A Chat With Chef Brad Philips Of Dallas' Asador Restaurant

Asador is Dallas' best-kept "farm-to-fire" restaurant secret. Chef Brad Philips does not mess around when it comes to honoring local ingredients and testing their flavor limits, whether it's Texas pork belly with kimchi, barbecue sauce, and quail eggs; or chicken wings brined with local beer and glazed with pear-jalapeno sauce.

Their cheese and charcuterie offerings are so inviting, that it makes it hard to not fill up just on those. There's 600 day-aged prosciutto, venison salami, wild boar salami, Cottonwood River cheddar, and Deep Ellum bleue cheese.

They have a Texas beer that would impress even the most savvy craft beer lover and their Gran'ma's Little Secret cocktail with spiced pear vodka, Baja Tanga sparkling rose, muddled Gran Marnier, St. Germaine-soaked cranberries, and fresh squeezed lime juice; and Cherry Old Fashioned with Michigan cherry-infused Buffalo Trace bourbon, orange peel, cinnamon syrup, and angostura bitters made me want to drink many more than someone my size should.

It's still very hot here in Texas even though September is soon upon us. So we had to know more about this chef to reckon with and his take on summer cuisine. Here's what he had to say about what inspires his inspired menu offerings.

The Daily Meal: How did you fall in love with all things culinary?
Chef Brad Philips: Growing up around farming and the garden fresh vegetables was always intriguing to me. It formed my passion for what it takes to grow the simplest products we all take for granted sometimes. Also, I love to eat!

Why is it important to you to source locally?
For three reasons: the first is to get the freshest ingredients we can possibly get. Going to a local farmers market or having local farmers delivering products is the best way to get the freshest products available. The farmers are picking and packaging usually on the same day. In contrast, large wholesalers are prepackaging products that are not even ripe and are ripening in their facilities rather than in the garden or field.  

The second is you know exactly where the products are coming from. You know what farm, when it was picked, and who picked it.  

The third is to support our local farmers. My family was in the farming industry growing up and I know how hard of a life it is. These farmers are truly passionate about what they do and buying their local fresh products is the least I can do to support them and their families.

Why is it important to you to use ingredients that are in season?
Especially when you're using local farmers, it is the freshest products to use.  

What is in season in the summer in Texas?
Peaches, berries, all types of potato, watermelon, lots of tomatoes, sweet corn, peppers, cantaloupe, okra, different types of onions, just to name a few...

What are some of your personal favorite summer ingredients for cooking?
I would have to say watermelon and tomato.  These are two summer ingredients that where in season in Ohio where I grew up and I can't help but think of my childhood using and eating those two ingredients in the summer.

What are some of your personal favorite summer ingredients for mixing drinks?
Probably a beer cocktail and anything with citrus.  Both of these are refreshing and what sounds better on a hot summer day is a shandy and/or a margarita with lots of ice? [pullquote:right]

When you thinking about eating and drinking in the summer, what excites you the most?
All of the light flavors of the summer.  It's too hot out to eat anything super-heavy so I love to make refreshing salads or light dishes using the local products. There are so many awesome local ingredients right now, its prime growing season for the local farmers.

What is one of your fondest summer eating and drinking memory?
Back in Ohio growing up we ate pretty much every meal outside, especially at my grandparents' house at the farm. Usually always something on the grill and my grandmother just picking anything and everything out of the garden and putting together simple tomato salads with onion, or melon and basil salads, green bean salads, sweet corn on the cob, or even cucumber with vinegar and sweet onion.

What's you favorite thing to eat in the summer?
I would say any type of melon, tomato, and corn. Those are the foods that I've always associated with summer whether it was back in Ohio growing up or now here in Texas.

What can diners expect from your food and drink menus this summer?
Making comfort food is something I can't help but make but the style of comfort food changes with the weather. This summer we still work with stuff like 72-hour braised short ribs, or kimchi barbecue ribs, roasted local chicken with crispy dark meat, grilled grouper with cauliflower — but all these items come with some kind of salad to keep it light and super fresh.

What is the most important thing to you as a chef?
Probably making people happy. Being able to create dishes that I love and having people enjoy them as much as we do is the most important thing to me.