Long a staple dish in Central New York, Utica greens are getting harder to keep on the menu as produce prices continue to rise nationwide. The inventor of the dish has fought to keep this tradition alive.
What You Need To Know
Produce costs are rising around the country as the war in Iran continues driving shipping costs ever higher
Utica greens, or greens Morelle, have been a staple dish in Central New York with roots in the Italian immigrant community
Restauranturs like Sal Barusso feel that in addition to high prices amidst the energy crisis, purveyors have failed to lower high pandemic prices
Salvatore Borruso stands at the stove like a grizzled sea captain surveying his ship. His ingredients are neatly laid to his right-hand side and before him, a pan, sheen with 90-10 oil and garlic, comes to temperature. With a fluidity and ruthless efficiency honed by decades in the kitchen, Borruso grabs a handful of escarole and peppers and tosses them into the pan.
With a flick of his wrist and a shimmy of the pan, a daunting wall of flame leaps up at him, the oil catching and burning off in the pan. Borruso’s focused expression is unchanged by the flames licking just inches from his face; he’s done this millions of times.
Borruso is making Utica greens, a staple dish in Central New York. If you’ve lived here long enough, you’re sure to have heard of the dish and possibly had a rendition of it at one restaurant or another. But what makes Borruso’s greens special? It was at his restaurant, Chesterfields, that the dish was invented.
“First off, they’re not Utica greens,” Borruso said, “they’re greens Morelle.”
It’s an important distinction for Borruso: ‘greens Morelle’ is the namesake of the dish’s father, Joseph Morelle, Borruso’s dear friend, who first came up with the idea for the greens in Borruso’s kitchen nearly 40 years ago.
“My friend, his name was Joseph Morelle. There were a tremendous amount of excellent chefs from this city, Joe was one of them,” Borruso said, “He says, ‘I got this dish, and I want to try it for a special.’ They were so popular when we did it for a special, we put it on our menu, and they were just selling like crazy.”
From there, the rest was history. The dish was featured in the New York Times, the Travel Channel, the Food Network and more. It took on a life of its own and became an icon, with imitations in restaurants all over New York and beyond.
The many imitations all had one name or another, but eventually, when the dish received national attention, they became the modern Utica greens. But to Borusso, there’s only one right name.
“When people call them Utica greens, I don’t even acknowledge that, because that’s not what they are, they’re Joe Morelle’s greens.” Borruso said.
For Borruso, the dish is a tradition and a heritage. It is the modern product of a long line of Italian culinary wisdom, a product he intends to keep on his menu for generations. But bringing the product to diners is getting harder, as the price of produce continues to rise around the world, exacerbated by a crippling energy crisis caused by the ongoing Iran war.
But it isn’t just the energy crisis keeping prices high, Borusso has a slightly different take on the issue.
“I think that ever since the pandemic, everyone was paying crazy money for every item, we’re paying our purveyors this crazy money, so when it ended, what happened was, they said ‘Why should we lower it?’ Because they’re paying for it.” Borusso said.
Syracuse University economist Patrick Penfield agreed with Borusso’s sentiment, saying that lowering prices following the COVID-19 pandemic just doesn’t make economic sense for purveyors.
“It’s really difficult to get price reductions once a price has been established, especially for a commodity or product that’s sold in the marketplace.” Penfield said, “So that’s what a lot of these restaurateurs are probably seeing, is that again, there are distributors that just haven’t lowered their prices because they don’t have to.”
Regardless of economic realities or rising prices, Borruso will never buckle and take greens Morelle off the menu. It is a point of honor, and for Borruso, it’s a promise he made to a friend.
“I have a commitment to [Joe Morelle’s] name and his legacy, you know?” Borruso said. “We’ll always keep it on our menu, you know, we’ll make it work.”