A MAGAZINE FOR AND ABOUT LOUISVILLE
"No other menu item has such a strong identity in Louisville. Say "green chili wontons" and any veteran of Louisville's restaurant scene will know you are talking about the Bristol."
By Mary O'Doherty
I remember my first green chili wonton. It was in 1982, and I was a student at Indiana University working as a summer intern for the now defunct Louisville Times.
A friend who wanted to impress me took me to the Bristol Bar & Grille on Bardstown Road. I was delighted by the cozy neighborhood bistro, a standout among Louisville's then slim restaurant offerings.
Confident of the appeal of the green chili wontons, my date placed an order as we were being seated. "You're gonna love these," he said.
He was right. Years later when I made my second trip to the Bristol on Bardstown Road, I was surprised to see that the restaurant had more than tripled in size (and given birth to another location at the Kentucky Center for the Arts.) Taken aback by the new look, I asked my server if the appetizer I remembered was still on the menu. He smiled reassuringly and told me it was.
Like the Bristol, Louisville's restaurant scene has changed dramatically since 1982. The folks who celebrated the Bristol as Louisville's first bistro, now have many more dining choices. The Bristol has become a reliable standby, a place to go when you have difficult-to-please relatives who don't fancy having their palates over stimulated. But the bar has not lost its allure, and the restaurant is a great place to people-watch while waiting for friends. Few can argue with the prices--or the service.
But the green chili wontons keep even the food snobs coming back.
No other menu item has such a strong identity in Louisville. Say green chili wonton and any veteran of Louisville's restaurant scene will know you are talking about the Bristol. Not surprisingly, the wontons are the top-selling item at all the Bristol restaurants, according to Doug Gossmann, who presides over the Bristol empire. A full order of eight is $7.95; a half order, $4.95. Bristol servers put down more than 324,750 wontons last year, not including the wontons sold at the Bristol's other properties. (The cafés at The Inn at Jewish Hospital and the Speed Art Museum and at all the functions the Bristol caters.)
The green chili wonton is almost as old as the Bristol. The first restaurant opened in 1977 on Bardstown Road, in the space now occupied by its patio, a popular destination in warmer months for alfresco dining. Gossmann recalled that the idea was to create a casual restaurant that served European food. The concept worked. The 3,000 square foot restaurant clicked with the restaurant-going public.
Gossmann said his then-partner Bim Dietrich created the wonton after playing with a recipe he found in Gourmet Magazine. "We tried it out as an appetizer special. The reaction was so favorable, we put them on the menu," he said.
The wonton was preceded by the artichoke fritter (the chain's number two best-seller) by a year or so. When the wontons were added to the menu in 1978 or 1979, they quickly became the chain's top selling item.
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Green Chili Wontons 1/2 cup canned green chilis 1/4 cup canned jalapeños 1 lb. of Monterey Jack cheese, shredded wonton wrappers Blend the green chilis, jalepeños and cheese. Put two tablespoons of the cheese mixture on one corner of the wonton wrapper and fold that corner over. Fold the corners on the right and left. Dip the remaining corner - the top one -- in water before folding it down. Deep fry in 350-degree oil for one minute. (Makes 18 wontons) |
It's the pairing of the wonton and the guacamole, contends Scott Harper, general manager of the Bristol on Main Street. The hot, fried pillow of spicy cheese with the cool, smooth guacamole dipping sauce is "a yin-yang kind of thing," Harper said. "I can't image a wonton by itself."
It's also easier to run to the Bristol for a wonton than to whip up a batch at home, Harper noted. The wontons aren't difficult to make, but they aren't a simple proposition either, especially if you aren't used to working with wonton wrappers. Harper, who spent his first couple of weeks at the Bristol learning the ropes in the kitchen, remembered that he lagged behind the kitchen staff when it came to rolling wontons.
"Wrapping wontons is a little bit of an art. I think I rolled one wonton for every 10 the chef made. It can be difficult to make. You have to be sure they are rolled up tight, so they don't open up when you fry them."
Harper said it isn't unusual for customers to place two orders of wontons--consecutively. "One of the things I notice, is that people don't order enough. People tend to order a half order and then put in another order. And some people ask for hot sauce for their guacamole to make it even spicier."
Another reason for the won-ton's widespread appeal is that they aren't too spicy. Despite the name, the wonton has a little kick--not a punch. The guacamole dipping sauce is a smoother, richer variation on the guacamole you find in Mexican restaurants. Unlike most guacamoles, the Bristol's has a touch of mayonnaise.
My theory for the wonton's popularity is more pragmatic. They are tasty, but, most important, they practically fly out of the kitchen after you've ordered them. I'll order a glass of wine from the Bristol's reasonably-priced award-winning wine list, and before I've taken my first sip, my wontons have arrived.
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Guacamole Dipping Sauce 3 avocados 2 Tablespoons lemon juice 1 tsp. seasoned salt mix 1 tsp. ground coriander 1/2 cup mayonnaise 3 green onions, minced Mash the avocados and blend all ingredients thoroughly. Makes about 1 cup. |
Most diners should get their wontons less than five minutes after ordering them. "They take one minute to cook. So, it may take the server a couple of minutes to process the order, but within four minutes they could have them and that's a very quick appetizer," Rhodes said.
It is unusual for a customer not to know about them, Rhodes said. "In one week I might get two tables that have never had them. And most of those who haven't had them are out-of-towners.
In the unlikely event that you've never had a green chili wonton, visit the Bristol's (relatively) new downtown location as an excuse to try one. On Main Street between Sixth and Seventh streets, the downtown Bristol is more aesthetically pleasing than its former urban location in the Kentucky Center for the Arts. Fans of Victorian architecture will be especially pleased to nibble a green chili wonton while admiring the cast-iron buildings on Main Street.
