Where There's Smoke, There's Root Vegetables at NYC's Ruffian

Steven Shockley has used smoke to coax Parmesan notes out of celery root, salted caramel flavor out of sugary sunchokes, and umami out of beets, all from a 372-square-foot restaurant. “The kitchen is 6 x 4 feet, with two induction burners and a convection oven,” says the chef of (mostly) vegetarian wine bar Ruffian, which serves around 100 people a night in New York City’s East Village. 

Shockley...