Ruffino’s ‘Top Chef’

There’s no more exquisite torture than food-centric shows — networks like Bravo, the Travel Channel and Food Network all seem to delight in showing some delicious but impossible dish served to the gasps of delight of judges and lucky audience members. And we all think the same thing: I want to eat that! Of course, most of us don’t have a caviar dropper at home, or the time to chase down esoteric ingredients like agar powder. With Ruffino’s weekly Top Chef dinners, executive chef Peter Sclafani does all of that work for you. Each Wednesday, Sclafani reverse-engineers and serves up the winning dishes from the previous week’s episode of Bravo’s cooking show, Top Chef. This past week, for the “deconstructed” challenge, he recreated several unconventional dishes with unfamiliar techniques, from “spherified” caesar salad dressing to truffled veal demi-glace and carrot foam. As Ruffino’s menu is heavy on comfort food, it’s a chance for Sclafani to do something different in the kitchen, and keep his methods fresh. “I like to step out of my comfort zone a little and have fun with it,” he says. “And it gives me a chance to keep up on new techniques and technologies.” The dinners will continue for the length of the Top Chef season, and start around 8 p.m., during the replay of the previous week’s show. Call 753-3458 to reserve your spot. To read more about dining news in and around the Capital Region, read this week’s 225 Dine by clicking here.