MENU IN BLACK
Barclays backs Nets with customized cuisine theme
Chefs usually work hard to balance colors. But at the Barclays Center, they’d rather ban them. At least during the NBA Playoffs, which begin either Saturday or Sunday, depending on game results. Tim Hmay, the executive chef of the 40 40/40 Club & Restaurant, is going back to basics with the N Nets’ colors: black and white. A As part of a “Blackout in B Brooklyn,” the arena’s rest taurants and concessions w will emphasize foods that r remind fans of the team’s lo logo.
“When you’re trained as a cu culinarian, this is exactly what y you’re not supposed to do,” Hmay says, say laughing. “I really had d to come out o of my comfort zone to create a great fl flavor profile while making it interesting.”
During the process of creating menus, Hmay scrapped seven menus that did not match his standards for the 40/40 Club, a reservations-only upscale restaurant that features various food stations where guests can sample dishes. Hmay is planning a homemade pasta station, where cooks will blend squid ink to make fresh black linguini. That will be served with shrimp, oven-roasted tomatoes, fennel, arugula, shaved parmesan and a white wine lemon sauce.
Other dishes that made the cut include a white asparagus side with dark roasted beets; black quinoa salad; Atlantic black bass, and oysters, with their black shells against a white ice base.
The vendors at the stadium, many of which are locally based in Brooklyn, have been asked to add black-and-white dishes to their menus. Popcorn stands will sell their product tossed in chocolate. Junior’s and Blue Marble will have black concrete milkshakes. And hot dog stands will offer white corn and black bean relish on bratwurst. For dessert lovers, expect black-andwhite candies and cakes galore. There might even be black cotton candy, though t early efforts have resulted in a concoction c that seems more gray than black or white, says Lisa Brefere, a Barclays Center C Food and Beverage consultant.
The team is asking fans to wear allblack b for the playoffs to show their support, says Elisa Padilla, a vice president of marketing for the Nets. “Black and white has really become a badge of honor in our borough,” Padilla says, noting it is the first playoff appearance for a Brooklyn professional sports team since 1956.
“Now that the theme is extending to food from pasta, candy and ice cream, it’s really bringing the experience to life.”
gpace@nydailynews.com