More Diners, Drive-ins and Dives
Page 15
2. Heat the rest of the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring a bit, until soft. Stir in all of the tomato products. Fill the tomato puree can with hot water, and stir in the beef and chicken base to dissolve. Add the mixture to the saucepan along with the Parmesan, steak seasoning, garlic salt, basil, and parsley, and bring to a simmer.
3. Add the beef to the sauce, reduce the heat to low, and simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Taste and add salt, if necessary.
4. TO MAKE THE BAKED PASTA: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly oil a 10-inch deep-dish pie plate.
5. Toss the cooked pasta with 2 cups of the meat sauce and 1½ cups each of the mozzarella and Cheddar cheeses. Mound the mixture in the pie dish and top with the rest of the meat sauce and the mozzarella and Cheddar. Place the pie dish on a baking sheet, and bake until bubbling and golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Top with the Parmesan cheese and serve.
“BOY, WHAT IN THE HECK HAPPENED TO YOUR HAIR?”…“I DON’T REALLY KNOW!”
Photograph courtesy of Hooker & Co., St. Paul, Minnesota
MIDWEST
VICTOR’S 1959 CAFÉ
EST. 1999 A LITTLE MINNEAPOLIS JOINT DOING BIG CUBAN FOOD
I’m always looking for those small joints that make you stop and say, what in the heck? Like this little tropical-looking dive in South Minneapolis. It’s a small joint, but people say Victor’s 1959 Café is packed with big flavor.
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TRACK IT DOWN
3756 Grand Avenue South
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55409
612-827-8948
www.victors1959cafe.com
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This may not be Miami, but it would be hard to convince you otherwise. They’ve got lime- and garlic-marinated pork, steak with fried green plantains called tostones, classic Cuban sandwiches, and more—all cooked by a woman whose background is Greek. As she says, you don’t have to be Cuban to cook Cuban food, but it’s really great if you can learn from a Cuban. So that’s what Niki Stavrou did when she opened this place with her then-husband. He’s from Cuba, and the recipes that she learned from him are authentic Cuban recipes—and she’s kept it that way.
The Cuban sandwich starts with a whole pork loin. Niki marinates it with lime juice, oregano, garlic, salt and pepper, and a little vinegar, places it in a roasting pan, and cooks it in the oven, covered for three and a half hours, then uncovered for thirty minutes. The pork gets shredded, the pan juices are added back in, then she layers the sandwich roll with mustard, Swiss cheese, sliced pickles, a thick slice of ham, and the pulled pork, then presses it on the hottest part of the grill on both sides. It’s about as legit as they come, super juicy, the pickle fits in there great, and that great big slice of ham…Out of the fifty Cuban sandwiches I’ve had, this is in the top 5 percent.
For her ropa vieja she puts flank steak in a pot with some water, salt, cumin, and bay leaves. It simmers for about an hour and a half; then she shreds it. Next she heats a little oil and places a layer of sliced red, yellow, and green bell peppers and sliced onions on the bottom. The meat goes on top, then Creole sauce, garlic, sherry, and green peas. It’s served with rice and sweet plantains: take a bit of all three at once, it’s my rule. You get the deep rich tomato flavor, onions and peppers, and sweet crunchy plantain in the back. If you live within five hundred miles of this joint, make a vacation out of it.
RICKY AND LUCY GIVE IT A DOUBLE BABALOO!
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[GUY ASIDE]
I love Cuban food! I love it all. Ropa vieja, picadillo, cubano sandwiches, the history, lore, cigars. I’ve done a bunch on Big Bite, cooking with sofrito and mojo, so when we go to a Cuban joint I know I have a little bit of a position—not an attitude, just a position. When I went in here to see what was going on, I was very happy. Niki’s knocking it out. Cuban food is not really well known, it’s tough to find. But based on my knowledge this place is pretty authentic. Everybody thinks that because Cuba’s close to Mexico the food must be spicy, and people are greatly surprised to find out it isn’t.
Here’s my challenge: I want everybody who reads this book to go into Victor’s 1959 and find out where I signed Diners, Drive-ins and Dives—because everybody writes on the walls.
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OWNER’S NOTE: To Anthony “Chico” Rodriguez, director of photography. I thought you’d like to know that my dinner business has doubled since the show aired! My October, usually a slow month, was as good as my August, which is always the best month of the year; it’s blowing me away. And November is looking just as good! We’re meeting new DD&D fans every day at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We actually have a full reservation book every Friday and Saturday night, and on weeknights we’re doing what we used to do on weekend nights. Our new mantra is Viva Food Network!
I’ve designated a new spot for writing on the wall, dedicated especially for DD&D fans who have come from out of state. We’ve had people signing from all over the country. I feel so grateful to have had the opportunity for this wonderful exposure. Especially with the state of the economy these days, I am humbled and thankful to be able to say that business is thriving. Please share this news with your colleagues; you guys did an awesome job on the show, and I appreciate it so much.—Niki Stavrou
Picadillo
ADAPTED FROM A RECIPE COURTESY OF NIKI STAVROU OF VICTOR’S 1959 CAFÉ
Ohhh, this is good. A little bit of saltiness from the capers is right there, plus the sweetness of the raisins. I could eat this every day.
MAKES 6 SERVINGS
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound ground beef
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3 cups Creole Sauce (recipe follows)
4 small red potatoes, cut into thin wedges
4 garlic cloves, chopped
¾ cup Spanish olives
¾ cup raisins
2 tablespoons capers (include a little bit of the juice)
2 bay leaves
1. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Brown the beef; spoon off any excess fat. Stir in the salt and cumin and cook for 1 minute.
2. Add the Creole Sauce and bring to a simmer. Add the potatoes, garlic, olives, raisins, capers, and bay leaves and simmer, stirring regularly, for 30 minutes. Discard the bay leaves and serve the picadillo with black beans and rice.
Creole Sauce
ADAPTED FROM A RECIPE COURTESY OF NIKI STAVROU OF VICTOR’S 1959 CAFÉ
MAKES 5 TO 6 QUARTS
¼ cup olive oil
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 garlic cloves, chopped
¼ cup chopped fresh oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 (#10) can tomato sauce (96 ounces, or 3 quarts)
Water
4 bay leaves
1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the bell peppers, onion, and salt and pepper to taste and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened. Stir in the garlic, oregano, and cumin and cook for about a minute.
2. Add the tomato sauce, fill the #10 can with water and pour that in, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes, until all the flavors have blended. You’ll have extra sauce to use for other recipes!
TWO CUPS OF THIS COFFEE AND YOU’LL NEED A SNOW SHOVEL TO GET YOU OFF DA CEILING.
MIDWEST
AMATO’S CAFE
EST. 1968 FROM FAIRGROUND TO NEIGHBORHOOD LEGEND
You know a lot of restaurants boast about home cooking, and on DD&D we look for those places that have real family recipes. Like here in Omaha where a guy named Sam Amato started serving sausage and pepper sandwiches at an eight-by-eight-foot wooden stand at the county fair and ended up here serving his family’s Itali
an favorites.
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TRACK IT DOWN
6405 Center Street
Omaha, Nebraska 68016
402-558-5010
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They make sausage fresh every day, because that’s the way Sam was taught when he was just a boy, cooking next to his mom and grandma. In his neighborhood everybody got a nickname, and his was Sammy Tomato-head. At his restaurant he works the room, serving up what the locals say is the best sausage in town.
He starts with boneless pork butt that he cuts into pieces, and puts in some sea salt, coarse ground black pepper, fennel seed, and the “oompah”: crushed red pepper. He adds just a little water (’cause water kills sausage), squeezes it through with his fingers, and puts it through the meat grinder into natural casings. It shows up in omelets, monster chili Alfredo, and the one the started it all, the sausage sandwich. He uses a mezzaluna to chop up the roasted red pepper, puts in some marinara and olive oil, and mixes it up. He cooks the sausage on the flattop for about twenty minutes, both sides. The bread is slathered with their homemade garlic butter and griddled, the sweet pepper sauce is cooked up, and it’s all put on the sandwich with the Italian sausage. The big chunks of meat in the sausage give it great texture. Get away from me, I’m eating!
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[GUY ASIDE]
When I was a kid growing up in a little tourist town named Ferndale, California, I was known to be a bit of an entrepreneur. Dad came out when I was six and shut down my Kool-Aid stand because of complaints that I had a purple arm—’cause I lost my Kool-Aid stick. Next, I got into the candy biz. I’d buy penny candy across the street and sell it for five cents apiece to the tourists. So, when I was in fourth grade, we went on vacation to Squaw Valley. I took all my lunch money and bought the soft pretzels, New York–style with mustard. Knowing my entrepreneurial bent, Dad said, “Why don’t you sell your own? Find out where that guy gets his pretzels.” So I went down to the dude I’d been buying pretzels from for four days and asked for the address. He said, “No, if I give you the address you may become my competition.” I was like, I’m in fourth grade and live in Ferndale! The world was ending. I told Dad, and he said, “BS, you go down there and wait till he gets rid of the box.” I waited around the corner from the guy for four hours until he threw it out; then I jumped into the Dumpster and brought the box to my dad, who tore the address off. Back home we painted a cart yellow and put it on the back of a three-wheel bike named The Awesome Pretzel and started a business. I sold pretzels for five years and made enough money to go to France as an exchange student when I was sixteen. I didn’t even speak French.
Sam Amato had a similar story. He started selling sausages from a cart, then started a restaurant. We had the best time; just loved the guy.
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Sammy’s got a Sicilian take on chicken-fried steak. He uses Italian bread crumbs, Romano cheese, black pepper, and rough-chopped parsley. Take a nice beef steak, grab a bottle, and tenderize (hit the heck out of it). He does a double dip of egg wash and the bread crumbs, and it’s onto the flattop. He heats up some of the roasted red peppers (can you hear the music yet?) and does the garlic-butter-toasted bread. The steak get the peppers on top, then a few slices of provolone. He throws a lid on top to give it a steam bath to melt the cheese and assembles the sandwich. He had me at hello. Nice crunch, the peppers make it, a little bit of cheese, and the garlic bread. The bread is homemade, just like the ricotta cheese that Sammy makes every day. That ricotta is best right out of a pan, though…and they put it in cannoli and lasagna, blueberry pancakes, too. Creamy, salty, and rich.
Sammy’s the real deal.
THEY’RE SQUARING OFF, SAUSAGE MAN VERSUS PRETZEL BOY—CULINARY BATTLE ROYAL.
Sausage Sandwich
ADAPTED FROM A RECIPE COURTESY OF SAMMY AMATO OF AMATO’S CAFE
When I get to learn something like homemade sausage ground fresh from a dude who’s been doing it since he was a kid, it’s like meeting my favorite football player.
Kitchen note: The sausage mixture needs to rest in the fridge overnight, so start this recipe a day in advance.
MAKES 3 POUNDS SAUSAGE AND 6 TO 8 SANDWICHES WITH EXTRA GARLIC BUTTER SAUCE
Pork sausage
3 pounds boneless Boston butt, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 cup water
¼ cup fennel seeds
2½ tablespoons crushed red chile flakes
2½ tablespoons fine sea salt
2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
34- to 36-millimeter hog sausage casing
Pepper sauce
1 (12-ounce jar) roasted red peppers, whole or strips, rinsed
1 cup marinara sauce
1½ tablespoons olive oil
Garlic butter sauce
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 teaspoon garlic salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon red chile flakes
1 teaspoon chopped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 to 8 hoagie rolls, split with 1 side still attached, for serving
1. FOR THE SAUSAGE: Toss the pork with the water, fennel seeds, chile flakes, salt, and black pepper. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
2. Rinse the sausage casing. Attach the casing to the meat grinder and run the meat through on the coarse setting. Make 1 large coil or tie off 6 to 8 individual sausages.
3. FOR THE PEPPER SAUCE: Chop the peppers into 1-inch pieces. When you are ready to make the sandwiches, bring the marinara sauce, peppers, and olive oil to a low simmer; keep warm.
4. FOR THE GARLIC BUTTER SAUCE: In a small saucepan melt the butter with the garlic salt, pepper, chile flakes, and parsley. Keep warm while you grill the sausages.
5. Preheat a griddle or skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and heat. Fry the sausages in oil until they are crusty and cooked through, about 15 minutes.
6. Heat another skillet over medium heat, or wipe the griddle clean and reduce the heat a bit. Brush the hoagie rolls with some garlic butter sauce and toast them cut side down until golden brown. Put the sausages in the hoagie rolls and top with a few tablespoons of warm pepper sauce.
AT 12:38 THEY JUST START STARING.
MIDWEST
CALIFORNIA TACOS & MORE
EST. 1996 AN INSPIRED TAQUERIA, ALIVE AND WELL IN OMAHA
This one’s a great family story. In 1914 a Belgian immigrant built this building and opened up a pharmacy. He later passed it on to his son. Decades later the son retires, and it looks like the Bogart family legacy is going to end on this corner. That is, until the grandson steps up and says he’ll take a shot, moves back from Miami, and reopens the place his way, as a taqueria.
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TRACK IT DOWN
3235 California Street
Omaha, Nebraska 68131
402-342-0212
www.californiatacosandmore.com
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Brad Bogart is serving all of the classics—chimichangas, enchiladas—but the heavy hitter is something he calls a California taco, even though he discovered it on a trip to the Caribbean. It’s a puffy shell taco. When he opened this place he’d never worked in the restaurant business before in his life. He went down to the Mexican grocery store and the staff would point at stuff for him to use. He scratch-makes the dough, and he’s self-taught! He has a crazy 1931-patented bun divider to portion the taco dough balls or buns; then he rolls them out by hand to order. That’s right; he could make them and stack them with wax paper, but no. He wants the customers’ tacos to taste like he wants his tacos. So he rolls them, stuffs them with steak, chicken, or ground beef, and fries them fresh. His carne asada (steak) is seasoned with black pepper, sea salt, onion salt, cayenne, and oregano, then grilled over an open flame to medium rare. He cools it, slices it, and stuffs it in the taco, then into the fryer basket. Add cheese and lettuce and bite in. Outstanding. The meat has great flavor; it’s jui
cy and killer.
He makes a red and a green salsa—with fresh jalapeños. That’s money. His beef chimichanga is made with ground beef with ancho chili powder, chipotle, sea salt, and onion salt cooked way down for two hours with a little water. It’s like beef sauce. He sorts dried beans by hand, looking for rocks (a tip from the Mexican grocery store guys), cooks them, and mixes a few into the beef. To assemble, he steams the tortilla to make it pliable, then puts some refried beans, onions, and cheese in there with a good amount of beef. Then it’s into the deep-fryer. Nice crunch, awesome flavor; and my favorite part is the little bit of onion he puts in there.
It’s great food made fresh. And Brad just keeps on frying. His chicken enchiladas (check out the recipe on Chicken Enchiladas) require a lot of care and preparation.
So what’s the future of California Tacos? Brad thinks there is something to be said for staying small; being able to make these personal connections with his customers is where it’s at.
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[GUY ASIDE]
If I’m going to a place called California Tacos in Omaha, Nebraska, you know I’m going to be a little suspicious. But I really enjoyed the place—I’d never gone anywhere on Triple D that made their own flour tortillas fresh. When you believe in what you’re doing and make it your own, that’s having your own style. That’s definitely what Brad did—the place is so much fun. And the dude’s a really cool cat; he’s proud to take over the building for his family. He’s a bit of a one-man show, crazy funny—we had the best time. We went out after we’d been shooting, and Brad set us up with tickets to the college world series going on at that time. When I was getting ready to leave right from California Tacos to be the grand marshal at the NASCAR race in California, he said, “Oh, I’m a NASCAR fan!” So I get to the race at Infernian raceway in Sonoma, California, and who comes rolling in? Brad Bogart. Dude’s a riot.