Mushrooming Bounty

By Lisa McLaughlin

Prized as the truffle of Japanese cooking, the matsutake is "the Platonic version of a mushroom," says chef David Waltuck of New York City's Chanterelle. The aromatic treasures often command truffle-like prices, once selling for as much as $500 per lb. But a rainy summer and a sunny early fall in the Pacific Northwest have led to a profusion of the fungus, with prices falling as low as $14 per lb. Chefs nationwide are reveling in the bounty. At Arterra in San Diego, the mushrooms are paired with salmon or Dungeness crab, while Le Paradou in Washington is featuring matsutake ravioli. "Their aroma perfectly represents the change from summer to fall," says Josh DeChellis, who is offering a matsutake-tasting menu at Sumile in New York City. "They're just beautiful." But get them fast because the season ends in November. --By Lisa McLaughlin