “Through my travels over the years, I’m privileged enough to have been invited into the homes of families who have shared their recipes with me—dishes with deep ancestral roots that link back to Portuguese influence. I’m continuing that exploration with respect for the cultures and cuisines involved, and through my own influence and cooking style, I’m excited to share my experiences with a dining community as vibrant as New York’s.”
Like Fat Rice Chicago, Fat Rice by Abe Conlon at Chef’s Club New York will present many experiences under one roof, including an elevated full-dinner menu accompanied by natural and organic small-production Portuguese wine selections. Dishes include Curried Pork Dumplings, Hai-pa-sinku (steamed King Crab and egg custard with wok-seared wild mushrooms and scallion), Piri Piri Lobster with coconut, lemon, garlic and chilli butter, as well as Macau-style Eight Treasure Chicken (a whole boneless bird stuffed with sticky rice, Chinese bacon and sausage, dried scallops, pine nuts, and candied citrus). There will also be a casual bar menu featuring playful, inventive cocktails served alongside offerings such as the Xtudo, a Brazilian-style cheeseburger comprised of two thin patties topped with bacon, ham, fried egg, potato sticks, heart of palm, corn relish and cheese. “Xtudo” roughly translates to “everything with cheese.”
For the duration of the residency, Chefs Club New York’s private dining room will transform into The Ladies’ Room, a speakeasy-style cocktail bar offering the same upscale infusions, herbs, house made spirits, large format cocktails, and signature Malört found hidden away at The Ladies’ Room in Chicago. The comic-book style work of longtime Fat Rice collaborator and illustrator, Sarah Becan will also be displayed throughout the venue.
Chefs Club Presents: Fat Rice by Abe Conlon begins on August 13, 2018 and will run through October 13th, 2018. Hours will be Monday-Saturday 5:30-10:30pm. Reservations can be made up to 30 days in advance on Resy here. For more information, visit http://www.chefsclub.com.
Since opening in 2014, Chefs Club, founded by entrepreneur Stephane De Baets, has featured nearly 200 chefs from all over the world – from Tokyo’s Zaiyu Hasegawa to Alain Ducasse, among others. In October 2017, Chefs Club NYC debuted a new Chef Residency format, where in lieu of hosting a guest chef for one to three nights, chefs spend three to six months at Chefs Club, completely taking over the space and menu. Recent NYC residencies include Sota Atsumi (Q2 2018), JJ Johnson (Fall 2017), and Jeremiah Langhorne (Q1 2018).
Chefs Club is a restaurant in New York City’s Nolita where guests can experience spectacular dishes from great chefs from around the world. All year round, Chefs Club invites visiting chefs to take over the space and the menu for anywhere from 3 weeks to 3 months and beyond. This one-of-a-kind, singular culinary experience gives guests the opportunity to watch the chefs at work in the open kitchen, the dramatic focal point of our spacious Rockwell-designed, brick-walled dining room. Founded in 2014 by Belgian entrepreneur Stephane de Baets, Chefs Club also has locations in the iconic St. Regis Aspen, and Chefs Club Counter, a fast-casual location on the corner of Spring & Lafayette in SoHo.
