Food, Music, Home and Acceptance

I have an obsession with two things - food and music. When I’m dead and gone my life’s work will have been dedicated to the incredibly visceral combination of the two. This is the kind of thing where level of intelligence is absolutely moot. It’s about that deep inward feeling that consumes us when we’re experiencing it. They are truly original forms of therapy. The heart is made up of four chambers and I’m apt to say that music and food are two of them.

Every Sunday, a tiny “Rustic American Eatery & Bakery” known as Salt of the Earth hosts incredibly talented guests for their music series. This restaurant is located in Fennville, MI which has an approximate population of only 1,400 people. You could miss driving through it if you sneezed and you certainly would regret it. This tiny town is the buckle to West Michigan’s agricultural belt. To quote their website, “Salt of the Earth celebrates the bounty of the Michigan farm, beverage, and roots music community.”. They actually partner with farmers, growers, brewers and distillers within a fifty-mile radius to provide a long forgotten quality of freshness in today’s food and it’s perfect partner-in-crime... music.

Last night we experienced, local to West Michigan indie-folk sensation, The Crane Wives for an unexpected feeling of euphoria (at seemingly the world’s best venue). They usually play to much larger crowds, but Salt of the Earth is a very special place. Their genre is outside of my go-to-music, however their enthusiastic passion still invoked something in me. They introduced The Diving Bell as their only “happy” song and then laughed because it starts off by referencing drowning. Their metaphors were raw and perfect as if they were lovingly ripened and picked from the garden of life.

I don’t mean to misquote one of their singers, but she said something to which I directly related. I wish I had it recorded, but I believe it was along these lines, “These songs are from our own personal experiences and anxieties. We interpret our emotions through our music. And that’s hard to do when you’re happy because when you’re happy...you know...you’re distracted.”. I’m telling you a huge gong crashed in my brain after she said that and life made just a little bit more sense right then.

Here we were in this perfect sized room with probably less than seventy-five people. On the table sat a bottle of Bordeaux, handmade aged cheddar pierogies with buttered red cabbage, a sweet-smoky wood-fired pizza and the best damn s’more on the planet. The timelessly enchanting melodies of The Crane Wives brought the whole experience full circle, making our toes tingle. Our server said they were “just the cutest band in the whole world”. She may have been right, but they reminded me more of a wolf-pack howling at the moon in perfect three-part harmony. Maybe a cute wolf-pack, though.

The Crane Wives @ Salt of the Earth - 10/26/14 - (photo credit: ShantsBySchantz)

The truth is our food came from the surrounding fields and our music came from our neighbors. This was more than the essence of Americana. This was more than a campaign known as Pure Michigan. This was more than West Michigan, even. This was the pioneering spirit of our home and all of us there accepted that we were a part of it together. Which reminds me, those other two chambers of our heart are exactly that - home and acceptance. Damn, that was delicious.

Scotty J ~ "If we can focus on living and loving locally, we can lead by example globally."

Check ‘em out here on the web...

http://thecranewives.com/

http://www.saltoftheearthfennville.com/index.htm

...and find your way to ‘em in person!!

Bravo! Unplugged

   When fall butts into summer, our Michigan days turn windy and dismal as we cuss out our favorite football teams every week. Seasonal micro-brewed beer is what's done best in these parts. Michigan is 5th in the nation when it comes to its 131 established breweries, microbreweries and brewpubs. These places are all about reaping what we sow, making harvest time a brewer's dream. I was undoubtedly down, when a buddy of mine and his wife asked me to grab a beer with them. Little did we know, our evening would take quite an exciting turn.

   Nick Chard, a mutual friend of ours, is the manager and brew master at Bravo! Restaurant and Cafe in Kalamazoo, MI. We met here to try his brand new seasonal brew, Pumpkin-Pie-P.A., and it was phenomenal. As our friend so cleverly described it, "Just enough spice, to make it nice!". He was right, the spice was so nice, the pumpkin prominent and yet it still quenched our thirst like a refreshing beer. My hope was to enjoy this beer, a couple of other craft brews, take some notes and blog about this booming industry in our great state. However, Bravo! Restaurant and Cafe had more to offer than just delicious beer on a warm fall evening.
   Executive Chef and partner at the restaurant, Shawn Hagen, was hosting one of his many themed cooking classes. Without hesitation, we accepted the offer to join the group for the night. My buddy, his wife and I immersed ourselves among 20 or so strangers. Everyone seemed adventurous and enthused by the "Spicing Up Your Life" theme for the night. Then again, it could have just been the wine service. Chef Shawn commenced with his spiel. He discussed each menu item and the recipes in their entirety (mainly focusing on the spices and marinades used to prepare them.). A half hour passed and it was time to start cooking like an All-Star Chef. 

   We broke down into small groups, each taking on a food prep station. We were making 8 different gourmet recipes all at the same time. The menu was chocked full of flavor: Cajun Beer Shrimp, Grilled Caribbean Jerk Chicken with Roasted Corn Relish, Seared Yellow Fin Tuna with Soy Wasabi and Sesame Seeds, Grilled Portabella Mushroom Sliders, Oriental Salmon with Bok Choy Slaw, Sauteed Beef Tenderloin with Bearnaise Sauce, Blueberry BBQ Chicken Thighs, and Sauteed Whitefish with White Wine Reduction Sauce. Needless to say, when it was all over, we didn't go hungry.
   The next 45 minutes were hilarious. This was a hands on cooking class with the perfect mix of casual supervision, kick-ass recipes and plenty of wine. Chef Shawn busted out the Weber Grill for this class and even walked inside to show everyone the chimney full of hot coals. As he so enthusiastically put it, "It's like a jet-engine!". It was great to see him walking around with that flaming hot apparatus. Everyone worked as a team, laughed off any mistakes and made some delicious food. I know I wasn't the only one that worked up a sweat in there. 

(Damn, I look creepy right here. Note the glisten.)

   We portioned the food when it was done cooking and plated each item on a heavy white platter. Chef Shawn congratulated the whole group and addressed the flavors we should be tasting in each dish. After that, we served ourselves up buffet style. We sat around a few linen covered banquet tables, wearing aprons, admiring the delicacies we just created and made friends with our new cooking partners. We all had a blast and learned something while we were at it. You know, it was really just like "home-ec" for grown-ups. My friends and I agreed, we would definitely do it again.
   It made for the perfect impromptu evening. We came there to enjoy one of Nick's handcrafted seasonal beers. Only to have left with our thirsts quenched AND our culinary skills sharpened. Bravo! Restaurant and Cafe has always been a favorite of many people. They are a staple in Kalamazoo and all of Michigan. Recently, they were voted the "Best Italian Cafe & Brunch" in the state. Damn good work guys!
   I believe Chef Shawn holds these classes a couple times a month, all with different themes and focuses. My friends and I agreed, it would be a great change of pace to get a larger group of old (and new) friends together for some socializing with a twist. Throw some of those delicious micro-brews into the mix and it's a party for your palette too!
   Thanks Nick. Thanks Shawn. Also thanks to your helpers Joe and Angie for keeping us in line and cleaning up after us. We can't stop bragging about all of you, and we'll be back to see you really soon!

Scotty J ~ Bravo! ....Bravo!


Bravo! Restaurant & Cafe - Best Italian Cafe & Brunch - Michigan 2013

https://www.facebook.com/BravoRestaurant

http://www.bravokalamazoo.com/