|
By
Shirley Fong-Torres (That's
a big serving of mussels at Cafe Cadieux in Detroit. Read all about them...and
so much more about Shirley's food adventure below) Not Wro, and it's too embarrassing to walk through a hotel trying to reason with a bi-polar honeybear in a manic phase. We took a connecting elevator to the street level lobby of the Marriott and then transferred to a taxi headed for Eastern Market. This is the nation's largest farmers market (43 acres) and the oldest (founded 1841). It's also one of the finest fresh flower markets in the USA.
(When you see this image, you know that you're at the famous Eastern Market) On football Sundays, it is perhaps the best tailgating venue in America. The other six days, it works -- like a Carl Sandburg city of broad shoulders. Original Home of Stroh's Brewery This was the original home of Stroh's, plus several other breweries, half a dozen churches, a cemetery, a house of correction and a contagious diseases hospital. The Busy Bee Hardware Store is where the Purple Gang held the Detroit version of St. Valentine's Day massacre, on its secret fourth story.
(The produce at the Eastern Market is so fresh it looks like a perfect picture) Preservation Wayne offers two-hour walking tours of the market on Saturdays, May to September. Early birds, which include many of the best chefs and restaurateurs, shop here between midnight and 5 a.m.. Old timers told us how before WWII there were over 1,000 farmers here daily. Automobiles and refrigeration changed all that, but wholesaling and processing outlets saved the market. In the 1970's architect Alexander Pollock revived the place with murals and some adorable chicken art. A Good Mix of Farmers, Dealers, Restaurants We noticed a good mix of farmers, dealers and restaurants that use farmers' best produce. The Russell Street Deli offered Carncross maple syrup with their pancakes. The Farmers' Restaurant, once a banana warehouse, ground fabulous pork sausage, exclusively from neck meat. They make over 20 omelets, from eggs laid within 24 hours. Originally, the south end of the market was a German neighborhood. In the main building here all the stalls specialize, one in "Never Bleached Chittelins." Wro flirted with farmers from southeast Michigan, northeast Ohio and Ontario (he always asks for addresses). Mommy found some Amish chickens, free ranged and organic, from Indiana. White Pekin ducks and rabbits from Ohio and Indiana. Chickens arrive live. Another stall dealt in Amish turkeys, geese and kebabs. Lots of sausage dealers explained why their product was best. The Odrobina sisters advised us to choose pink meat pork. We learned about Detroit's two great corned beef makers. Tom Wigley's third-generation family business competes with Graubbel's, the largest in nation, for the local market. Tom Wigley said they have been producing brine-cured beef briskets since 1924, the year his grandfather, Job, came to Detroit from England. He offers four grades of corned beef now. Ronnie Pedway talked about his meat market. "Tom Wigley and I were kids here together. I have been working here my whole life. Started coming with my Dad and I loved that. I knew I wanted to be here, it was moving experience because my father died soon after. So I got a job and some 50 years later I had a chance to be an owner. "This is the nucleus of food distribution across this part of Michigan, for over 100 years. We have all the food brokers and distributors here. Rail cars come right to the terminal. We have a 100 foot meat counter that we completely replenish every day. I sell 50,000 pounds of ribs on a holiday weekend, and that's all holidays, not just the 4th of July." Let's Check Out the Seafood Market Wro checked out the seafood market, which had a large range - from bullheads to the locally prized perch that our waitress in Hamtramck couldn't understand our not ordering.
(The Star Fish & Seafood Co. is a very popular Detroit fish market) Produce revealed some winter wisdom. Cabbages looked awesome, and we were told that this vegetable is best after temperatures drop to freezing, turning it sweeter and deepening its color. There were all kinds of apples and ciders, including the wonderful unpasteurized ciders from Fuhr's Valley View, of Imlay City. We found pure Michigan maple syrup. Lawrence Carncross said his family has been tapping it in Clare, Michigan since the 19th century, when his grandpa moved there. Wro learned it takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. Three grades were offered: A,B and C, with darker and stronger flavor progression. Henry Turman's gorgeous lima beans have a reputation with top chefs. Specialty food businesses here have added to the market's appeal. Germack Pistachio Company was the first in America to import pistachios from Turkey, in 1924, and the first to use red dye. Rocky's Peanuts has been here since 1955. The owner explained that her grandparents bought some roasters and suddenly they were out of the produce business and into fresh roasted nuts. What's Unique about Rafal Spice Company? Wro asked Don Rafal what was unique about his Rafal Spice Company: "What can you get here you can't get anywhere else? My sass. Dad started this business in 1960. I am totally unemployable, I know nothing else." At "Gabriel's Importing," Wroburlto counted over 25 different olives in a white tubs, but there might have been more. He lacks the patience to do accurate inventories. "All the Greektown restaurants shop here," an employee told us, adding that a specialty here is Shangleesh - a yogurt cheese rolled in cumin-dominated herbs. Only made in cool weather, it's an only-in-Detroit treat for football and hockey season (drizzled with olive oil and served with cucumbers, tomatoes and onions). We could spend a week at the market. We barely had time to walk by places such as Johnny Mac's Cookie Factory, where a sign in the window demanded 'Get Your Buns in Here.' Or the Bagel Factory, a cheese store and wine importer. But, as Wro says, "There're only 26 hours in a day." (Thank God he doesn't play black jack.) A
Very Big Market "It cost a $1.50 a night," she said, "and included a meal in the 1890's, when the Marrazza family owned it. Mama Marrazza's cooking was so good she was encouraged to convert into a restaurant. In the 1920's, my great grand uncle came over on business, from Fiat headquarters in Torino. In those days you didn't just drop by from overseas, you stayed - 6 months in his case. He got to know Maria Marrazza and determined to buy this place. In 1927 he brought over a brother to run it. "It was a speakeasy in the day, and we understand that they would build new doors to get around the police padlocks. My grandfather Sossi was a European trained chef working for the Statler Hotels in Ohio. His best friend was Hector Boyardi, and Dad was named for him. And yes, Hector asked grandfather to invest in his canned Italian food business scheme, but no, he didn't. "Dad began as a bus boy at age 18. I never imagined being in the business. I was trained for family therapy and worked as an executive for Kelly Girls. When I was 30, I asked if I was welcome in the family business and started at the bottom." Roma has
loyal staff who have been here 30 or 35 years. Customers are loyal too, many eat
here every day of the week. Monday night buffets, free parking and free shuttles
to hockey games are a huge part of the business. While
most of the menu conforms to Italian-American standards, veal le monde is a Piedmont
recipe from grandfather. Veal Tosca is too, named by Charlie Sossi to honor the
opera. I could have stayed for cannoli, but Wro had a feather bowling date. The old Belgian community north of downtown is pretty much dispersed now, but the Cadieux Café still stands where sons of Flanders used to race pigeons while devouring mussels and beer. We
met Laurie Asher, "the Polish, Belgian chef," at America's only feather
bowling bar. She said that mussels are still the constant pecial and feather bowling
is so popular the courts must be reserved.
Robert and Yvonne Devos bought this old grocery store/speakeasy in 1962. Robert was a housepainter from Flanders, Yvonne was from Antwerp. A serious pigeon racer, the Pigeon Flying Club asked Robert to buy the Cadieux. "Dad
died of pigeon handlers disease," explained son Ron Devos, who now owns the
place with nephew Paul Misurack. "So you see why we don't do it any more. But we still host the bicycle race on Labor Day, our biggest event of the year. We still have feather bowling, which is much like bocce, but played with wooden balls that look like wheels of gouda cheese.
(Wro tries his hand at feather bowling) Wro
played a few games, while Mommy checked out the 70 beers (24 from Belgium) and
mussels from Maine and Prince Edward Island. The daily special was lake perch.
Thankfully, Laurie didn't mind us not ordering it. When Wro asked if the annual
Mussel Beach Party attracted "gay hotties," it was time to leave. First, we were greeted by an extraordinary maitre d'hotel, owner Jim Lark, his impeccable tuxedo accented by the gold medallion of a Commandeur Honoraire du Bontemps de Medoc et des Graves. After exchanging wardrobe compliments with Wroburlto, he made us a most unusual offer. "Come with me and we'll choose a table."
(The Larks, Jim and Mary, get to know Wro. They are the gracious hosts at the memorable country inn) You see, unlike most great restaurants, this intimate country inn just north of Detroit was designed without any bad tables - just two cozy booths in the bar, and a single dining room. Two tables nearest the kitchen compensate for their location with elaborately upholstered banquettes. There's outdoor seating in an enchanting garden if one wants cocktails, dessert or an entire meal with the resident doves and ducks. But an indoor table will also be reserved. "You never know what the weather might do," Lark explains. More
importantly, Lark believes that size matters, that once a restaurant seats more
than 50 diners, bad things happen. Foremost, the chef becomes a supervisor and
the actual cooking is done by secondary talent. Secondly, if every table isn't
full every night, the best waiters are unhappy and leave. Imports from Western Iberia Vases, fireplace design, wall tiles, carpeting and tapestry all came from western Iberia, as did the hanging cataplana, a cooking utensil that also produces a signature paella-like dish. The lovely Gien place settings looked impractically fragile. "But we like them," Mary Lark explained, matter of factly. Mary has some titles of her own - Dame Maitre de Table, Conferie de la Chaine des Rotisseurs, Commandeur du Bontemps Medoc & Graves. She and her daughter Adrian, a Master Gardener, maintain the charming gardens. Mary also visit's the farmers market at 6:30 each morning, a bit earlier than Wro and I, for fresh flowers. She grows orchids in the winter greenhouse and she flies others in from Hawaii and Belgium. "We
wanted to have a Southern European country inn, but we had no country here,"
Jim explained. "So we built this walled garden. In every poll since we opened,
we have been voted most romantic restaurant in Michigan. A large part of that
is our garden." Wro
suggested the doves were a bad idea, "Remember what happened to Romeo and
Juliet when they confused one for a lark." The Larks ignored him and, since
Jim had complimented his attire, Wro didn't seem to mind. "We're not pompous, we're arrogant," he said. An Important Distinction The distinction is important to a man who wears his many titles with pride -- B.S., LL.B., J.D., Law and Accounting. Maitre Sommelier Vins de France, Chevalier du Tastevin, Officier Maitre de Table L'Academie-Brillat-Savarin, Confrerie de la Chaine des Rotisseurs, etc. Jim says that, because he is part Prussian, he prowls the place looking for imperfections to fix. So the Larks know how to avoid pomposity while making guests feel comfortable. That is why Jim and Mary act as their own sommelier, maitre d, gardener and decorator. And why they detour wine snobbery with 100 menu selections, many by the glass, and bottles priced $17.50 - $400. (1100 others are on the reserve list.) It's
also why many superior appointments remain invisible on their $65 - $75 fixed
price menu: dairy products from Guernsey (never Holstein) cows; fresh strained
(never canned) tomatoes; Caribbean white (not brown) shrimp ("Asian farmed
shrimp are 90 per cent of the US market now and they are full of the antibiotic
of last resort, I wouldn't feed it to people at any price"); live (never
frozen) Maine lobsters prime; and Kobe beef; the bar scotch is Dewar's White,
the bourbon pour is Maker's Mark, and the vermouth is Boissiere French Dry. The Nuances of Prussian Perfection Other nuances of Prussian perfection go unnoticed by the average diner. "We won't buy California strawberries, you know why? Cut one in two, you see a white pith. It's not a strawberry, it's shield-absorbing chemical fungicides and other poisons. We won't buy California or Florida tomatoes for the same reasons. "Prime rib is a huge pain to restaurants, how much will people order and how will they want it cooked? So, they don't cook it anymore, it's pre-cooked to rare-medium rare and Cryovac-ed by wholesalers. Restaurants just cut a piece off, reheat it and serve it with au jus. It's fine if you are into Styrofoam. I wouldn't feed it to my dogs. We cook all our prime, prime rib from scratch, 20 minutes at 500 degrees and then 18 minutes/per pound at 325 degrees." The Larks are confident enough to defy convention. Hence soft shell crabs are always deep fried, never sautéed. "Most places don't remove the carapace, the top shell," Jim explained. "If you don't do that, then the top turns to leather and traps the moisture and the meat turns to mush. Then sautéing it insures a mushier mush. It's simple physics." The Lark head chef Kyle Ketchum, just their fourth in 26 years, manages a menu that changes every two months. He does this with just three chefs. By contrast, Tribute had a dozen chefs working under Don Yamauchi when we visited. There's no pomposity in Ketchum's deft hand. As novelist Jim Harrison put it, he's faithful to the Lark creed that "food should taste like itself, that it need not wear a wig and earrings." "Presentation is the last refuge of non-tasters" says Jim Lark, adding he never approved of nouvelle cuisine. "Taste and aroma evaporate when food undergoes too much chopping and dicing." Hence, steaks are popular here and Kyle prepares them in the French manner, in a skillet with simple sauces, to avoid the dehydration of broiling. Jim says that too many diners think they need to order something fancier than steak here, but that his most requested dish among European nobles dining with him is simple steak. And, since all courses are unlimited, diners can order their steaks cut to any size. Non-pompous arrogance is validated by scores of awards, most significantly "best restaurant in the USA" by Conde Nast Traveler readers survey. The magazine suspended their poll the following year. "Their advertisers weren't doing all that well," scoffs Jim Lark. Celebrities come here for Kyle's regional take on continental cuisine, and to have a good time. While filming in Detroit, Jack Nicholson once wrote "Hoffa" in the freshly fallen snow on every windshield in The Lark's car port. He has returned to the restaurant several times, after watching the Lakers play the Pistons. "And he always has meals prepared for each member of his flight crew," Jim Lark confides. Other basketball stars frequent The Lark too. "We
are well supported by both the NBA and hockey leagues," explains Jim, "but
have never seen a baseball or football player here. I believe it's a matter of
superior education and intelligence." He's a Budding Superstar Kyle is what the NBA would call a budding superstar. The San Antonio native turned to cooking after a bicycle accident derailed the former trumpeter's ambitions for a jazz career. He started as a dishwasher and quickly pleaded for a chance to cook. "I didn't like going home wet," he explains. Even without a formal degree, Kyle became executive sous chef at San Antonio's Fairmont Hotel. Then he attended the Cordon Bleu Academy in Scottsdale. While still in his 20's, he was twice invited to James Beard House dinners, while working at the renowned American Restaurant in Kansas City. Less than a year after taking over as Chef de Cuisine at Omni's Interlocken Resort in Colorado, Kyle elevated their restaurant to its first ever four star rating with Denver critics and four diamond rating by AAA. Then an old mentor recommended him to the Larks. "Kyle interviewed for the job by preparing a four course blind tasting. We were so impressed we hired him on the spot," Jim Lark recalls. We were so impressed that The Lark shot close to the top of our all time favorite restaurants list. Wro had the Genghis Khan lamb and Mommy, who can't eat things with cute faces, chose the Mediterranean sea bass with French beans, petite herb salad & chervil creme fraiche.
(Wro tried the delicious Ghengis Khan lamb) We also enjoyed a duck salad, wild Gulf shrimp, Washington oysters and an Asian salad from the galley, a butternut squash soup that sang praises of the Michigan earth, plus a signature salad of lardons, soft poached egg, garden herbs and celeriac remoulade. For dessert, we chose a Salzburger nockerel souflee for two. Like the best restaurants anywhere in the world, personal touches place The Lark in one-of-a-kind country. As usual, Wro states it more dramatically. "If Romeo & Juliet had stuck with The Lark, they'd still be alive." The Lark's Game Dinner Menu A
Plate of Smoked Naubinway Whitefish For marinade 1 cup finely
chopped onions Combine all For lamb 3 racks of lamb
(8 ribs each), trimmed and silverskin removed Place lamb and marinade in plastic bag, tie and refrigerate for 48 hours, turning occasionally. Remove lamb and let stand for one hour at room temperature. Brush with hoisin sauce. Place on rack in shallow roasting pan and roast at 450 degrees F. 15 to 25 minutes for rare, longer to taste. Let rest 6 minutes before carving. WHEN YOU GO… Roma
Café Cadieux
Café The
Lark
(Click below for more
travel).
| ||
 |
