Chicago's Fat Rice Launches Two-Month Residency At Chefs Club NY

Over the past month, Chefs Club New York welcomed celebrated Chicago restaurant, Fat Rice by the 2018 James Beard Best Chef: Great Lakes Award winner, Abe Conlon, for a two-month residency, running through October 13, 2018.

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).

Photo Credit: Fat Rice

Fat Rice opened in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood in 2012 as a nod to Chef 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.

Photo Credit: Fat Rice

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.”

Photo Credit: Fat RIce

Like Fat Rice Chicago, Fat Rice by Abe Conlon at Chefs Club New York presents many experiences under one roof, including an elevated full-dinner menu accompanied by natural and organic small-production Portuguese wine selections. Dishes include Pork Cheek Vindaloo, Po Kok Gai (Chicken Thighs served with chouriço, potato, tomato, coconut curry and black olive, as well as Octopus served in a red wine, cinnamon, and piri piri. 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.”

Photo Credit: Fat RIce

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.