Meet the Chef: Omar Laaraj of Molly Spillane's

Chef Omar Laaraj has always been fond of Asian food. It mattered little to him if he was cooking at an Italian, German, Mediterranean, Greek or even an Irish eating establishment—his menu would always include food with oriental origins or dishes enhanced with Asian ingredients, spices or sauces.

But cooking Asian food for a living was not Laaraj's secret ambition. He just believed that oriental influences made certain dishes more intriguing and more flavorful.

When he was a child growing up in Casablanca, Morocco, Laaraj's parents owned a house at the shore. Often, he hunted for mussel patches at low tide or looked for octopus lairs.

There were five boys and seven girls in his family, and he was the second oldest. By the time he was 13, he and his oldest brother, who was 14, were accomplished cooks—their kitchen was the sandy beach and their cooking implements were pots and a butane fueled stove.

Laaraj's parents owned a grocery store and dad put in long hours. Preparing meals for 15 family members was a collaborative effort; Mom, his father's aunt who lived with the family and the two teenage brothers had daily assignments, and some of the older girls pitched in too.

At the age of 22, Laaraj headed for America and took up residence in White Plains. He landed a job at a local German restaurant called Max's, not because of his cooking talent but thanks to a skill he learned from his father: butchering. If something needed  cutting, it was brought to Laaraj. He worked at the restaurant three days a week while attending Rockland Community College.

A year later Laaraj was hired by The Livanos Restaurant Group to cook at City Limits. in White Plains.  Laaraj says it was a three-star Greek restaurant, not a diner, back then.

In 1990, Laaraj and two partners opened a Mediterranean restaurant called the Good Life Cafe in Mamaroneck. During the next five years, several dishes he put on the menu had oriental accents, and Asian dumplings were added.

A serious and painful knee injury in 1995 had Laaraj hobbling around the kitchen for about six months. The following year, when his mobility was back, he sold his share of the restaurant to the partners and joined Candella, an Italian restaurant in Manhattan's Union Square, as sous chef. Here, too, he introduced Asian influences to a restaurant that  possessed a Mediterranean/Italian menu. Candella closed a few years ago.

Laaraj rejoined The Livanos Restaurant Group the following year at their midtown Manhattan restaurant Mollyvos. However the commute from Port Chester to New York City was long and arduous, so in 1998, when a restaurant in Greenwich, Conn., had an opening for an executive chef, he took the job joining the DeCaro Restaurant Group's Baang Cafe & Bar, an Asian fusion restaurant.

At last, Laaraj would cook in a kitchen where Chinese and Japanese food were more than an afterthought. The DeCaro Restaurant Group was in an expansion mode and Larraj advanced quickly to corporate chef. His team opened Baang's in Woodmere, Long Island, and another Baang's in Aspen, Colo.  But the economy soured, expansion was put on hiatus, and Laaraj moved to Molly Spillane's shortly after it opened in 2008.  

Molly Spillane's - more than just pub food

The most popular entrees at Molly Spillane's are grilled tuna steak ($19.95), grilled lamb chops ($21.95) and marinated New York strip steak ($24.95), Laaraj said.

Molly Spillane's has pub food, too, of course. By far, according to the chef, the favorites in this department are Shepherd's Pie with loads of beef and carrots smothered in mashed potatoes ($15.95), and "Bangers and Mash," which combines savory Irish sausage, scallion mashed potatoes, brown gravy and baked beans. Both dishes are priced at $15.95.

Asian-influenced food can be found on the menu and Larraj mentioned that three of the best selling appetizers are the Wasabi tuna with seaweed ($10.95), duck spring rolls ($9.95), and Thai Chicken Satay ($9.95). The most popular snack items on the menu are the tuna sliders and the California chicken sliders, both priced at $9.95. "Chicken sliders are my personal favorite," the chef admitted.

The two best-sellers on the Saturday/Sunday brunch menu are the Traditional Irish Breakfast (Irish bacon, black and white pudding, bangers, grilled tomato, two fried eggs, French fries and toast) at $14.95 and Brioche French Toast with berries at $8.95.

What's coming next? More emphasis on pasta dishes, Laaraj said.

Molly Spillane's is located at 211 Mamaroneck Ave., Mamaroneck, NY. It is open seven days a week.  A sister restaurant called Mickey Spillane's, opened in 2006, is in Eastchester. 914-899-3130. www.mollyspillanespub.com