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Lionette's Market: James Lionette and David Lundberg
By BEN WHELAN
del.ico.us
reddit!
James Lionette, local produce zealot and co-owner of Lionette's Market, and his in-house chef, David Lundberg, are the perfect image of kitchen complementariness. Lionette can walk you through a supply chain from dirt to shelf, as though he himself had experienced the journey from a turnip's-eye view, while Lundberg can turn any produce you put in front of him into a flavorful dish, like the ones often featured in the market's deli window. Purveying a weekly rotating selection of local game and fowl, as well as some of the freshest vegetables and fruits this side of a farmers market, these guys know their product.
WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE ANIMAL TO EAT THAT'S SMALLER THAN A BREADBOX?
DL: Wild rabbit. It's got tasty, absolutely fantastic flesh.
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WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH WILD MUSHROOMS? ARE THEY BETTER THAN THE ONES I FIND IN MY BASEMENT?
DL: Well, they have a much more ... uh ...
JL: They have a much more earthy, hearty flavor.
DL: That's where I was going. I just couldn't get there in my head.
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I'VE HEARD A LOT ABOUT SQUAB. HOW IS THAT DIFFERENT FROM A PIGEON?
JL: A squab is a baby pigeon. As soon as it leaves the nest, it's a pigeon.
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SO I SHOULDN'T TRY TO GO BAG DINNER IN COPLEY SQUARE?
JL: Well, I've eaten pigeon in Morocco, but they don't do it too much in this country. And it's a lot more tender when it's young.
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WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE PREPARATION FOR SOMETHING GAMEY?
DL: Well, chestnut season is coming up, so you do a nice ... (notices Lionette). What?
JL: Naw, all you'll get in this country is Chinese chestnuts. It sucks. American chestnuts are just hard to find and they're wicked expensive.
DL: OK. Pears. Pear season is coming up and they're all fantastic right now. You do some wild mushrooms and some pears, maybe some dried cranberries and throw some walnuts in there, make a stuffing and stuff it inside a guinea hen.
JL: Or partridge. Partridge are those little baby birds, perfect for two people and very meaty for such small bird. It's a little peppery in the breast cut and the dark meat is just that rich, dark, oily flavor. Just throw a chunk of citrus on that and pair it with whatever you forage. Those earthy flavors go wonderful with the gaminess of the partridge.
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IF I HATE MUSHROOMS, SHOULD I GIVE UP FORAGING?
DL: Well, you've also got fiddlehead ferns in the spring, ramps in the spring and then, after that, rhubarb.
JL: And nettles, although people really don't eat them that much in this country, but you can get them. They're really good in soup, and up in Vermont they put them in cheddar cheese.
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NETTLES? OUCH.
JL: Around this time of year, you can also find all sorts of berries.
DL: Up in New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont, at higher elevations—say, above 5,000 feet—blueberry season is actually just beginning.
[Lionette's Market, 577 Tremont St., South End, Boston. 617.778.0360. lionettesmarket.com]
