Cafe Barjot is small, which is partially why chef Nick Coffey relies so heavily on fermenting, drying, and curing, and less on cooking. KELLY O
Until recently, I had never eaten sunflowers before, let alone known that they were edible or tasty. But then I had a dish of braised sunflowers ($8) at Cafe Barjot. The centers of the young flowers were trimmed and quartered to resemble artichoke hearts, cooked until they were tender but still pleasantly firm, and imbued with a lemony flavor. Shaved summer squash, blanched squash vines—complete with thick stems, big leaves, and long, curly tendrils—and a smooth and deliciously earthy sunflower-seed tahini accompanied them. The dish was unlike anything I’d had before, and it was delicious—especially when the flowers were dragged through the slightly smoky tahini…
