A Look Inside Corrida's Latest Brunch Menu with Samuel McCandless
With the season of farmer's market and brunch blooming, we had the pleasure of sitting down with Corrida's Executive Chef and Partner, Samuel McCandless. Samuel shares what went into the creation of this season's Spanish-inspired brunch menu, which flavors and wine pairings to give a taste, and more!
What are the elements of inspiration for the current brunch menu? Spain and time eating there is always my number one inspiration. We try to keep things fun with that and then use seasonal local ingredients to keep things as local as possible.
How Would You Describe Your Overall Cooking Style? I would like to think of it as product driven, purchasing the highest quality items I can find and letting them speak for themselves while having fun and definitely staying in the lane of Spanish in inspiration.
What is the most popular item on the brunch menu right now? The Salchicha Merguez followed by the Tostada Francesa
If you were ordering for the table, what would you recommend start to finish? I would start with Jamon Iberico, Pimentos, Aceitunas and Bread with a bloody mary and then get a tostada francesa, Tortilla, Merguez and Camaron Tigre with an Ensalada and Jamon Fat Fries with a bottle of Ameztoi Txakoli Rose. That's for four hungry people hanging out and having a good time.
Favorite wine on the menu right now, why, and what would you pair it with? For brunch the Txakoli Rose! For Dinner I would love a bottle of Vega-Secilia 2016 Valbuena/ Amazing wine but also very pricey! A special occasion bottle.
The Salchicha Merguez features a Lamb sausage, poached egg, paprika hollandaise, manchego biscuit, and greens. We are obsessed. What drink would you pair this with? An Estrella Damm Lager or a glass of Pere Mata Cava!
Which dish is the most fun to make? They are all fun in their own way, I mean that.
The Quinoa Platos features celery root, pepita salsa macha, honeycrisp apple, and salsa verde. How did matcha make it in there? What does that add to the flavor palate? The matcha is a riff on a condiment from Veracruz, Mexico. We make ours with toasted pepitas, crispy garlic and shallots and granulated jalapeno. It's really tasty with a little bit of heat and a lot of depth for the quinoa, ties the room together so to speak. What tapa would you get to go with this dish? I would order the pimentos to go with the quinoa.
Let’s talk about the view, how amazing is it working there with arguably the best view of the flatirons in all of boulder? I am incredibly fortunate to work with this view. I can get caught up in operations so deep I occasionally forget how stunning it is! Thankfully that doesn't last long because it really is so breathtaking. It gives me an opportunity to pause for a second and be grateful for this experience!
We can't wait to try out Samuel's full brunch spread suggestions post farmer's market in the coming weeks... on repeat. Corrida Brunch is served Saturday & Sunday 10:30am-2:00pm. See you there?!
