Last November, bar manager Julian Shaffer was awarded The Michelin Guide Texas exceptional cocktail award for his work at Rye.
(Rye, of course, previously had a location in downtown McKinney that was destroyed in a fire. The restaurant carries on in Dallas.)
Now, Shaffer at a brand new location, ELLA, and his cocktails are fantastic. Local Profile recently interviewed Shaffer about his process, his drinks and his journey to bartending greatness.
Local Profile: The poached pear was a truly interesting cocktail: fruit-forward, and I could barely taste the alcohol, yet it wasn't masked in sweetness; the flavors were subtle, and the mouthfeel was like biting into a pear. Fascinating. Please describe your approach to this drink and drinks in general!
Julian Shaffer: Thank you. I would say the fun part of this drink is understanding the whole as the sum of its parts: Using the ingredients such as browned butter, red miso, fresh pears, French brandy and wine to imitate the classic dessert. When it comes to creating anything, drink or dish, it’s easy to want to throw everything you know into something. Balance is the scalpel that cuts through that feeling and allows beautiful flavors to come through. Knowing your ingredients allows you to know what to produce.
LP: How long does it take you to create new cocktails? Please describe your process.
JS: Sometimes it takes a long time, like the poached pear at ELLA, sometimes it takes 30 minutes. It really depends on how clear the concept of the drink is or my familiarity with what’s required to bring the idea to life.
LP: What inspires you?
JS: Community. My relationships with my team, my homies, my city and my guests are a big inspiration. This city is full of amazing people, and I'm fortunate enough to really know and learn and be in community with them. I mean, I run a restaurant with my best friends, what can possibly be more inspirational than that?
On a personal note, my mom used food to tell us about our cultural background. We couldn’t go see our relatives, so food became a way of communication and history. Not everyone gets a solid understanding of who they are, and identity is important. If I can talk to and share that with someone in the same boat, and it improves their sense of being — how can that not be inspiring?
LP: How did you get into bartending?
JS: It wasn’t the plan. A friend at the time, this was years ago, said I’d be good at it, and I dismissed it. I got into a lot of trouble back then, and one day I got tired and decided to give it a shot. The rest is history.
LP: What is the concept behind ELLA? How did you become a part of the restaurant?
My best friend Jairo, who worked at Custom’s, the speakeasy attached to ELLA, for months before I got started, had told me about the restaurant and the concept. I got excited about the thought of moving forward and working with my homie again. Again, community. The concept is an elevated bistro. Stepping up the familiar in a way that inspires but doesn’t make you question why. There’s beauty in that. The wheel doesn’t always need reinventing. Sometimes innovation is best.
"Stepping up the familiar in a way that inspires but doesn’t make you question why. There’s beauty in that."
LP: How would you describe the drinks program?
JS: Elegant, innovative and minimalist.
There are five house cocktails that use technique and accumulated experience to re-engineer and completely transform traditional flavors and pairings into an experience. The descriptions are left intentionally short and vague in order to spark a conversation between us and the guest, in order to create a feeling of involvement and collaboration in pleasure.
The five house classics pay respect to the real foundations of the bar. No amount of homemade know-how is going to produce results from spirits, liqueurs, cordials that have been made for sometimes, hundreds of years. Proper understanding of these foundational ingredients allows us to take them and use them, but first we must understand our ingredients in order to use them properly.
This side of the menu allows us to honor those who have made this profession what it is and those who just want a damn good drink. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
LP: The libertad is also a fascinating drink. The watermelon notes were more like the rind of a watermelon, which I thought gave the drink so much depth, instead of the typical, cloyingly sweet Jolly Rancher watermelon flavors you typically find in cocktails. Please describe your approach! And how and why did you decide to put chive oil on top?
JS: Well, I'm very honored to hear you enjoyed the libertad, it’s one of my favorites as well. The components are pretty fun to explain. Fresh watermelon juice has acids added to mimic a lime, clarified with enzymes and sweetened to balance the added acids. These are all done in weight-based percentages in order to not overwhelm but to amplify what’s already there. Simple, balanced, invites contemplation and isn’t very serious. Honestly, the chive oil was a last-minute garnish idea with the idea of using an herbaceous, fatty element to really tie the final product together. It was supposed to be mint.
LP: What was it like being honored by Michelin?
JS: It was an honor of a lifetime and a truly validating experience. Ego and pride have been the backbone of our industry for years, so to see a philosophy of community and balance make it big was truly exceptional. This honor wasn’t just for me though, that honor is for the whole city. We are a city of strong people, strong minds and abilities from North to South, East to West, Grove to Cliff, there’s beauty here, and there’s flavor here. We do this baby, worldwide.
"It was an honor of a lifetime and a truly validating experience."
Shout out Corey Rivers, too. One of the most hardworking and dedicated to the process people I’ve had the pleasure of working with. His being on my team really allowed me to focus on how to elevate that program and build something amazing.
LP: You had a great run at Rye. Why did you decide to move on?
JS: Rye was an incredible experience, and I’m really grateful for the time I spent there. I learned a lot, worked with some amazing people, and was proud to be part of what we built. Ultimately, I felt it was the right time for me to take on a new challenge and continue growing in my career. I’m excited about this new chapter at ELLA and applying everything I’ve learned in a new environment.
ELLA is located at 7949 Walnut Hill Ln #130 in Dallas.
___
Hungry for more? Check out our dining guide.
Don't miss anything Local. Sign up for our free newsletter.