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.

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.

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…

As you may realize, it takes a special type of person to stay in this business for any length of time. “Special” has too many meanings to list here, but suffice it to say, I ain’t braggin’. I am saying that I have been in the Hospitality industry for the last thirty-one years. It all started because I was out of work and putting myself through college. My older brother Vin got me a job as a host at Houlihan’s Old Place at Riverside Square Mall in Hackensack, New Jersey.

Try  telling New Jerseyan’s that they would have to wait for a table,even for a minute. The wait could grow to as much as two hours. Can you say thick skin? Oh yeah, it was very colorful.  After several months of hosting (which I really liked), I quickly trained through out the whole operation, ending up working in the kitchen. Back then the “American Bistro” restaurants like Houlihans’ and TGI Fridays were doing a lot of scratch food preparations. They also did (and do) huge volume. When I started cooking I was lame, very lame indeed. I had to be talked through the rush by a kindly manager by the name of Jimmy Knikos. It was so different from working the door, in the kitchen a confident smile carries no weight, it didn’t matter that I had manners or was glib. The only thing of importance was the food. And getting the food out in sych with the other three cooks on the line. Thankfully my brother had gone on to the Culinary Intstitute before my inauspicious start, so I had no witnesses to my daily humiliation.

I have to say, it was love at first sight. Where else can you work with a large group of fun (and usually good looking) people, all bent on making money and having a good time doing it? Not only that, they fed us, we could buy beer and the dating game was fast and furious. I never wanted to go home. Problem was, school faded into the background and my life quickly became work-centered. I dropped out after two years as a communications/theatre major. To make matters worse in my parents minds, Don Pardo, the famous announcer, was going to help me find a job at NBC after graduation. Alas… but as the zen master said, “We’ll see…”

More on the next post. JWS

This is our first recipe entry. It is a good example of how we do what we do. Fresh herbs, familiar flavors with something of an interesting twist. We will try to put out a recipe each week, but don’t hold us to it!

Apple Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

1 cups Olive oil

1/2  cups Apple Cider

1/4 cups Cider vinegar

1/4 cups Lemon juice

1 Tbsp. Lavender herb mix

1/2  Tbsp. Chopped Chives

To taste Salt & Pepper

To taste Sugar

Lavender Herb Mix

Ingredients:

1 part Lavender (picked)

1 part Rosemary (picked)

½ part Thyme (picked)

½ part Oregano (picked)

¼ part Sage (if available)

1 part Parsley

Method: Combine and chop all.

I was an early adopter, so I had a first generation laser disc player, a first generation cd player,  one of the first Epson IBM PC clones (complete with a 5 1/4 floppy drive only),  an S-VHS video recorder, and bought a dvd player when the whole divx temporary dvd technology was still considered a possible alternative to dvd.  I was on the internet (such as it was) in 1994.  Through my friend Phil Yanov (an early adopter’s early adopter), I was introduced to the first Palm Pilots,  and how the internet could be used with all types of devices,  including amateur radio.

As someone that enjoys marketing,  I have watched with interest the efforts to use the internet as a marketing tool ( I sound like someone in the fifties saying that “maybe this television thing will make some money someday”).  I watched the internet bubble burst while working with consultants from Oracle and hearing the moans from many of them who had invested in companies that really didn’t have products to sell or real plans to make money with the products they had.

Since then, a lot of internet products have come along that make the marketing options for a small business such as ours much more diverse.  We spent the first four years placing ads in multiple print outlets, on radio stations and their related websites, on television (rarely and at very specific times), sending email updates to our customers that request them, and using our website as the main vehicle to get our name on the internet.

Over the last several months we have added a Facebook page for the Corner Kitchen, a twitter site for the Corner Kitchen, and this blog.  While one of the attractions of these recent additions is the cost (basically my time), the other thing I like about these sites is that they give Joe and me the ability to interact with our customers.  Joe has such a history with food and restaurants that he can supply interesting stories until the cows come home (thanks to my late grandmother, Grace Lackey, for that saying) and we can communicate special things to our guests with more immediacy.

Our goal is not to inundate our customers with information, and these sites allow access when people want it and can be ignored when people don’t want to hear from us.  The goal is to give people the ability to interact with us.  I have started posting our daily specials on twitter and using the Corner Kitchen facebook page to highlight events here as well as our staff.  This blog will have more meat on the bones – at least that is the plan – and will let Joe and me write about things that interest us (and hopefully you) both inside and outside the restaurant industry.

If there are things you would like to see here or on one of the other sites, let us know.