I never studied physics, so I can only tell you what a joule is by consulting the dictionary. To wit: A joule is "a unit of electrical energy equal to the work done when a current of one ampere passes through a resistance of one ohm for one second." If I had a better understanding of that concept, I'd be better able to explain how Joule [0], an eclectic Wallingford restaurant, is somehow the embodiment of it.
But you don't really need a scientific mind to enjoy what Joule has to offer; you need only understand your own palate, and how to be good to it. Owned and operated by former Coupage chefs Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi -- that's them slaving away in the restaurant's open kitchen -- Joule serves up small plates that rank among this city's best. Not every dish is perfect, but enough of them are to warrant repeat trips to this Wallingford hot spot.
The menu is split into five categories, each jocularly titled with a past-tense verb: The salads are "Tossed," the soups "Simmered," the kimchi "Pickled," the oven-baked dishes "Crisped" and the grilled meats "Sparked." I've only sampled one item from the "Sparked" category -- marinated short ribs, or "kalbi," served with a white-radish kimchi -- but my girlfriend and I ordered the hell out of the "Crisped" menu, and we'll gladly do it again.
Vigorously recommended is the cornbread, flavored with preserved garlic and scallions, topped with smoked Gouda and perfectly "crisped" in the oven. Though a more petite dish than the word "cornbread" might lead you to expect -- no fist-sized block here; you could slip the entire dish into a pocket -- it's intensely flavorful and rich. I can easily imagine making return trips just to enjoy it, perhaps with dishes of the chewy kalamata-olive gnocchi and the creamy shiitake-and-blue-cheese lasagna to complement it. Dessert is satisfying, particularly the roasted apple and kabocha squash galette, served with a scoop of ginger ice cream.
As I said before, I've barely explored the "Sparked" options, but after watching Yang and Chirchi in the kitchen, it's fairly evident that Joule does wonders with fish, lamb and veal. However, the restaurant's relative paucity of vegetarian dishes may limit the number of times I return; wonderful though the cornbread, gnocchi and roasted carrots are, there's not a whole lot at Joule for vegetarians like my girlfriend. There's an easy fix, though: The owners could add the kabocha-and-truffle dumplings -- an off-menu special the evening we visited -- to the permanent "Crisped" roster. They're a taste explosion in a small package and a veritable miracle of science.
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