Seared diver scallops, crispy Laurel-aged Charleston gold rice cakes, sauteed spinach, sea island benne, ginger & pickled beet beurre blanc ($19)

We don't often offer scallops at Big Jones since we're a Southern restaurant, but I like to bring them in from time to time because it's important fo our young cooks to learn how to work with them. Here we pair them with crispy cakes made with laurel-aged Charleston gold rice, the vanillin & bay aromas together with the floral aromatics of the rice itself marry beautifully with rich seafood like scallops. Right now we have beautiful spinach from Spence Farm, and one of my favorite things to do with good spinach is to play South Asian-style but with the southern ingredients of benne and worcestershire instead of commodity sesame and soy. It's a quick flash with lots of garlic, worcestershire, wine, and the sea island benne in a smoking skillet just to wilt the spinach, imparting smoke, umami, a touch of sweetness, and the fine crunch and nuttiness of sea island benne. Pickled beet & ginger beurre-blanc is bright and sunny (and colorful to boot) with a hint of earth and iron from the beets, which sets of the rich scallops and rice cakes nicely and blends well with the spinach. To prepare the rice cakes and spinach, a cast iron skillet is heated to smoking, then a thin layer of sunflower seed oil is added just till smoking. The rice cakes, cut to mimick scallops in shape and size, are added and cooked until a nice crunchy sear is achieved on the one side, then they are turned, and the scallops are added. It taked about two minutes to get a good sear, they're remobed from the heat, and we throw a garlic clove, bunch of thyme, and a lump of butter in, and bast like crazy while the butter melts and foams. The pan is returned to the heat, and the scallops are turned just to kiss the second side with the hot skillet for thirty seconds while the rest of the plat is assembled. This one gets walked stright from the stove to the table.

Pairing: I nice minerally chard, such as cru Chablis or Puilly-Fuisse

Ark of Taste, artisanal, farmer (local/regional), heirloom ingredient, organic, Sea Island, unique/rare varietal, and rice (Calasparra, Carolina Gold, other specialty)