Restaurants foster connection and conversation, furnish an escape from the day-to-day routine and, from hamburger to haute cuisine, transform sustenance into bliss. Restaurants are economic drivers, too. In 2017, labor analytics research firm Emsi noted that more people in the region worked in restaurants than in any other field; that’s not counting the other spokes in the wheel, such as farmers, janitorial staff and laundry services, that make the industry run.
This list is dedicated to everyone who works in the hospitality industry. To that end, I’ve decided not to name executive chefs in each restaurant’s information bubble, as is typical for our list. This isn’t meant to diminish the importance of an executive chef to a restaurant; instead, see it as a reflection of the reality that restaurants are a holistic operation.
Menu Change: New Menu at Round Corner Cantina
This month, we get something new from the Round Corner Cantina a food menu that is a draw unto itself. Under the wing of executive chef Julio Peraza, the Lawrenceville bar is beginning to shine as a dining destination.
Peraza’s new menu is built around heirloom varieties of corn imported from Mexico. “When you touch the kernel, when you crack it in half, when you feel the density, the dryness. What is the aroma? How does it interact with the water? What happens when you rinse it the next day? How does it feel then? There’s so much going on when you work with it from the start,” Peraza says.