Product. Passion & Salt.

I moved a lot as a kid. 17 times. But three formative years (high school) were spent in Charleston, SC. The restaurant scene there is pretty strong although, like anywhere else, ask the chefs where to find a great meal and they give you the same look my Basenji does when I ask her what day it is.

However….I had a very good meal, actually two, this week. I went there to give my Mom some attention and had to catch up on the restaurant scene. Jessie (my 7 year old niece) and I went to FIG (Food Is Good) on Monday night. Very good. Simple, seasoned (good salt), and well prepared. Did I mention simple? I’ll go back any time.

Last night I ate at Ken Vedrinksi’s new place, Trattoria Lucca. Tiny, cute, and also very good. Simple, well seasoned, and well prepared. Did I mention simple?

I’m happy to note that both meals were very much in the style of my food. And since I’m a bit older than either Michael Lata at FIG and Ken, I can say that I’ve been there longer. Let’s hope the industry stays on this path. It tastes so good.

I’m always asking the locals where to eat.  It starts out with folks talking about how much they like to go out.  When I ask where they recommend, they stammer and stutter.  I have found really good Chinese food at Mapo.  And I like breakfast at the Morningside Cafe in Lisle.  Stacey and I tried the Bavarian Inn on Odgen and were pleasantly surprised.  Simple, cheap.  But where else?  And where’s the really good pizza?

Thoughts, musings and occasional rants by Jimmy Sneed.

Source: Product, Passion and Salt

When I was in Urbanna, Virginia, in 1987, the owner of the restaurant urged me to use margarine, salad oil, and frozen seafood, instead of the good stuff, to dramatically reduce our costs.

“These customers will never know the difference,” he declared.

I declined to follow his suggestion but am reminded of an interview I saw on TV some time back.

Olivia de Havilland was talking about the making of ‘Gone with the Wind’. She recalled saying to the producer, David O. Selznick, “We’re over budget, behind schedule, and on our third director. Yet you are bringing seamstresses over from Italy to sew the silk undergarments for the ballroom scene. Why bother? They can’t be seen. Nobody will even know that we’re wearing hand sewn silk.”

At that, Mr. Selznick looked at her and said, “You’ll know.”

I had a customer (the wife of a chef) tell me she thought my putting a single cake on a white plate with no garnish was ‘arrogant’. She also said it was better than her husband’s. I always thought it was more about contradictions. My restaurant in Urbanna, VA 25 years ago was a weather worn beach house on rusty stilts. But the view from inside was spectacular. Messing with expectations.

Oh, here’s a link to the ABC TV show from last week on our softshell crabs.

The ABC show on softshell crabs featuring us did boost business.  Whew.    The crabs are every bit as good as what I served in Virginia.  That’s thanks to my guys at Shore Seafood!  They’ve been most helpful.

Geoff (SugarToad’s Chef de Cuisine) and his guys have planted a garden out front.  Good thing ’cause he’s lost 10 pounds of his winter fat.  They’re very excited about this, coming in on days off to work the garden.  Ah, to be young.

First the fingers: Stacey and I saw Shawn Phillips (see story below) on Saturday and were, no surprise here, blown away. At 66 you would think he has slowed down, but no. His guitar playing was breathtaking.

As to the thumbs: ABC ran Steve Dolinsky’s TV show on Friday featuring our softshell crabs. Everybody coming in on Saturday ordered them. We ran out. We’ll have more tomorrow but in the meantime we got some ‘regular’ softshells from our local purveyor. They’re too tough to saute so we cut the body in two and make a tempura of it. The watermen of the Chesapeake call them ‘dead man’s thumbs’, a take off of what they call the gills (dead man’s fingers).

These nuggets are very, very special and known only to the crabbers. I’ll bet you a carwash you’ve never seen them in a restaurant.

I went to Saxis, Virginia, last Friday to meet the folks that will be sending us our softshell crabs. It’s true that we do the best but in the interest of honesty (and humility) it’s all about the product. The dirty little secret is this. You do not want your crabs to arrive alive. It’s true. If they’re alive, they have ‘hardened’ enough to survive a cross country trip. We want them soft, baby soft, velvet soft. So you have to find someone who will remove them from the water immediately after shedding, not eight to ten hours later as all crabbers do.

Even I had trouble convincing the folks at Shore Seafood (don’t tell anyone our source) to pull them out right away and kill them. Poor silly chefs think they need ‘em alive so that’s the way it’s done. Since I used to ‘shed’ my own crabs back in Urbanna, Virginia years ago, I quickly convinced them that I know of what I speak. Our crabs are soooo soft that you end up eating the pure essence of crab. We’ll have them on the menu thru October. And, minimalist that I am, don’t ask for tartar sauce. You’ll see why.

At the floats with Robin

Here’s a peeve repeated. Saturday night I cooked for the Heart Association fundraiser in Washington, D.C. (Redneck Risotto with SugarToads). Afterwards Etienne (my assistant for the night, and former nemisis at Jean-Louis at Watergate) went to dinner at one of the town’s hot brasseries. We ordered sparkling water (Saratoga). Towards the end of the meal I wondered if there was any left, but the bottle had disappeared. Ah, the waiter showed up and refilled our glasses. Of course when I got the check there was a charge for two bottles @ $7 each. I noted to the waiter that I had not ordered a second bottle. He replied that Etienne’s glass was empty so he took it upon himself to refill, at my expense. I asked if that was their wine policy also…..

He got defensive and said if I wished, he would remove the second bottle from the bill. I wished.

This isn’t the first time this has happened. In fact, sadly, it has become more and more common. The first time it happened to me was at a restaurant in Charleston, SC five years ago. Now I see it as a good way for me to get free water! Please, don’t rip off the customer. Remember, it’s about passion.

It’s true, I have a rock ‘n roll hero.  He’ll be playing in Berwyn next Saturday, the 16th of May.  I’m all a twitter.  The following story may be a bit long for a blog, but I can’t help myself.

So, there you have it.  A bona fide fantasy come true.  Except, I haven’t heard him perform in 30 years.  How’s the voice?  “Better than ever, Jammie.”

End of story.  Well, not quite.  Six years ago Stacey and I took a bike trip from Virginia to Las Vegas and back.  We stopped to say Hi to Shawn in Austin where he insisted that we stay with him and (new) wife Jules.  And he cooked for us!  Spaghetti with tomato sauce and lots of garlic.  So, he can sing and cook!

As for his musical credentials, I once asked him his three greatest professional accomplishments.

“Wail”, he drawled, “I taught Joni Mitchell to play the ghee-tar, I taught George Harrison to play the see-tar, and I turned the Moody Blues on to LSD”.  Not bad, eh?

He still plays gigs (South Africa, Lebanon, Canada, the States) and will be in the Chicagoland area (Fitzgerald’s in Berwyn) on May 16^th.  I’m trembling at the thought.

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tim·bre (tām’bər, tĭm’-)  n.   The combination of qualities of a sound that distinguishes it from other sounds of the same pitch and volume.