Nate Oliva, his wife Aimee Wortham, and Sammy Marten will open their Half Cocked food truck October 14th in front of 2178 Madison Avenue.
The “Japanese chicken shack” is “essentially a new concept,” Oliva says. “Something different to offer Midtown.”
They’re serving chicken karaage, a traditional Japanese chicken dish. The chicken is twice-fried in potato starch. “So, it’s extra crispy.”
It’s also gluten-free. “We believe it’s going to be the best fried chicken in Memphis,” Oliva says. “We want to ruffle a few feathers — pun partially intended. There are so many good places to get fried chicken in Memphis, but we feel there’s always room for another place in that sector.”
Oliva describes it as “a savory bite with an international flavor. The marinade has shiro dashi, soy, sake, mirin, and some other special ingredients. The potato starch allows us to achieve a coating better than what you do with wheat flour. It stays crispy. It allows you to add other flavors, add on other stuff if you want to make it spicy.”
“Shiro dashi is like Japanese chicken stock. It’s the mother of everything,” he adds.
The first time he tried chicken karaage, Oliva was “floored by the explosion of contrasting flavors. It’s salty and sweet and sour. All of those things will be balanced out instead of being too much one way or another.”
The chicken — “prime meat that’s been cut up” — is made to eat with chopsticks. We’re serving it with a rice bowl.”
“We definitely improved on the chicken nugget,” Marten adds.
They fry the chicken in peanut oil. “We use chicken that’s never had any antibiotics. Ever,” Oliva says. “No growth hormones. We believe in being ethical.”
The donburi rice bowl ingredients include candied ginger and shallots with a grapefruit citrus garnish. “If you add a fried egg on top — BOOM. It’s just over the top.”
Oliva’s interest in Japanese cuisine peaked when he worked at Uchi in Austin, Texas. “It’s a nationally renowned Japanese restaurant. Chef Tyson Cole was on Iron Chef America.”
Oliva also was chef de cuisine at Erling Jensen: The Restaurant. “After learning about French food from Erling, once I became acquainted with Japanese food, that was it.”
He and Marten met two years ago. “After talking about food, we just said, ‘We need to do something. Get a trailer and do something.’ We both grew up in Italian families, so food is a given.”
Marten was the owner of the old Creole Cafe. “I was a stand-up comic for years,” he adds. He also was in movies, including Dirty Movie and Another Dirty Movie.
He will be an operating partner at Half Cocked. “I’m not going to be nearly as involved at the stove, so to speak.” Wortham will be the up-front person and catering events point of contact.
Oliva considers working with Jensen and chef Judd Grisanti as his culinary school. “A big part of this whole thing was I was a complete blackout drunk. I was a highly functioning, successful alcoholic. I managed to become chef de cuisine at Erling Jensen’s. I’m proud of the work I did there. And I’m really proud of the fact I quit drinking five years ago. I fell back in love with the restaurant business after I got sober.”
Half Cocked will also offer a seasonal menu. “Not what people expect from a food truck,” Oliva says. “We’ll let the market dictate what is good during that part of the year. We like to shop at farmers market a lot. We get beautiful Chinese eggplants, skewer them, and grill them over charcoal and do a little miso glaze with fresh herbs. The point is the food is light, not heavy, but super-satisfying.
“We’re going to have tons of other stuff we have not unleashed; lots of tricks up my sleeve.”
“Me and Sammy are both Louisiana boys,” Oliva adds. “He’s from Hammond. I’m from Shreveport. We might have boiled peanuts and crawfish boil next week.”
