Like a certain menswear designer, Dan Kluger has a knack for taking a classic and putting his own unique spin on it— think Brussels Sprouts Pizza with jalapenos and aged cheddar. And like a certain menswear designer, Kluger got his start working for some big names—restaurateur Danny Meyer of Shake Shack fame, Floyd Cardoz (Tabla) and Jean-Georges Vongerichten (ABC Kitchen). Then in late 2016, he opened Loring Place, an upscale American restaurant in New York’s West Village that features farm-fresh ingredients. His first cookbook, Chasing Flavor: Techniques and Recipes to Cook Fearlessly is scheduled to publish in October.
But on Sunday March 15, he had to slow his roll. In an effort to stop the spread of Covid-19, he made the difficult decision to hit pause on his popular restaurant. Here he shares how he approaches creating new dishes and what we all can do to be supportive of our favorite spots until that happy day when dining-out returns.