150 West, by Kerry Gluckman of K. Evan Designs

I keep asking myself….”Why me”?

Why would a group of professional chefs and dedicated food snobs ask me to be a member of their secret society? I am not a particularly accomplished chef, (although I make a mean omelet). And while I do have a fairly discerning palette, so do many others. I have eaten in some fine and not-so-fine restaurants but that hardly makes me special. So I guess it must be the fact that I’ve spent the last 25 years as a commercial interior designer and have designed and overseen the construction of some 75-plus restaurants and food service projects. Some of these projects you may have heard about: Zingermans Roadhouse (Ann Arbor), Copper Canyon (Southfield), Rocky’s Rotisserie (Novi), Edamame Sushi (Madison Heights) and The Stage & Co. in West Bloomfield, just to name a few.

My focus is not where the food is being prepared but rather where it is being consumed, otherwise referred to as ”the front of the house”. That is where my unique perspective comes into play and that, I believe, is why I have been shown the secret handshake and taken the vows.

I recently had the pleasure of participating in two Rogue Estate dinner parties, one at the home of good friend and fellow Rogue Ian Malbon and most recently at my own home as it was my wife’s turn to host and lead the preparations. Both evenings were memorable for the food consumed, beverages sipped and level of banter overheard. Chefs, it seems, are a bawdy and profane group. And I mean that as a positive -it was very entertaining!

It was at the last event that I was asked to participate and thus offer my first blog to Rogue Estate.

My Restaurant Philosophy

I have a fairly simple criteria for judging restaurants: Is the price paid for your meal a pleasure to pay or a burden?

Take this example.  Tribute, one of my all time favorite restaurants which is sadly now defunct was an ornately designed monument to gastronomy and was very, very pricy. However, both times my wife and I dined there we had amazing meals. The food, service and decor were of an extremely high caliber and paying $150.00-$200.00 for our meal did not offend me in the least.  Conversely, I clearly recall walking out of Morton’s Steakhouse in Southfield before even being served. In a boring, pedestrian and clichéd setting, it took over ten minutes for the waiter to even stop by, water our table and take our drink orders.  By then, we were getting antsy. He then proceeded to take another ten minutes to bring us our drinks, which were totally incorrect and had to be returned. It was at this point I asked the hostess for another server and while we waited many more minutes for our new waiter to arrive we glanced at the menu and saw the entrée prices ranging from $40.00 to $75.00. It was at this point, with a high degree of negativity in the air, that we got up and excused ourselves, much to the chagrin of the flustered hostess She made valiant attempts to get us to stay, even at one point offering us her first born but alas, it was too late! Our evening was already ruined before it even began. Whatever we would have paid would have been too much!

As a designer I like high quality design, but that alone cannot save a place with poor food and poor service. With that said, a “dump” with excellent food and service can survive and even thrive……go figure. Restaurant gestalt is a delicate balance between atmosphere, service and food preparation, and if any one of these elements are out of whack the entire endeavor can come tumbling down.   A great example is my all time favorite Detroit restaurant, Roma Café in the Eastern Market. It’s an unremarkable looking place, and looks as if it was decorated by somebody’s grandmother in the 1950’s.  However, with excellent food, service and prices (not to mention singing waiters), I have eaten there many times and have never been disappointed.

To summarize, no matter how good a restaurant looks, if the food sucks word will get out and people will not come.  Good food trumps all else!

In the coming months I hope to share some restaurant reviews, general thoughts on design and other restaurant related insights with you and my fellow Rogue Estate members.

Until then I bid you adieu.

Kerry Gluckman

A superior coffee brew

My first visit to Chazzano Coffee Roasters in Ferndale, MI took an unexpected turn. I arrived, not knowing quite what to expect from this new offering in town and I discovered what can only be described as a love story.

19 years ago, owner and Master Roaster Frank Lanzkron-Tamarazo began roasting coffee for his own enjoyment in his garage. The first cup ignited his passion and love of coffee roasting – the art, science and magic of the craft and all the nuances and processes therein.

Much like Chazzano’s neighbors B Nektar Meadery one half mile to the south, Frank’s home-grown passion has grown into a full fledged business, serving amazing cups of coffee, educating and sharing his love with regulars and new customers alike.

I walked in and asked Frank and his Barristas Claire and Elena to start at the top and take me on a coffee tour, which they obliged. Each cup, drawn from a french press was unique to it’s origins, exquisite and satisfying.

Other preparations include an espresso machine and a method called siphoning, shown in the photo above. Like adding water to Scotch, siphoning can create an entirely different flavor experience from that of a french press from the same type bean. The siphon is also a lot of fun to watch if you’re a process nerd like me.

Of the many things you will refreshingly not find at Chazzano are drip coffee makers, decanters, or flavored syrups. The coffee is made only upon order and specifically for you. Your cup of coffee will always be literally as fresh as it can possibly can be. The dedication to the art is astounding. Also missing – walls of gear, or any of the other annoyances commonly found in st*rbucks type places. Chazzano is blissfully fac to face personal, classy and comfortable.

All of this set up brings us to the star of the article: The coffee.

My first cup, a Papua New Guinea Purosa, is one of Chazzano’s most popular – and for good reason. A wonderfully complex coffee with a wonderful nose of cinnamon and chocolate notes and a full bodied mouth feel that would make any morning feel like a lazy Sunday.

My tour continued with a Citrusy Nicaraguan Maragogype, an amazing Ethiopian Harrar with a floral taste and a nose of wood and tobacco, a Sumatra Manheling that immediately reminded me of a well stocked humidor and a delightfully smooth mouth feel and full bodied flavor, A Guatemalan Comel with vanilla and caramel notes and a naturally decaffeinated Sumatra with a nose like fine dark chocolate and a taste as smooth as silk, I would never guess it to be decaf, and neither will you.

There are other varieties to sample and Frank is always searching for amazing new experiences to share with his customers. Each of the coffees I enjoyed on this visit could probably warrant their own posts. And perhaps as I learn more of the vocabulary and enjoy more of the fruits born of Frank’s expertise, I’ll undertake that task.

If you are a coffee lover or would like to become one, head on out to 1737 E. Nine Mile Road in Ferndale, MI and pay Frank and his staff a visit, or place an order online. You will not be disappointed – and you may just fall in love.

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