inthekitchen hidden hotspot
In the kitchen and behind the bar , Sous Sol brings playfulness to elevated dining
By Ben Benton and Joelle Kidd
An antique clock beside the bar chimes the hour : 2 p . m . In the kitchen , pans clatter and cooler doors clunk , a clarion call that prep for the evening ’ s service is well under way .
Sous Sol ’ s head chef Kurt Kolbe moves purposefully and precisely as he selects from a stack of thrifted china plates , random patterns reminiscent of visits to grandmother ’ s house .
A red wine reduction flows like silk from his spoon , waiting to marry a selection of local root vegetables to melt in your mouth braised beef short rib . Add to it a trio of sauteed mushrooms ( cremini , shitake and oyster ) it ’ s an umami burst that ’ s autumn on a plate .
“ I ’ ve always liked the long-process things ,” says Kolbe . “ Stuff that takes a lot of care or time which at the end of the day you can ’ t replicate easily . That ’ s what keeps me interested .”
He traces this fascination back to one dish : “ My Oma ’ s rouladen . It ’ s just this rolled out strip of beef .” Here he mimics rolling out the beef on the table . “ A smear of mustard , a pickle , onion and bacon , you braise it and it just falls apart . It always makes me so happy thinking about that .”
This kind of nostalgia-meets-technical precision is the very core of what has made Sous Sol such a sensation for Winnipeg diners , ever since the
Photography by David Lipnowski
6 ciao ! / dec / jan / two thousand twenty