Vadouvan Is In

Vadouvan or "French curry," a sultry blend of Indian spices with shallots and garlic, is showing up on menus everywhere. Jeremy Fox, the executive chef at Ubuntu in Napa, says any dish on his menu that has it sells well. His house-made blend contains "30 toasted spices, lots of shallot and garlic, orange peel, brown butter, and spices. I don't want to give them all away, but there's turmeric and fenugreek."

Spotted at: Ubuntu, with clay-roasted pumpkin, dates, almonds, baby cilantro, and preserved lemon; Providence in Los Angeles, flavoring a dish of turbot, cauliflower, tomato, and marcona almonds; Le Bernardin in New York City, spicing a broth served with crab and zucchini panna cotta; the American Restaurant in Kansas City, with poached walu fish, kabocha squash, Granny Smith apples, and pepita succotash; and Philadelphia's Supper, in deviled eggs (full recipe here).

Try your hand at making it with this recipe from Epicurious, or order Le Sanctuaire's fancy made-to-order mix (pictured).