Ah, the legendary Culinary Institute of America. “Harvard on the Hudson”, “The Culinary”, “CIA”, the “Institute”… By any name it is the school to go to if you want to be a really good chef. The graduates include some of the best and most well-known cooks in the country; even Paul Bocuse sent his son Jerome to attend the school. As I think I mentioned, my brother Vin Scully had graduated from the CIA in 1980. He then went on to complete a fellowship at the Ivy Award winning Escoffier Room Restaurant. As a graduate, Vin worked at Le Cote Basque and its sister restaurant La Lavandu in Manhattan. He was really living the life of a chef and I wanted some of what he had. In order to decide what to do next, I asked Vin to take me up to the school while I was in New Jersey for my sister’s wedding. So, up we went, driving through some of the prettiest country in New York State. It was early summer and the dramatic wisteria vines that creep across the school’s main entrance were in full bloom. Talk about an easy sell…
I walked into the building and immediately felt at home. Could be the Catholic thing; the CIA used to be a Jesuit Seminary (St. Andrew’s-on-Hudson). As a matter of fact one of the priests buried in the cemetery out back is a relative of ours. Whatever the reason, it was instantaneous- I needed to be there.
Vin took me down the hall to see the main dining room which used to be a big old church. It was awe-inspiring and filled with the hustle and bustle of students eating lunch. Throughout the building there were (are) kitchens literally behind every door. Vin knew most of the chefs, so it was a great experience. His favorite guys were Jim Heywood and Dieter Faulkner. Jim was (is) a wild chili making chef who never met a stranger. He showed me around his kitchen. The thing that stood out for me was that I didn’t speak his language or know any of the things he was showing me. I knew then that I had a lot to learn. I felt that if I could learn from someone as fun as Chef Jim Heywood, I would have fun and become a good cook to boot. Dieter was a lot more low key. He and Vin worked together at a restaurant in Carmel, NY and truly loved each other. The respect that Vin had (has) for Chef Faulkner was obvious. Chef Faulkner was the kind of fellow that gave compliments sparingly, but if you did get an atta boy, it was for something really very good indeed. We went on to see all the restaurants at the school and explored more kitchens. All in all it was the most excited I had been about anything in my adult life. I mean, here is a place devoted to food and the techniques involved. Here is a place with a chef around every corner, teaching basic cookery, fish cookery, bread baking, pastries, you name it. They even have mysterious subjects like Charcuterie and Garde Manger! I was captivated, enthralled. I had to go.
Archive for July, 2009
CIA, love at first sight!
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009More of Joe’s Checkered Past
Tuesday, July 14th, 2009
I have had some online comments that I should finish the “biography” of myself with another Blog entry and then move on to more serious subjects, like the story of the Corner Kitchen, recipes, cooking techniques, etc.
I’ll try to fit it into one entry, but I might need two…
Ok…, after about a year in Hackensack, I grew restless (a common theme in my life…). There was a cooking opportunity in Denver, CO. I thought long and hard, about 1 minute, and jumped at the chance to go west. Not one to do much ( ok, no) research, I pictured Denver as some sort of mountain town, a visualization of pine trees poking up through skyscrapers, arranged to give the appearance of climbing a mountain. I was NOT prepared for the arid, flat expanse that was, and is, Denver. I arrived at the height of the oil boom of the 70’s and the joint was jumping. I liked the feel and in no time was enmeshed in the kitchen business as well as the music and theatre scene. Denver is a great city for young pioneers, which is how I pictured myself.
During this time period I worked for Houlihan’s , TGI Friday’s, and local favorite, Govn’rs Park as well as a short stint at The Normandy Restaurant. The fast pace and lifestyle that I lived at the time was exciting on some levels, but ultimately destructive. I burnt the candle at both ends and sometimes even in the middle. It certainly was NOT about the food, rather it was about the party life. Eventually I had to pull a “geographic”. I knew I had to slow down but couldn’t. I girlfriend of mine was moving to Lincoln, Nebraska to finish her undergraduate work. I decided to go along.
My family said “Nebraaaska! What on earth would compel you to go there?” I, however, had a great time. The high point was working at a place called Kenneth Meier’s Cork and Bottle. Ken had a wine shop that was (and is) the finest wine store in the state. It was here that I learned the basics of two things, wine and salesmanship. These guys were serious about both. In no time they helped me to be conversant in all the German wine regions and adept at reading a German wine label. Then I started on the French. I read Alexis Lichine’s Encyclopedia of Wines and Spirits and the Windows on the World Book, both of which are still in my library. I started to cook differently during this time as well. Learning about the finest wines in the world leads very naturally to finer food.
After about a year working with Kenny and the boys, I called the Culinary Institute of America. My brother had graduated from there a couple of years earlier and was doing well. I felt the need to get back in the kitchen, but wanted to go somewhere else with my career path. I spoke to a guy in Admissions and he assured me that I wouldn’t make any more money than I was making working for Ken Meier. He obviously missed the point. It wasn’t and isn’t about the money. If I learned anything from my father, it was to seek excellence and be very good at something you love. I enrolled starting in May of the next year, 1985.
Dinner in Hamtramck, MI – an unexpectedly delightful meal
Friday, July 10th, 2009Until the late 1950′s, Detroit, Michigan was the fourth largest city in the United States. During the first part of the twentieth century, immigrants flooded the city for the jobs provided by the automotive industry. In the city of Hamtramck, which is completely surrounded by the city of Detroit, Polish immigrants settled and comprised 90% of the population until the early 1970′s. Currently about 20% of the city’s population of 20,000 are Polish. Interestingly, Hamtramck has a foreign born population of about 41% making it Michigan’s most internationally diverse city.
During a visit to Detroit for a family wedding in June, 2009 we went to Hamtramck for dinner at one of the city’s landmark Polish restaurants. The Polish Village Cafe is located in an older neighborhood a couple of blocks off the beaten path. In fact, if there wasn’t a sign hanging in front of the building, you would think it was someone’s home. You enter at the street level and go down a flight of stairs into another time and place. The restaurant and bar is located in the basement of this brick home and is enchanting. There are paper lanterns hanging throughout the cozy interior and a kitchen in the back where we could see several women bustling around the stoves.
The dark wood bar is inviting with a beautiful backbar. Large arched alcoves house stained glass panes with backlighting that just draw you over for a seat. The bartender suggested a Polish beer called Zywiec, which is a lager from a brewery that belonged to the Hapsburg family before WWII. It was refreshing after a long day at the Detroit Zoo.
We had no reservations (I don’t think they take them) but were seated quickly, even though it was right at 7 pm. I had seen Pimm’s no.1 on the bar and asked the server if the bartender could make a Pimm’s Cup for me. It was one of my business partner Joe’s favorite drinks years ago and I wanted to try it. She hustled off and came back asking what was in it. I couldn’t remember and just told her that if the bartender didn’t know how to make it I would take another beer. The server came back briskly and told me that she had asked the bartender to make me whatever she wanted and I would take it. She was so friendly about it I said OK – and received a whiskey sour a couple of minutes later. Not a Pimm’s Cup but just fine.
The menu, a cold beer and crusty bread - a nice start
On to the menu. And what a menu – Goladki (Stuffed Cabbage), Czarnina (Duck Blood Soup – I didn’t ask), City Chicken and Dill Pickle Soup to name a few of the items. I chose the Dill Pickle Soup and City Chicken. The soup was really tasty, with diced potatoes, carrots, and small slivers of dill pickle in a creamy broth.
Dill Pickle Soup
The City Chicken was also tasty, but there was no chicken to be found. I asked the server what was it was made of and she said “Not chicken” and went to the next table. I was brave and dug in. It was actually large cubes of pork on wooden skewers, breaded and deep fried. The entree came with mashed potatoes and green beans as sides and they were nicely done as well – best described as home style. My wife had a potato pancakes and pierogi sampler and was pretty happy with the sweet cheese filled pierogi. Around the table my family was eating kielbasa, kraut, goulash, garlic chicken and more pierogi.
It was really a unique experience and such an interesting change from a chain restaurant. I can’t tell you if the food is authentic Polish, but I can tell you the restaurant is an authentic piece of the past that is still going strong in Hamtramck. To top it off, the dinners were about $7. We will definitely go back when we visit again.
The Polish Village Cafe is at 2990 Yemans St, Hamtramck, MI 48212. No website and they don’t take credit cards, so hit the ATM before you go. Best time is evidently mid-week as they seem to be a local favorite.
More Asheville Microbrews are now in-house at the Corner Kitchen!
Friday, July 10th, 2009When we opened in 2004, our bar business was considered secondary to actually producing food and taking care of our customers. Biltmore Village restaurants, with one now defunct exception, were popular with foodies that liked to have a glass of wine with dinner. There is not really a late night bar scene and Joe and I never really wanted to create one here. We had about 12 wines on our list (all by the glass for $6) and about the same number of beers. Most of the beers were either popular sellers - such as Michelob Ultra, Bud Light, and Guiness – or favorites of ours – like Newcastle and Tilburg’s Dutch Brown Ale.
If you have ever visited the restaurant and seen our bar area, you may have noticed that while the bar is large, the area behind it is pretty tight. Part of my interview process is to assess whether the person I am talking to has the personality to deal with bumping into other employees 50 times during a busy brunch and handling it with grace. Not scientific but useful when working here. We have no room to fit kegs (even the little cigar kegs) so our local beer options, when we opened, were limited to one brewery- Highland Brewing Company. This was not a bad thing, as their beers are excellent and Oscar Wong, the owner, was a customer. Highland bottled in 12 oz. bottles and this made it easy for us to store and serve them.
Now there are several options for local microbrews in bottles. Asheville Brewing Company, French Broad Brewing, and Pisgah Brewing all offer beers by the bottle, albeit in 22 ounce sizes. We carry at least a couple from each brewery and will be picking up the seasonal brews as well. Step in for a cold one and see why Asheville tied Portland, Oregon for Beer City USA this year.
If we could just fit another cooler in the place…