Chef Maxwell Pfeiffer—you might know him from Sky Room at Fairmont Breakers—is stepping away from his regular kitchen and into the R&D kitchen of Partake in Downtown Long Beach for a concept called “Slao” on Monday, Feb. 23.
Chef Max is no stranger to the space. Across the inaugural Long Beach Grand Prix Fixe chef competition, he battled his way to the finale with finesse, plenty of Frenchness, and fortitude. Now, he returns with Chef Jordan Domingo—a steadfast partner throughout the competition—for a concept that melds the traditional with the contemporary.
This modern steakhouse pop-up has a bold goal. How far can the boundaries of a style of food that hasn’t changed in decades be pushed? Applying molecular gastronomy techniques to classic American steakhouse dishes, Slao could very well be one of the most defining culinary events of the year.
“It is a menu featuring modern presentations of steakhouse classics using techniques from classic repertoire as well as molecular gastronomy to create a new and fun experience inspired by American fine dining steakhouses,” Chef Max said.
What to expect from Slao in Downtown Long Beach
35-day dry-aged ribeye. An Ora king salmon “chop.” Plays with local Dungeness crab. Tartare. Wine pairings that stretch from the new to old world. And, of course, some surprise bites to begin and end the meal. All enjoyed amongst an intimate array of 16 patrons across two seatings—one at 5PM and another at 7:30PM. Tickets can be found here.
Of course, that’s just the base descriptions. Bone marrow ice cream will co-exist with the tartare, turning the joke of “ice cream before dinner” into a tangible experience. They want to reinvent the crab cake, with chips made from roasted bell pepper and Espelette that look like crab shells.
“Can you approach an Ora King salmon the same way as a New York Strip?” Chef Max asked. “We created a salmon belly fat cap that allows a salmon top loin to take on the structure of a beef New York strip. Poached in a mixture of beef fat and aromatics, it is served with a champagne sabayon and tarragon oil as an untraditional ‘bearnaise.'”
The food at Slao will be wildly unconventional with foods that reflect American dining at its best.
Surely, the ingredients are recognizable. Like a ribeye. But being the culinary nerd he is, he noted the common problem with what is likely the most revered cut amongst American steak eaters: Disproportionate muscles result in uneven cooking. The result, even amongst talented chefs? And overcooked cap, the outer muscle, and perfectly cooked eye, or the inner muscle.
“Our solution is to remove the cap muscle, or spinalis dorsi, entirely,” Chef Max said. “Then we dry age the eye, or longissimus dorsi, and prepare the two separately so we can isolate these different parts of the ribeye on one plate, giving each part the respect it deserves. These two cuts will be served alongside a modern baked potato.”
Their “modern baked potato”? It will look like stained glass, with bits reflecting the red of bacon, greeen of chive, white of sour cream, and orange of cheddar are cobbled together in a clear sheet-gone-potato chip.
And yes, that includes the dessert…
For those uninitiated, Chef Max never messes around with dessert. Pair this with Chef Jordan and I can only imagine the beauty being compounded. And based on their ode to coffee they have planned for Slao, this dinner isn’t an exception.
Presentation-wise, it gives the air of a fairly simple dessert: coffee sponge cake. Hazelnut praline. And a toffee mousse.
“But of course, we couldn’t stop there,” Chef Max said, laughing. “There will be a vase of cereal milk coffee base in the center of your table. Now this vase of cereal milk coffee is pretty unassuming… Until we drop a chunk of dry ice into it. This coffee traps smoke from dry ice in bubbles that are edible and taste like coffee. Guests are encouraged to play with their food on the last course and dig their spoon into this overflowing coffee bubble vase to enjoy them with the other components in the bowl.”
In other words: magic.
Looking forward from Slao
Aside from the food, the guest experience at Slao should be extremely playful. We have a dedicated music playlist assigned for each course as we believe the atmosphere itself is crucial to how a guest feels as they are enjoying the meal they are having. Also a worthy mention is our entryway playlist is a lot of old school hits such as Earth Wind and Fire and George Benson, while the dessert and exit playlists are both modern upbeat pop hits by Saults and Sparkee, echoing the evolution of the steakhouse aesthetic from classic to modern .
“Looking ahead to future events, Jordan and I are hoping to do one pop-up per season,” Chef Maxwell said, “with the next one scheduled for late spring with our ‘fine diner’ concept, Butterhead.”
Slao will take place on Monday, Feb. 23 at Partake Collective, located at 456 Elm Avenue. There will be two seatings, one at 5PM and another at 7:30PM. For tickets, click here.
