Photograph by Chris Von Holle
Chef Jordan Anthony-Brown has worked in some highly acclaimed local and national kitchens, including Boca, Sotto, and the Michelin-starred Rose’s Luxury in Washington, D.C. The Aperture, which he opened in Walnut Hills at the beginning of the year, sees him at the top of his game.
Mediterranean food is the impetus here, but the menu isn’t limited to that region. Japanese and French techniques make appearances, which reflects Anthony-Brown’s years of experience with cross-cultural cooking. White miso, for instance, finds its way into spaghetti. Hamachi tartare kicks off a diverse small plates list that features dishes like herbed falafel and a beet and ricotta salad. Here, culinary fusion achieves its ideal result: a burst of energy. As with the delicate balance at work in each dish, the restaurant strives for an overall aesthetic harmony—between fine dining and comfort food, between neighborhood eatery and destination restaurant.
Photograph by Chris Von Holle
The Aperture successfully walks the line it has drawn for itself, in part because it’s so welcoming. You feel equally at home ordering a glass of wine and a quick bite or sitting down for a multi-course meal. Service is focused but friendly, intentional but not pretentious. The food is priced to fit this niche—everything is under $40 and the portions are just on the cusp of generous.
Seasonality and local sourcing are central to The Aperture’s approach, a commitment to the ethos of Mediterranean cooking, which often relies on produce plucked from the backyard. The restaurant sources its lamb shoulder from Kentucky’s Freedom Run Farm and its produce from places like Dark Wood Farm (also in Kentucky) and New Richmond’s Fox Tail Farm.
The Aperture occupies a rounded corner of the almost century-old Art Deco Paramount Building in Walnut Hills. It’s a decidedly minimalist space, with mod tables, tile floors, and Assistant General Manager and Creative Director Trevor Biggs’s black-and-white photos on the walls. The restaurant’s focal point is the semi-open kitchen. Aside from the occasional roar from the open-flame grill, it’s a surprisingly serene, focused work space, with Anthony-Brown quietly overseeing the action.
The flame-kissed “urban sourdough” was among my favorite dishes to come off the grill. It was served with a honeyed chicken liver mousse that had the silky texture of hummus. The honey’s hints of berbere—a spice mix ubiquitous in Ethiopian cooking—reflect Chef Anthony-Brown’s globe-trotting style. The lightly spiced honey all but eliminated the metallic aftertaste that mars most pâtés.
Photograph by Chris Von Holle
That decadent starter was followed by the fried mushrooms, an appetizer that leans heavily into the restaurant’s Mediterranean influences. Served over labneh (a sour, strained yogurt originating in the Levant) and seasoned with Yemeni hot sauce, the well-breaded mushrooms resemble fiery fried chicken. For another roundabout reference to American comfort food, our server described the pommes darphin (a French potato pancake, served here with parsnip, smoked whey, pickled mustard seeds, and marinated leek) as “the best hashbrown you’ve ever had.” He was right.
The charred carrot continues to be worth highlighting. The sweet/savory grilled carrot and crumbled lamb merguez sausage gets hit with what seems like an entire Mediterranean spice rack: ras el hanout (Arabic for “top of the shelf,” it’s a spice mix featuring cumin, cinnamon, ginger, and turmeric, among many others); dukkah (an Egyptian spice blend heavy on toasted nuts and sesame seeds); and zhug (a spicy Yemeni hot sauce, bright green from cilantro and parsley). Despite the many ingredients, no flavor overpowers the others. I could easily see this becoming The Aperture’s signature dish.
Seafood, as Anthony-Brown informed me, will always play an important part in his menu, primarily because it’s become a substantial part of his diet as he’s gotten older. As with so many dishes here, there are several culinary influences at work in the cod. It’s spiced with a curry called vadouvan (also known as “French curry,” because it originated in a region of India with a high concentration of French immigrants), moistened with a blend of chicken juice and Lyonnaise fortified wine (banyuls), and enriched with good ol’ schmaltz. The result is a rich but piquant fish that’s as clean as it is flavorful.
Photograph by Chris Von Holle
I washed all this down with a tart, apple-scented Pascal Janvier chenin blanc, while my dining companion opted for a cocktail called “I’m Her,” a mix of bourbon, pomegranate, bitters, and vermouth. The Aperture’s drink menu matches its breezy vibes and focused technique.
So does the dessert menu, which offered three strikingly different desserts (a key lime pie, an almond cake, and a very French profiterole); a dessert cocktail; and a dessert mocktail. We went with the almond cake, a moist, slightly salty cake accented with mint, Amarena cherry, and amaretto cream. It was a balanced end to an equally balanced meal.
The restaurant’s name, by the way, is a nod to Anthony-Brown’s other passion—photography. The aperture is the opening of a camera lens, the part that allows light to pass through, making a picture possible. Light, with all its connotations of clarity and inspiration, is the guiding metaphor for Anthony-Brown and his cooking, which might account for all the brilliance on display.
FYI
The Aperture
900 E. McMillan St., Walnut Hills, (513) 872-1970, theaperturecinci.com
Hours
Dinner Tues–Sat 5–10 p.m.
Prices
$14 (Hummus Tehina)–$38 (Lamb Shoulder)
Credit Cards
All major
The Takeaway
Trailblazing Mediterranean-inspired cooking in a historic Walnut Hills space.
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