LATEST APPETIZER CRAZE IN NYC
THE FRENCH ONION DIP 🧅
Ingredients —
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 Vidalia onions, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rings
- 2 large shallots, sliced into 1/8-inch-thick rings
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups sour cream
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon celery salt
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- Chives, finely chopped, for garnish
- Potato chips, for serving
Process —
- In a large sauce pan, heat the butter over medium-high heat.
- Add the onions and sauce, stirring occasionally, for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown and caramelized.
- Add the shallots and sauce for 8 to 10 more minutes, until the onions and shallots are dark brown.
- Add the garlic and saute for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool for 5 minutes, then chop the onion mixture into 1/4-inch pieces. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
- In a bowl, mix the sour cream, mayonnaise, celery salt, Worcestershire sauce and 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Fold in the onion mixture. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight. Garnish with chives and serve with potato chips.
ADDENDA - MORE VARIANTS
Onion dip has become a new hot appetizer in NYC and the culinary experts are adding their own personal signatures to the competition. Here are some of the variants.
🧅 Temple Court — At Tom Colicchio’s Temple Court in FiDi, chef Carlos Benedicto fortifies crème fraîche with caramelized onions, Tabasco, and confit garlic oil, along with Worcestershire sauce and tamari for an umami punch.
🧅 TAK Room’s Kennebec Potato Chips With French Onion Dip — Chef de cuisine Jarrod Huth nestles French onion dip in the center of a generous cut-glass bowl filled with translucent, twice-fried chips at Keller’s Continental-style TAK Room in Hudson Yards. Crème fraîche and house mayonnaise form a loose, creamy base spiked with dehydrated and toasted onion and a touch of veal stock and sherry ($10). It’s simply garnished with chives, though diners can upgrade with caviar upon request. 20 Hudson Yards, The Shops at Hudson Yards, Fifth Floor, Hudson Yards.
🧅 Bernie’s — Bernie’s in Greenpoint, decked with faux Tiffany lamps and red-checked tablecloths, is pure Americana, and chef Ashley Berman’s menu is a compilation of greatest hits — mozzarella sticks, Buffalo wings, wedge salad, and chicken paillard. Bernie’s French onion dip ($8.95) employees a triple-threat cream element with mayonnaise, cream cheese, and sour cream. In addition to caramelized onions, Berman adds fried garlic, soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce to the dip. 332 Driggs Ave., at Lorimer Street, Greenpoint
🧅 MTHR Vegan — Low-brow, addictive French onion dip ($5) with house made chips are on the menu at MTHR Vegan, a new burger concept in Midtown from Blockheads. The kitchen dresses up a commercial vegan onion soup mix with hot sauce, cilantro, onion powder, and chives. It could easily pass for dairy. 329 West 49th St., between Eighth and Ninth avenues, Hell’s Kitchen
🧅 Hunky Dory — Hunky Dory’s Onion dip and chips: cipollini onions, mixed seeds, tangerine, potato chips, and fried sweet potato skins. Claire Sprouse grew up as an ’80s latchkey kid who ate more than her fair share of ready-to-eat and fast foods. Chef Kirstyn Brewer obliged with a dip of blended sautéed onions, dried onions, dehydrated herbs, cream, and sour cream ($7). Each bowl is topped with mixed seeds, blended passion fruit seeds, citrus segments, caramelized cipollinis, and chives. Diners dig in with potato chips and fried sweet potato skins.
🧅 Rose’s — Rose’s in Prospect Heights declares its menu “seasonal and healthy, but sleazy.” Chef Buzz Frazier’s onion dip ($9) rings true to the classic Lipton’s packet with added sweetness from “a mess load” of slowly caramelized Vidalia onions. Frazier grew up in Georgia and is partial to his home state’s prized alliums. That onion jam — laced with thyme, black pepper, and a splash of Madeira — is folded into a whipped labneh base. 295 Flatbush Ave., between St. Mark’s Avenue and Prospect Place, Prospect Heights.