Food & Wine has named the best biscuits in the United States, and the Federal Food Drink & Provisions' "biskits" were chosen, alongside some heavy hitters from down South, including Hominy Grill in Charleston, Loveless Café in Nashville, and Big Bad Breakfast in Oxford, Mississippi.
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Food & Wine described the Federal's "biskits" as "buttery, hockey puck-size confections, drizzled with a honey-apple cider glaze and finished with a crisp cheddar crust." No wonder why they won top honors.
We asked Aniece Meinhold, partner at the Federal, what makes the biscuits biskits so special. Is it a secret recipe handed down from generation to generation? Unicorn tears?
"Truth be told, it's a technique, not yo' gramma's technique, though," she says.
In fact, it is chef Cesar Zapata's technique, because the ingredients are simply flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and a ton of butter.
Try making these at home, though, and you'll find it a little more difficult than it seems.
Meinhold says a lot of hours went into making the exact formula for success. "The biskits are a big deal at the Federal. We've added and subtracted baking powder, baking soda, and salt. But it really is the technique we've developed so that they are delicious and are consistent. That's top secret. This really took us over a year and a half to get to this point. So maybe no unicorn tears, but certainly a lot of sweat and frustration tears."
Asked how she and Zapata feel about their biskits being honored, Meinhold says she's happy that the restaurant, after two years in business, is getting national recognition. "It truly makes us feel like all of the hard work is finally paying off. On top of which, this is more of an honor to the guys who make them in the back, day after day, than anything else. They are finally getting the kudos they deserve."
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