Just a Tip: Little Trouble, Big Flavor

Features

Sep 26

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"Just A Tip" is a new Wussy feature column exploring culinary artistry in the Southeast and beyond and passing along just a tip or two for home cooking fanatics.

Discreetly tucked into the Westside Provisions District, Little Trouble is well-known to West Midtowners as a trendy evening lounge with great craft cocktails and a lovely-priced vodka soda for the calorie-counting, basic bitch.

What might not be so well-known is the craftsmanship coming out of its kitchen. Big flavor is packed in every bite, of every dish.

Chef James Murphy recently took over the kitchen as Chef de Cuisine. Murphy’s background makes him a perfect fit for Little Trouble’s Korean-fusion fare coming from Gaja in East Atlanta Village in the same role and working in Atlanta’s staple-of-fine-dining, Kimball House.

The passion and energy Murphy puts forth into every component of every dish is clear in each interpersonal exchange. Humble, casual with extreme precision in presentation and service, Murphy is well-respected by both the kitchen and front-of-house staff. And, he’s fine on the eyes.

WUSSY received an exclusive sneak-peek of some dishes that haven’t hit the menu yet, as well as Murphy’s newly refined twists on Little Trouble classics.

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Shishitos - The “Russian Roulette” of Peppers

This perfectly blackened shishito dish was the first change made. Tossed in a lovely sesame-soy sweet sauce, each pepper had my mouth gleeking all over the plate. The sauce is light, but complex—hitting all the taste buds with its sweetness, light spice level and a pinch of tang.

Thai Honey-Lime Wings

Nothing gets a chesty shimmy out of me more than a delicious wing. The meat was perfectly moist and tender with an exceptional outer crispy crunch that deafened my ears with delight. The citrus from the lime paired with the spice level quite literally had my mouth watering at every bite. She certainly had Little Trouble cleaning her plate.

Crab Rangoon Bun

Another refined change to a whimsical tasty treat.

Murphy takes jumbo crab meat with fresno + bell peppers, scallions and panko bread crumbs to make his perfectly-fine-on-its-own crab cake. The bun is stuffed with his cakes and sauced with whipped cream cheese + fresno-infused honey and topped with crispy-crunchy wontons + micro cilantro. UHH-UHHmazing! UHH-UHH-UHHmazing!

-THE EXCLUSIVE SNEAK PEAKS-

Beef Tartar

Prepared with the Little Trouble bulgogi marinade + Korean chili flake + shallots, served with crispy rice puffs, this beef tartar did me dirty. Like, what just happened in and around my mouth?

Spanish Octopus Skewer

Wow. Maybe my favorite of the evening [but, like, those wings]. Murphy braises the octopus in sake + black pepper + coriander until tender, slices the tentacle into medallions for a stunning skewer presentation and finishes with a drizzle of honey gochujang.

Flavor A+
Texture A++

-Just a Tip!-

Marinated Flank Steak Skewers

Often times, us GuRLZ on-the-go-go don’t think about saving food scraps for later use. Recycling products in your kitchen reduces waste, adds zero cost to your grocery budget, and is a step towards more conscious cooking, whether you’re a flexitarian, vegetarian, vegan or meat queen—AND the recycling process can be done while multitasking at home.

Little Trouble’s marinade on their flank steak is a wonderful example of recycling products to reduce waste and minimize costs.

LT’s marinade uses rendered beef fat and a ton of aromatics like onion, garlic, cilantro and ginger. When cooking at home, challenge yourself to add herbs, spices and aromatics intuitively and creatively, rather than trying to measure every morsel from your need of consistency + control. You may begin to find cooking as a therapeutic step towards personal growth.

Using rendered animal fats, especially from the meats you are marinating, is a great way to reinforce the existing flavor while enhancing and brightening it with additional herbs + spices + vinegars. Check out this article from Paleo Leap on ALL the ways to render fats.

Just a tip!

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Just a Tip

exploring culinary artistry in the Southeast and beyond
and passing along just a tip or two for home cooking fanatics

Patrick Joseph Boston
Producer + Chef | Pop Up Brunch Atlanta
Producer | An Industry Diner’s Club

Patrick Joseph Boston is a family-trained chef serving the flexitarian community - those who enjoy rich + robust flavors, with minimal focus on meat. Launching #PopUpBrunchAtlanta in February, PJB has been curating 5-course, heart-healthy brunches with volunteer hosts, local food + beverage sponsors ever since.

PJB is the featured chef for Chow Club Atlanta on September 29 and is producing a
Yoga & Bubbly Brunch event on Sunday, Oct 1 featuring signature mimosas by Nature’s Garden Express and specialty coffee service by Spiller Park Coffee and his signature croque madame.

In order to bring food + beverage creatives + entrepreneurs together for mutual support,
Patrick Joseph Boston is launching An Industry Diner’s Club at the end of October. This monthly event will feature a three course meal from a local restaurant, exploring each course with the house chef, while giving time and space for guests to build relationship, give + receive advice & wisdom and collaborate.

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