Getting Cozy
By Andrew Zimmern
Cozy Cafe in Cyrus, Minnesota, has closed. I had the chance to spend a day celebrating the fine art of lutefisk at the Cozy Cafe one day and met the mayor, the local pastor, the volunteer fire department, and everyone else in the town (literally) when they all turned out to help me shoot my TV show. So the news made me very sad. The locals there tell me the economy was to blame for the downturn, and the fact that the owner hurt her hip and couldn’t work as much didn’t help matters either. Why I am so touched by this news and yet so cynical and detached about local restaurants shuttering themselves? Well, when one eatery shuts down here, the whole city isn’t affected. The Cozy Cafe in Cyrus was where patrons could buttonhole the mayor, celebrate weddings, and eulogize loved ones who had just passed; it basically served as the lynchpin for social life in this quintessential Midwestern town.
With all the economic storms we are weathering these days, it sometimes takes a story like this to remind us how important a restaurant is to the social fabric of our communities. In a big city, we sometimes lose sight of that, at least I do. It’s a good reminder than any business loss is also emblematic of a community suffering through a painful transition. It hurts.
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Anyone going to NYC this weekend should check out the NYT Travel Show. I will be there with bells on in the Travel Channel booth with my pal Sam Brown.
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Speaking of travel, if you are in London on April 20, come hear the announcement for San Pellegrino’s annual pick of the best restaurants in the world.
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Saffron restaurant in Minneapolis and one of my favorite websites, Culinate, are both two years old. Congrats. Saffron is rolling out a twelve-course mezze tasting for two, all month long.
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If eating for two is your thing, why not try this awesome recipe at home? Lately, dozens of versions of this bacon-and-sausage concoction have been making the rounds, but this one is the best. I made it last week and wet my pants it was so good.
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Not to put too fine a point on it, but after eight years of misery, the White House is taking culinary leadership responsibility seriously. As Alice Waters told me last October, when the Obamas plant a sustainable organic garden at the White House, the worm will turn for promoting health and wellness through diet in American society. Count on it.
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Fans of large-breasted, makeup-dusted hotties serving wings will be glad to know that Twin Peaks might be coming to a city near you soon. Some people call these eateries breastaurants. I call them crotcheterias. We all call them pathetically sexist, and the wings ain’t that great. What do people get out of the Hooters experience? It’s so uncomfortable to sit there and eat, the pain of the servers is palpable through their pretense of flirting with their customers who are perhaps the scariest bunch of losers I have ever seen dine in one restaurant at one time. What am I missing? If you want to see boobs, go to a strip joint? Right? I am not advocating that either. The sadness in those places is desperately palpable as well, but at least no one is fooling each other or pretending why they are there.
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Jamie and Stefan are the best cooks this year on Top Chef, and unless something really goofy happens, they will be the two finalists. I am addicted to the show and am pretty shocked that this year the overall talent level is so low. But, that will change in Season 6, and I have that on the highest authority. That’s all I can say. Jamie and I exchanged e-mails, thanks to a mutual friend who connected us. I was telling my pal how much I loved watching Jamie on TV, and I thought that she would be a huge star someday, regardless of the Season 5 outcome, which is as closely guarded a secret as the nuclear football codes.
Anyway, Jamie told my buddy that around San Fran, she is the newest celezbian, which is a word I never heard before and which I am now using at least once a day. I love new words. And celezbian blows away breastaurant any day of the week.
With all the economic storms we are weathering these days, it sometimes takes a story like this to remind us how important a restaurant is to the social fabric of our communities. In a big city, we sometimes lose sight of that, at least I do. It’s a good reminder than any business loss is also emblematic of a community suffering through a painful transition. It hurts.
****
Anyone going to NYC this weekend should check out the NYT Travel Show. I will be there with bells on in the Travel Channel booth with my pal Sam Brown.
****
Speaking of travel, if you are in London on April 20, come hear the announcement for San Pellegrino’s annual pick of the best restaurants in the world.
****
Saffron restaurant in Minneapolis and one of my favorite websites, Culinate, are both two years old. Congrats. Saffron is rolling out a twelve-course mezze tasting for two, all month long.
****
If eating for two is your thing, why not try this awesome recipe at home? Lately, dozens of versions of this bacon-and-sausage concoction have been making the rounds, but this one is the best. I made it last week and wet my pants it was so good.
****
Not to put too fine a point on it, but after eight years of misery, the White House is taking culinary leadership responsibility seriously. As Alice Waters told me last October, when the Obamas plant a sustainable organic garden at the White House, the worm will turn for promoting health and wellness through diet in American society. Count on it.
****
Fans of large-breasted, makeup-dusted hotties serving wings will be glad to know that Twin Peaks might be coming to a city near you soon. Some people call these eateries breastaurants. I call them crotcheterias. We all call them pathetically sexist, and the wings ain’t that great. What do people get out of the Hooters experience? It’s so uncomfortable to sit there and eat, the pain of the servers is palpable through their pretense of flirting with their customers who are perhaps the scariest bunch of losers I have ever seen dine in one restaurant at one time. What am I missing? If you want to see boobs, go to a strip joint? Right? I am not advocating that either. The sadness in those places is desperately palpable as well, but at least no one is fooling each other or pretending why they are there.
****
Jamie and Stefan are the best cooks this year on Top Chef, and unless something really goofy happens, they will be the two finalists. I am addicted to the show and am pretty shocked that this year the overall talent level is so low. But, that will change in Season 6, and I have that on the highest authority. That’s all I can say. Jamie and I exchanged e-mails, thanks to a mutual friend who connected us. I was telling my pal how much I loved watching Jamie on TV, and I thought that she would be a huge star someday, regardless of the Season 5 outcome, which is as closely guarded a secret as the nuclear football codes.
Anyway, Jamie told my buddy that around San Fran, she is the newest celezbian, which is a word I never heard before and which I am now using at least once a day. I love new words. And celezbian blows away breastaurant any day of the week.
© 2008 MSP Communications, Inc. All rights reserved
That Saffron Mezze tasting sounds amazing. I'm going to have to check that out. Between that, the prix fixe deals around town and the upcoming restaurant week, it seems as if tasting menus will be in full swing.
I would love to see jamie beat out Stefan. The guy can cook, but he is kind of an ass.
Posted by: HungryinSW on February 4, 2009 at 9:23 AM
Bummer about the Cozy Cafe. I saw that episode and was STUNNED at the number of people attending the lutefisk event. During my college days in Morris we would count the number of people we saw on the street in Cyrus as we drove through -- the highest we ever got was 11.5! (garage sale day, plus dogs counted as half a person)
Posted by: LM on February 4, 2009 at 9:32 AM
Wouldn't it be "celesbian"?
And the mix of disdain and familiarity with the vibe and clientele of Hooters is fascinating.
My one and only Hooters experience was as a college kid working at the Mall of America when it first opened. We were brought up there by our manager and seated next to some North Stars players. A few minutes later Orville Reddenbacher and his grandson Gary were brought over -- it was surreal and the waitresses were beside themselves. Somewhere I have a menu with all of their autographs on it.
Posted by: MSPD on February 4, 2009 at 1:24 PM
Nothing like Andrew giving you the Kiss of Death as a Top Chef contestant. Extremely talented, too bad Jamie.
Posted by: rugbyjoe on February 5, 2009 at 10:10 AM
Jamie was done in by self doubt. Per TopChef's editing, I think we're supposed to hope that Stefan is done in by just the opposite. Right?
Posted by: geoff on February 5, 2009 at 1:14 PM
Le Bernidan; I thought to serve great food you needed foams, paint brushes, a million little microherbs on top of everything, and sous vide how can they cook good food without their circulators?
Posted by: phil on February 5, 2009 at 5:07 PM
Yea Hooters has always had subpar food. They have tamed down a lot. I remember back in the early 90's the girls used to sit on your lap and chat, eat some of your food drink some of your beer. Good fun when you were 21. Now that they let male waiters be there, it's not near as fun(for most people). The wait staff is now like any other place and the food is still subpar. They used to have their own airline. Not sure how well they are doing now
Posted by: davecamaro on February 6, 2009 at 7:52 AM
dave, Hooters' airline stopped flying years ago.
Posted by: MSPD on February 6, 2009 at 9:47 AM
A sad day indeed
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/29034103/?GT1=43001
Posted by: Russ on February 8, 2009 at 9:00 AM