Dining
Light my Fire
"Fat is the canvas upon which the flavor flows. It’s the glue that sticks the flavor particles to your tongue,” David Piette, Executive Chef of Sabor Brazilian Churrascaria, avers.
Dec 1st, 2007 by Cate Miller
When the Banana Leaves Split
North Shore Bistro 8649 N. Port Washington Fox Point, WI 53217 414-351-6100 “Yes, we have no banana leaves. We have no banana leaves today.” This devastating news from his purveyor might have crushed any other chef just hours away from a gala dinner for the prestigious American Culinary Federation. The problem? His showcase dish was to be Polynesian-style triggerfish steamed in banana leaves. Wolf, however, put his thinking toque on and turned potential disaster into a creative opportunity. With the prestidigitation of a master illusionist he came up with the solution: The Milwaukee Zoo! After all, who in the area buys more bananas? Wolf admits he had a moment of sweaty panic, but the Zoo’s contribution saved dinner for some very discerning primates with cultivated palates. A Homestead High School graduate who grew up in Thiensville and Mequon, Wolf was a regular guy into sports, hunting and fishing. Football, wrestling and track were his games. Nothing suggested that he would end up as the Corporate Chef for the high-end NStars Restaurant Group. During high school Wolf was a self-described “Friday Fish Fry Bitch” at a local eatery. [I know the feeling having been a Friday Night Football Pizza Bitch in college myself.] As a teenager, Wolf also worked at the Four Seasons in Mequon – and at Sardi’s. He still gets a dreamy look in his eyes describing Sardi’s beef and chicken spiedini cooked with tomatoes and peppers, simmered until the meat fell off the bone. He studied the gastronomic arts at Johnson and Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island and returned to Milwaukee upon graduating. “After culinary school I worked for Larry’s Brown Deer market. It was a great experience working with such high quality cheeses and imported products.” The young chef then worked at Mike & Anna’s for eight years. “The owner, Tony Harvey,” says Wolf, “created a great environment to learn in. It started out as a 50-seat Northern Italian bistro. Tony’s mother was a blast and his dad was a World War II vet with great stories. As young as I was in this business, I had the opportunity to do whatever I wanted. We had a chalkboard menu that constantly changed: rack of lamb, fois gras, scallops, turbot. Whatever we wanted.” Since Harvey also ran Rent-a-Chef, a catering business, Wolf was left much to his own devices at the restaurant. The North Shore clientele had high expectations and chefs like Scott Sebastian, Patrick Schultz, and Richard Staniszewski consistently met and exceeded them. It was a place for great food in a warm, inviting environment. Wolf recalls Mayor John Norquist, who lived nearby, as a frequent diner. “He’d have his bottle of wine, dinner and then fall asleep there right in his chair — he must have felt very comfortable.” The family feel of the restaurant extended to the little kitchen garden in the back full of herbs, edible flowers, nasturtiums, pansies and tiny roses. The owners of the North Shore Bistro – Michael Tarney, Elias […]
Nov 1st, 2007 by Cate Miller
Forever young
photos by Kevin C. Groen Chip & Py’s 1340 W. Towne Square Road (I43 at Mequon Road) 262-241-9589 Longevity in the restaurant business is a rare, hard-earned reward. Yet Julie and Richard Staniszewski have made the journey to the 25th anniversary of Chip & Py’s seem practically effortless. From the day they opened their doors at their original location on 5th and National in Walker’s Point to the day they popped the silver champagne corks this May, they’ve delivered consistently excellent food, potables and entertainment with a spirit of warm bonhomie that makes every customer feel at home. A quarter of a century ago, Julie Betzhold and her brother, John Herschede, had a partnership interest in the first location’s building. They were forward-thinking, seeing it as a base for casual sophisticates in a neighborhood that had yet to be discovered. The greater real estate plan included loft living and an infrastructure that was 30 years ahead of its time. Back then nobody understood the concept. Their best prospective tenant wanted banjo music and turtle races on the bar. With no disrespect to Bela Fleck, that wasn’t what they had in mind. What did appeal to them was Mike & Anna’s, Tony Harvey’s Southside avant garde gourmet eatery, and its chef, Richard. So they lured him to their project. Richard, now chef/owner of Chip & Py’s, was an unlikely gourmand. Raised in what he calls a “deep blue collar” family near County Stadium, he grew up sneaking in to Braves games. His father was a machine repairman and his mother loved baseball but hated cooking. His first food memory is of thin pork chops his mother fried. Dropping one on the floor, she returned it to the frying pan, explaining to her son, “That one’ll be mine.” But her son was doubtful. “How did she know which one it was?” he wondered, thinking that there must be better food out there somewhere. His favorite treat was smoked chubs, prompting his longtime friend and fish monger, Tim Collins of St. Paul Fish Market, to ask him later, “And did you have shoes?” Upon graduating from Solomon Juneau High School, Staniszewski put in six months at a factory, hating it so much he turned to bartending at Cassidy’s, Barbieri’s and then for Tony Harvey’s Rent-a-Chef Catering, a big player in the North Shore. When Harvey opened Mike and Anna’s on 8th and Rodgers, Richard took the helm of a restaurant that would be Milwaukee’s first casual fine dining bistro. Due to the demands of the North Shore clientele from the catering business, they kicked up the carte with epicurean entrées, and the place took off. Responding to his market is a hallmark of Staniszewski’s business philosophy, coupled with a commitment to value that he took to his own business in 1982. “We talked to everyone we knew and asked what they’d like, gauged their response and put it on menu,” he says. “It was an exciting time – just prior to the downtown […]
Jul 1st, 2007 by Cate Miller
Let us eat cake!
photos by Kevin C. Groen Cake Lady & Petite Pastries 3561 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. St. Francis 414-294-4220 cakeladydesigns.com Michelangelo fashioned the treasured Statue of David and the Pieta. Rodin gained prominence for his ponderous works, The Thinker and The Kiss. An anonymous artist chiseled out a place in art infamy with the Venus de Milo. None of these renowned sculptors, however, have anything on Sara Unkefer, owner of The Cake Lady and Petite Pastries. Her towering confections are not only artistically impressive, they’re edible! Wedding cakes festooned with elaborate piping, swags, grape clusters and dotted with frosting pearls are her forte. But one of Unkefer’s greatest gifts is her ability to realize her clients’ desires in cake. She has created a wild, teetering tower of silver and gold fondant-wrapped gifts; colorful fish cakes as big as a reeler’s imagined catch; football helmets and cartoon characters. From the kooky and kitschy to the elegant and fabulous, The Cake Lady does it all. The 32-year-old, her husband Briton (a corporate chef) and their toddler son Levi are Bay View residents and the pastry shop is just a couple of blocks away in St. Francis. With their combined experience and reputations, this couple could live and work anywhere, but chose Milwaukee for proximity to both their families. Sara Unkefer grew up in Appleton, one of six kids. Her mother had an artistic streak, expressed in home crafts like Mickey Mouse and Cookie Monster cakes for birthdays and painting ceramics. Unkefer helped paint the intricate Hummel characters and holiday decorations because she had a steady hand, a must in her profession. “I was an adventurous kid,” Unkefer says. “I was very decisive. I knew what I wanted and was willing to put up an argument to get it.” Her parents were a catalyst for her experimental zeal. She instilled the philosophy that nothing’s impossible. “Growing up in a family of six gave us a lot of strength. They taught us to embrace life and not to be sacred to do what we believe in.” Though her parents never traveled beyond Canada, their children all had the wanderlust. Unkefer worked long hours in Door County restaurants summers and falls to finance her exploits. There she met a young woman who brandished photos of herself with Taliban gunmen in Afghanistan. While most people would be terrified by this disclosure, for Unkefer it deepened the intrigue of travel. After a year at UWM studying anthropology, Unkefer set out to experience ethnic traditions in situ. Backpacking by herself, she toured Mexico, Central America, the Carribean, Holland, Spain and Belgium. Fellow travelers introduced Unkefer to diverse culinary traditions. One trekker carried three duffle bags of spices he had collected on his travels. His meals, prepared in a borrowed kitchen or in banana leaves over an open fire, were so amazing they prompted Unkefer to abandon her vegetarian lifestyle. In Guatemala she encountered a man who’d built a wood-fired oven for baking breads and pizza. It was an encounter that […]
Jun 1st, 2007 by Cate Miller
Watts Tea Shop – 103 years and counting
photos by Kevin C. Groen Watts Tea Shop 761 N. Jefferson Street Milwaukee, WI 53202 414-290-5720 Tom Millot is one of those rare managers who actually wants his employees to learn how to do his job. As Executive Chef of Watts Tea Shop, he fosters leadership qualities in his staff of 14 full and part timers. “I love my staff. They respect what I try to do and the reverse. We have a team concept. We’re always looking to go forward. Besides myself, we have three staffers who can produce any of our baked goods,” he says proudly beaming ear to ear. “You’re only as good as your team.” If Millot sounds like a major league coach, it may be because he’s always been a team player: at home, on the field and in the kitchen. Raised in a family of 11 children, he says, “Everybody pitched in. Sometimes there were too many cooks and not enough elbowroom. We didn’t even fathom eating out, we were so used to eating off the land. We were on a tight budget and that has helped me in my profession. It keeps waste to a minimum and you value everything.” Everyone in the Millot family was expected to be at the dinner table on time. “That was very important for bonding with family. There’s not enough of that [today]. Everybody’s in a hurry to go nowhere fast.” Summers in Hartland, when not doing chores, Millot played baseball in six leagues, several games a day, seven days a week. However, he decided on a career in cooking in his teens and some years later found a lifelong mentor and friend in Louis Danegelis, Senior Chef Instructor at Waukesha County Technical College, where the young chef studied. “He taught me passion. Passion for what I do for my career, with food and more importantly with the people you work with and manage – the culinary team. He taught that the speed of the leader is speed of the team.” “Cross train yourself and your employees. Having an employee adept at doing any job duty within your framework, giving them a sense and feeling of leadership, that’s what he taught me and I try to pass that on.” Millot did double duty with Danegelis, studying by day and working nights and weekends at his catering company, Lee John’s. “He instilled confidence in me and helped me overcome my doubts. I have no fear of failure. Louis said when the pressure’s on, the only thing you can do is pin your ears back, pray and go for it and you will get through the day.” It was advice Millot has applied throughout his career from working as Corporate Chef at QuadGraphics to opening the Union House in Genesee Depot. As a result of this attitude, Millot can not only stand the heat in the kitchen, he thrives on it. “I want to get slammed, otherwise you don’t make any money. Titles aside, when everyone works together, they […]
May 1st, 2007 by Cate Miller
A Few Questions Answered
By Nate Norfolk I’ve worked in a wine shop for almost nine years and there are many questions customers ask me over and over again. So I thought that there would be no better forum to answer these reoccurring quandaries than this article. I hope you find the information useful, and if you personally have anything wine-related you would like to ask me, feel free to send me an email at nate@downerwine.com. Why do wine labels say “Contains Sulfites”? Are sulfites bad for you and do they give you a headache? What are they, exactly? Sulfites are produced by all grape-based wines naturally during fermentation. Even with no addition of outside sulfites, wines still contain them. Some people are intolerant of the stuff, especially asthmatics. If someone were allergic to sulfites, the consumption of any kind of dried fruit, especially apricots, could be fatal. Most wine contains somewhere between 10 and 200 parts per million of sulfites, with white wines typically having a higher concentration. But sulfites alone can’t always be blamed for giving wine drinkers headaches. The wine induced-headache is more likely caused by dehydration or a reaction to histamines that naturally occur in red wines. Over 99 percent of commercial wineries add a small amount of sulfites to their wines solely for the sake of preservation. Without a small amount, most wine would turn into vinegar within a few months. The U.S. is one of the few countries that have a mandatory sulfite labeling law. So keep in mind, if you buy wine in Europe and it doesn’t say that it contains sulfites, it’s not necessarily because they aren’t there. Can you buy a truly high quality wine for $10 or less? If so, what do you recommend? I think there are great wines in the $10 range. That’s best thing about wine right now – there is so much of it and the competition among the cheap brands is fierce. I’m personally a huge advocate of Spanish wines in this price range. That’s where I think the best value to quality ratio is. A few favorites are Borsoa 2005 Tempranillo/Garnacha at $8, Tres Ojos 2004 Garnacha at $8 and Navarro Lopez 2001 Crianza Tempranillo at $11. If you see a low-priced bottle of wine with the same high Wine Spectator, e.g., professional rating as an expensive bottle, are they of the same quality? This depends. For instance, you might see a bottle of Merlot from Napa Valley that is rated 92 points and costs $15, and maybe it’s right next to different bottle of Merlot from Napa Valley that is rated 88 points and costs $45. In this instance, the less expensive of the two is supposedly of a higher quality. But it would be entirely unfair to assume that every wine with a good rating will be something you’ll like. If you hate port wine and stumble upon one that’s incredibly cheap with a stellar rating, in the end you still won’t like it. When wines […]
Apr 1st, 2007 by Vital Archives
Kawoomph!
Photos by Kevin C. Groen Mason Street Grill 425 East Mason Street 414-298-3131 www.masonstreetgrill.com Kawoomph” is the term Mark Weber coined to describe the explosive sound brandy makes as it hits a searing pan of steak au poivre. Mason Street Grill adopted it as the name for its logo: a steer with a chicken hat and flying fish grazing its shoulders representing the breadth of its offerings. Under Weber’s stewardship as Managing Director, the Pfister Hotel’s new flagship restaurant is now at street level and accessible to diverse customers. If you’re with friends, settle into the comfortable leather chairs and banquettes for a memorable feast. Solo diners can pony up to the kitchen counter where they’ll find company watching all the action through the pass. Dinner fare ranges from an exquisite herb-crusted New York Strip steak at $48.50 to a grilled hot dog bun crammed with lobster salad for just $16.50. Steaks come with salad and a side (like the inspired fresh creamed spinach scented with nutmeg) and sandwiches include fries or gingered cabbage slaw. The crispy cracker-crusted pizzas (all under $10) topped with tomatoes and fresh herbs taste like summer. The vanilla-flecked cheesecake is light as mousse. And with a Kenwood Yulumpa Brut for $6.50 a glass, even I, a pauper writer, can afford it. Those who have followed Weber’s luminous career from Arby’s (!) to the Riversite to his own restaurant, WaterMark, would not be surprised by his current appointment, for his cookery is inspired in any setting. He’s received great critical acclaim, but none greater than that of French Novelle Cuisine innovator Paul Bocuse. Among classically trained culinarians, Bocuse (not Emeril or any other TV celebrities) reigns as pope. Thus, it was like Da Vinci honoring a protégé when Bocuse himself complimented a meal Weber had prepared for him at Lake Park Bistro as the closest to his own cuisine that he had ever tasted. He was bred for the food and beverage industry. The chef’s ancestors were brewers in Germany who brought their trade to the U.S. His great grandfather worked for Pabst and his great uncle Clem, as a Miller Brewing VP, brought Lite beer and Lowenbrau to the brand. With thumb and forefinger a couple inches apart, Weber says, “We had our own kiddy mugs this big as long as I can remember.” Weber grew up in Rochester, New York, where his father was a VP for French’s Mustard. The position involved a lot of entertaining that opened portals of extensive gustatory experimentation for his son. Weekends and vacations were spent at the family vineyard in nearby Canandaigua where there was work for all seasons. Three years into an engineering degree at Monmouth College, Weber was bored stiff and left. By then, his parents had moved to Mequon and after a few weeks on their couch Weber ventured out to find employment. He put in a desultory application at the Midway Motor Lodge’s fine dining restaurant, Café Manhattan, hoping they wouldn’t call. “I had […]
Apr 1st, 2007 by Cate Miller
The 2007 WMSE Rockabilly Chili Contest packed quite the punch
As predicted, the 2007 WMSE Rockabilly Chili Contest lived up to its rollicking title on the opening day of April. Despite some inclement weather, the event overflowed the hall and showcased some remarkable 38 chili recipes from area restaurants and cooks. This reporter could only make it through 13 lucky bowls before my stomach wanted to crawl under the cool of the front porch to die. Many great exotic and innovative elements were sampled, along with a few misses and two comforting bowls of Wisconsin-style chili (minus noodles). For the first time in the event’s five-year history, the “People’s Choice” award for meat chili ended in a tie between Wicked Hop and Meat and Metal! from 964 votes. Each chili recipe was a dark and thick brown affair, with a medium kick and a smoldering finish. The winner in the veggie chili category was Stacy Stangarone of Annona Bistro, whose Sweet Potato and Black Bean chili was the buzz on the crowd’s lips. Despite the popular theory that a recipe closely following the middle of the road with the crowd’s tastes would win, in this category the unique idea appealed best. Stangarone’s recipe still tastes very much like a regular chili, but is lifted up to a higher level with certain key ingredients. Crawdaddy’s alligator sirloin based chili was a stewed affair with a light taste. Alligator, by the way, tastes a lot like turkey. Rush-Mor/Palomino probably had the most elaborate affair with their green chili. After plating, the dish was topped with cornbread crumbs and a small lime that was then eyedropped with everclear and set aflame. Mehrdad Dalamie, of VITAL Source and Bremen Café fame, racked up 22 ingredients in his spicy yet thorough concoction, while Solly’s Grille came through with a gorgeous piece of road food good enough for Route 66. One of the most consistent vendors was again Mary Krimmer from Soup’s On! who put out both meat and veggie versions of tremendous character and verve. Koppa’s and Fuel Cafe were some of the first to run out. Sarah Kordus stood under the daunting banner of the reigning champions’ corner, and luckily her batch was as good if not better than last year. Another buzz had gone through the room about Fuel’s veggie batch, which bravely used relatively unknown wheat gluten known as seitan. Often used as an alternative to tofu, it gave the taster the distinct feeling they had just eaten meat-based chili. Finally, one of my favorites was from the Riverwalk Bistro. Billed as “Chorizo and shortrib chili,” it was similar to the two meat winners but provided a little more texture and smokiness than the others I sampled. The event appeared to perfectly serve the exposure satisfaction for WMSE and the vendors. Cold Pabst beer in cans was a favorite spice quaffer, steel guitar music ruled the airwaves and rumors were confirmed that WMSE is securing an even bigger venue for next year’s event. Keep watching http://www.wmse.org/ for final complete tally results, and […]
Apr 1st, 2007 by Brian Jacobson
Casablanca
By Catherine McGarry Miller + photos by Kevin C. Groen Christmas carols aside, Jerusalem is not currently known for its harmony. But for Jesse Musa, chef and owner of Casablanca, it was a place that lived up to its Hebraic name: �yerusha shalem,� or heritage of peace. Musa recalls his hometown as a pleasant, beautiful city where he and his family enjoyed a comfortable lifestyle. �My family was Muslim. We went to public school with Christians and Muslims together. There was no difficulty,� he recalls, �because everyone grew up together in the same neighborhood. We didn�t see any difference between Muslims and Christians. We all believed in God. I didn�t see the differences until I came here [to the United States].� Musa avoids the conflict by viewing the news like a dieter looks at dessert: a monthly indulgence at best. Musa�s father and grandfather owned a restaurant and pastry shop. From the age of 10, Musa helped his father after school. �It [cooking] was something secure that I could make a living on and I love it. I�m happy with my job � it�s lots of hours but I enjoy it.� In 1971, at the age of 20, Musa came to the United States with his father and worked for several years at the Syrian Bakery in Chicago before moving to Milwaukee where several of his older brothers had already settled. Musa ran a couple of neighborhood groceries before opening the Sahara Inn on Mitchell Street in 1987, which he later renamed Casablanca. Musa built his menu on the rich tradition of Middle Eastern recipes perfected by his father and grandfather. Lunchtimes, Musa served a large vegetarian buffet with lentil soup, falafel, a dozen salads, five or six hot entrees and baklava for dessert. I generally don�t recommend buffets, which too often rely on mass quantities of mediocre food, but Musa�s cornucopia of fresh and flavorful delights has always been an exception for me. Throughout his years in business, Musa maintained consistently high quality food at reasonable prices. His lamb and chicken dishes are excellent. Once a friend of mine and I each enjoyed his Lamb Kifta Kabob so much, we ordered a third one to share. �I am very patient with food,� Musa muses. �I give it the time it needs to be cooked, I don�t rush my food. Maybe it takes more time, but it has to be right.� And it is. In 1993, Musa moved to Oakland Avenue in Shorewood, but by 1996, he was back in his original location on Mitchell Street. His customers happily followed his peripatetic business. Three years ago, Musa retired and closed his much-loved restaurant. That might have been the happy ending to a success story if it were not for his children. Musa�s son Alla said, �I tried Middle Eastern [food] everywhere while father was closed but found nothing like my father�s cooking. Maybe I�m prejudiced, but � we grew up in the restaurant business. Dad had a great reputation and […]
Jan 1st, 2006 by Cate Miller
Around the World and Back Again
By Catherine McGarry Miller Bacchus is a place for celebrations. Its wall of 230 wines encased in elegant glass and chrome is a nod to the restaurant’s namesake, the god of wine. It is not, however, a dipsomaniac’s domain. Bacchus exudes class from its carte to its cultivated customers. Executive Chef Adam Siegal started, surprisingly, in the hot dog business at his stepfather’s Chicago area Red Hot huts. As a boy, Siegal stocked shelves, chopped vegetables, and bussed tables. He still likes a good hot dog – an all beef Hebrew National “run through the garden” – dog talk for topped with every veggie in the joint. Since then, Siegal has graduated to ultra-fine dining with a degree from the Culinary School of Kendall College in Evanston, Illinois, and has apprenticed under some of the world’s greatest gastronomes: At the age of 20, Siegal launched his career at Paul Bartolotta’s renowned Chicago bistro, Spiaggia. There he learned “the simplicity of cooking the way Italians cook. I learned technique to taste,” he recalls. He studied directly under the James Beard Award-winning chef, now Bacchus’ co-owner with brother Joe. “Paul’s been my mentor for 14 years and I don’t think I could have a better one. He’s helped me throughout my whole career.” For two years, Siegal explored classical French cuisine under the tutelage of Chef Julian Serrano, also a winner of the James Beard Award and executive chef of Masataka Kobayashi’s celebrated French restaurant, Masa’s, in San Francisco. “The food was classical yet very modern. It was a very intense kitchen, which suited me because I’m a very intense individual with an intense passion for cooking.” In 1998, Paul Bartolotta arranged an internship for Siegal with his own mentor, Valentino Marcetilli, chef at Ristorante San Domenico in Imola near Bologna, Italy. For Siegal, it was a year-long immersion in European cookery where he acquired an appreciation for where the food came from, the traditions behind it, and the Europeans’ passion for dining. “Their lives revolve around food. They sit at the table for two to three hours – it’s how they enjoy life.” He also helped Marcetilli achieve a Two Star Michelin rating. Back stateside, Siegal joined the team that popped the cork on the D.C. branch of Todd English’s lauded Olives restaurant. He didn’t see much of the celebrity chef, but he experienced the initiation of a national high-end restaurant. He also met his future wife, Daria, who was Olives’ manager. The spin at Olives was Mediterranean, but emphasized “taking the traditional and making it not traditional,” Siegal explains. In 2000, the executive sous chef position opened up at Bartolotta’s Lake Park Bistro, so Siegal happily returned to the Midwest. “I love Milwaukee – it’s a kind of hidden treasure. People always think of “Laverne and Shirley,” but there’s all this charm and character to the city.” He later took over chef Mark Weber’s toque and recently added Bacchus to his realm of responsibilities. With the diversity of Siegal’s culinary […]
Nov 1st, 2005 by Cate Miller
Crazy Water Shines
By Catherine McGarry Miller Crazy Water 839 S. 2nd St. 414-645-2606 Dinner 7 days a week, 5-9 p.m.; Fri. and Sat. until ten Culinary performance artist Peggy Magister plays nightly in the window of her popular Walker’s Point restaurant, Crazy Water. She’s on stage more and closer to her audience than most Broadway stars. If I were in her clogs, I’m sure some choice expletives would escape now and then. “I do swear,” she admits. “You just can’t hear it over the fan!” Besides, she continues, “there’s really no one to swear at – the people I work with are too good. I like working in the open – I get to see what’s happening out front and get immediate feed back because I’m not removed from what’s happening.” The Milwaukee native was inspired by her mother’s home cooking, and as a girl started baking cinnamon and sugar pastry cookies from her mother’s pie dough scraps. She enjoyed duplicating fancy desserts from magazine covers, like caramelized walnut tortes and pastry shell jewel baskets bursting with fruit. By high school, Magister was hosting elaborate dinner parties for family and friends. “I subscribed to Bon Appetit. I have all of them and pull them out all the time. That’s how I learned to cook – mostly from magazines.” Magister studied business at Boston University and then completed a degree in nursing at Marquette. After working for five years as a nurse in Seattle, her mother died and she moved back to Milwaukee to be near her father. It was then that the would-be chef began administering to customers through their taste buds instead of I.V.s. A job at La Boulangerie was a vocational turning point. “I had no cooking skills whatsoever,” Magister says. “(Owners) Lynn and Dale Rhyan gave me my palate. Lynn, a classically trained chef, took me under her wing and taught me everything. She taught me how to taste something – that’s what I think is so important. There are tons of restaurants that are busy, but there not tons that have great food. Many chefs can do basics, but if you don’t have a palate, it’s like painting with technique but no sense of color.” The experience whetted Magister’s appetite for culinary education. She got her degree from the California Culinary Academy in San Franciso and on-the-job experience at Wolfgang Puck’s Postrio. Though the famed gastronome was rarely in attendance, she got valuable training in all aspects of cookery from butchery to bakery. Both homesick and wanting to make a mark in her field, Magister again returned to Milwaukee. Chip ‘N Py’s offered her the perfect opportunity. “I wanted a job with more responsibilities and didn’t want to start at the bottom. Chip ‘N Py’s was looking for a lead lunch cook to plan a menu, cost it out and implement it.” There she met Tony Betzhold, who became her business partner. Together, they launched a catering business and, later, The Fork restaurant in Cedarburg. Since then, the […]
Oct 1st, 2005 by Cate Miller
Tenuta’s a Hit in Bay View
By Catherine McGarry Miller “It was either the job or get married. I chose the job,” says Tenuta chef Frank Alia who picked a culinary career over wedded bliss. To do both would lead to divorce, he admits, and cooking is a zeal bred from his Southern Calabrese Italian heritage. After a short stint as dishwasher in one of his uncle’s Kenosha restaurants, Alia began cooking in earnest at just 16 years-old. His pride is in doing the job right. “Anyone can follow a recipe but [the outcome] depends upon the kind of passion you put into a dish – I love making a product that people really enjoy,” he says with great delight. Alia honed his skills with lots of practice. “I listened to a lot of good chefs, went to school [Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago (CHIC)], and wasn’t really afraid to make mistakes.” And as all young chefs, mistakes he made. Once, he made a real doozy, ordering his staff to cook raviolis for forty people, only to realize halfway through the painstaking process that the party was the next evening. “It made a nice employee meal, but I don’t make too many mistakes now,” he says grinning. Alia’s cooking philosophy is true to his Italian heritage. He seasons his dishes with a simple palette of salt, pepper and oregano, roasted garlic and vegetables and vinegars of all kinds. “I use Balsamic vinegar as a base and infuse it with various flavors: raspberry, lemon and sometimes honey like an Italian sweet sour.” The house vinaigrette is so good a bottle of it sits on each table for bread dipping as well as for dressing salads. For Alia, the key to gastronomic success is to start with the freshest ingredients available. Gnocchi all’ Fungi is Alia’s specialty and a dish he loves to recommend. “The gnocchis are made by hand made fresh. The Alfredo sauce is light and creamy, not pasty or heavy. It’s velvety on the tongue.” Alia himself prepares the daily specials and makes the foccacia bread. All specials, pizzas and sauces are made-to-order. Italian loaves are purchased from Canfora Bakery. “We use as many local purveyors as we can – it’s good for business,” Another local business, Battaglia, makes Italian sausage for the restaurant using Tenuta’s own recipe. Desserts, including the popular Tiramisu and Chocolate Godiva Cheesecake are made from scratch. As with any job, there are occupational obstacles to overcome. For Tenuta’s, it is a snug cooking area. “I’m afraid to measure the kitchen, it’s so small,” Alia says with a smile. No more that 25’ by 18,’ equipment is packed in cheek to jowl. The chefs must perform a nightly ballet choreographed between several small prep areas and the ovens, broaster, fryer, steam table and six-burner stove. With all the coolers and freezers in the basement, Alia estimates that he makes a hundred trips a day, which keep him slender enough to navigate his tight quarters. The Bay View Tenuta’s is the […]
Oct 1st, 2004 by Cate Miller
