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Chef/Owner Joanne Chang and Executive Chef Alison Hearn are this issue's Hot Chef.
Some say America is in love with Asian cooking, others moan about greasy, fat laden dishes and mysterious ingredients. Whatever your point of view, Myers and Chang is the thinking man’s and woman’s answer to where to find and eat great, modern Asian cooking.
Opened on September 17, 2007, the restaurant is a cross between a high energy diner and funky art gallery. Situated well away from Chinatown and sporting a name that studiously avoids the obvious references to dim sum, dragons or the Great Wall.
I sat down with the delectable Joanne Chang and her up and coming executive chef Alison Hearn to learn a little more about their approach and concept. It turned out that Myers and Chang had been in the works for at least three years. “We chose the name because it was such a personal project,” said Joanne, explaining how the concept started. “We wanted it not to be seen as a standard Chinese restaurant, we wanted to allow for other influences in the food.”
She explained that their target audience is the neighborhood and younger diners who enjoy new and exciting food. “I have always liked restaurants like The Blue Room, B&G Oyster and Franklin Cafe, they are always fun,” she said. “I wanted that kind of fun mixed with great Asian food.”
Alison was attracted to the concept by a desire to break away from stuffy and conservative dining. “I love street food, but we just don’t have it here in New England,” she said. “Why do you have to go through a whole to-do to get great food and ingredients?”
I asked her how she manages to cook Asian food as an American. “It’s all learned,” she replied. “Most chefs can cook any type of food.” I pressed her a bit on this and Joanne helped out with “What Alison brings beyond great technical skill in the kitchen is a really great palette,” she explained. “We don’t care if the food is Chinese, we care if it tastes great. Alison is not stuck in the same rut as a Chinese chef, so she can experiment and adjust classic dishes for the modern palette.”
Some things on the menu are classic Chinese dishes. We chose dumplings. Alison described how Joanne showed her how to make them based on her own mother’s recipe. Alison then found reference points in her own cooking background. When she makes dumplings she thinks pasta and describes them as not being that far apart.
The menu started out a bit like the average Chinese menu with a large number of potential dishes. The pair collaborated on the dishes and after a lot of test cooking they centered on a few really exciting combinations. Alison shrugs off the amount of work that went into it with a laugh, but it’s clear that a great deal of effort was spent on the menu, both to ensure it was exciting and to make sure it pleased picky younger diners - their target audience.
Alison has done the rounds as a chef. Learning to cook from her mother and father and then working with some of the region’s great chefs including Barbara Lynch, Tony Maws and in New York, Daniel Boulud. I had heard before our interview that she was a regular traveler to exotic places. This turned out not quite to be the case. This summer she headed over to Asia and enjoyed both great street-food and the accompanying unpleasant after effects it wreaks on our wimpy American constitutions.
I asked her if she was checking out if she was cooking the food correctly. “I did, I wanted to go and eat and try dishes where they originate,” she said. “I loved the flavors, I learned a lot about flavors and ingredients and the way the dishes are cooked. There was a lot of fried food and ingredients that we probably wouldn’t eat here, but it was an extraordinary experience.”
Since the restaurant opened a few months ago the foodies have rushed to enjoy the new menu. Alison has developed great “street cred” for her cooking and the patient and collaborative Joanne has ensured that Alison gets the credit she deserves from the venture. The kitchen at Myers and Chang is small. It evokes a classic diner with its limited cooking facilities, set right in front of the guests. Things seem to have gone well so far. Some teething troubles with service and other operational issues have not detracted from a strong sense that this is a concept that plugs a big hole in the restaurant market. Americans do have a love affair with Asian food, especially if it is as innovative and as well presented as this.
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Hot Chefs 
