Union's Trip - Second Edition

The Soul music is the first thing that can be distinguished in this place. It is hard to recognize if it is Aretha Franklin or another 1960´s singer. The music fits perfectly with the environment. As the restaurant’s name “The Union Grill Cabaret Grille” alludes, it perfectly represents the mid 1950’s New York or Chicago bars and cabarets, where Jazz and Blues musicians used to meet together. White and black paintings decorate the brick walls, giving it a classic touch. A mini scenario with a big piano is in the center. Velvet curtains separate these two areas. The scenario lights give an artistic air to this place. Stained glass windows transformed the insider light into different colors. A bar table is in the back part for those who profit the Happy Hour martinis from five to eight in the night. It is more a casual than a fancy place. The atmosphere was nonetheless pleasant.

“This is an American restaurant with a little twist”, says the “The Union’s” chef, Eric Gillish. It is difficult to find that “twist” he referred to in the menu. While reading the options, it is mostly all Mediterranean food like seafood and pasta; and all of them are based on ingredients like basil, pesto or balsamic vinegar. However, some of them have an American touch. Many are deep fried, have bacon or are served with mashed potatoes. You could find hamburgers and sandwiches, except for the fact that they are prepared in a more gourmet way. There are Salmon Burgers or Smoked Gouda Chicken Burgers. Most of the hamburgers are seven to nine dollars. Steaks are the top dishes of “The Union’s”. There are five types of steaks, whether with mushrooms, garlic or peppers. All of them accompanied with vegetables and some kind of potatoes or rice. Steaks are twice most expensive, they are between $15.25 and $18.95 dollars. Gillishe’s educational influence is clearly reflected in la carte du jour. After studying in Grand Valley State University (Grand Rapids), he made a food tour and training in France, Italy and Spain.

Even if Kalamazoo is a student’s city, this place is full of middle aged people. Most of them are around 40 or 50 years old. They enjoy their Saturday choosing from the enormous wine variety the restaurant offers and drinking. Imported and domestic wines are available. Of course, the prices changed a lot between both. A bottle of white or red wine can vary between $19 until $40. You could also find some families chatting while Western Michigan University College of Fine Arts renowned musicians entertain the guests with live jazz music. Music is the principle ingredient in this restaurant. Even when Gillish is in the kitchen, he cooks with the rhythm of music.

The best way to begin a “Unions” dinner is with a Fried Boursin Cheese. One of the waitresses who attend there always highly recommends it to all of her costumers because it is her “favorite”. It is fresh goat cheese covered with crunchy fried pastry. The cheese presentation might be treacherous. It looks like a deep fried potato, but once it is in someone’s mouth, opinions usually change. Around this cheese are slices of hot baguette and glorious small tomatoes seasoned with basil and olive oil. The combination of the cheese with the tomatoes and the bread is simply delectable. It is easy to feel how the palate expanded with the mixing of the sweet tomatoes and the milky cheese. This appetizer is pretty similar to the ones offered in Via Veneto’s restaurants (Rome’s boulevard).  They are discordant. The appetizers prices are between $3.99 and $9.25. The most expensive is a sampler platter of several options. For a few seconds, it is like being in Italy.

The waitress induces her clients to choose a second appetizer called Grilled and Chilled Shrimp Cocktail. It is six large herb and garlic - grilled shrimps, served with a hot sauce and corn tortillas. The shrimps are natural, fresh and huge. Apparently they were not recently defrosted because they have a lot of flavor. They are completely pink, as well. Nevertheless, the combination of the shrimps with the hot tomato sauce simply does not match. The sauce is not even spicy enough. It is like putting together red pants and a yellow blouse.

            The musicians take a break. It is Aretha Franklin music again; now is she for sure. The artists drink water to moisten their throats and discuss among them. They are working on how to improve their show, probably. They can rest, but the waiters can’t. They are walking, nearly running, from one place to another. Dishes come in, dishes go out. People continue inspecting the menu. It is hard to figure out exactly what type of food this restaurant offers. This is no specifically American food. It is a wild European, Mediterranean, American combination. The place adapts perfectly to a Unites States environment, but the food does not.

            The Union is close to celebrate its tenth birthday; it was opened for the first time in 2002. Eric Gillish says that in commemoration of this celebration, he is planning to change the restaurant’s menu. However, he must not change the incredible and extravagant Seafood Papardelle. It is handmade wide noodles tossed with shrimp, lobster meat, scallops pan seared and pesto cream sauce. On the top were a lump of crab and a few drops of balsamic. The mix of the cream and the balsamic dissolves easily in anyone’s mouth. They serve generous pieces of lobster and again, huge and fat shrimps; something uncommon in restaurants. For the sea food lovers this is the perfect dish because it has a variety of everything. The Papardelle is $19.50; it is the most expensive dish in The Union’s.

            Eric Gillish explains that one of his highest cooking alterations, compared with normal American Food, is that he doesn’t use a lot fat in his food. He tries to make it as healthy as possible and replaces it with olive oil or light butter. “This is one of the biggest problems with American food”, affirmed Gillish. He also says he can’t choose his favorite menu dish.  It depends on his humor and day. According to him, our appetite and tastes change every day. This is so true. However, most of the people can’t deny desserts. “The Union” does not have a lot of dessert options, but they are really different one from another. Their prices are from $3.75 to $4.50. The Pecan Toffee Chocolate Torte and the Apple Blueberry Crisp are the most popular. The first one is a cake which has three layers of different types of chocolate and pecans. The layers of dark chocolate, butter toffee and the chocolate mousse look thick and rich in chocolate. Even though the second one also has different layers, but in this case it has oatmeal, nuts, apples in caramel, and blueberries. It is served warm with vanilla ice cream. This one looks like made at home. Delicate and tasty!

            “The Union” is a good casual place to enjoy an evening out with friends, have a drink, listen to good music and eat something more elaborated. Nevertheless, before deciding to go there, it would be better to have a good budget because it might be more expensive than someone would have expected.

Union's trip

The Soul music was the first thing I distinguished when I went in. I didn’t know if it was Aretha Franklin or another 1960´s singer. The music fits perfectly with this environment. As the restaurant’s name “The Union Grill Cabaret Grille” alludes, it perfectly represents the mid 1950’s New York or Chicago bars and cabarets, where Jazz and Blues musicians used to get together. White and black paintings decorated the brick walls, giving it a classic touch. A mini scenario with a big piano that couldn’t be missed. Velvet curtains separated these two areas. The scenario lights gave an artistic air. Stained glass windows transformed the outside light into different colors. A bar table was in the back part of the restaurant for those who profit from the Happy Hour martinis from five to eight at night. It is more a casual than a fancy place. The atmosphere was nonetheless pleasant!

“This is an American restaurant with a little twist”, says the “The Union’s” chef, Eric Gillish. It was difficult to find that “twist” he referred to in the menu. While reading it, I found it was mostly all Mediterranean food like seafood and pasta; and all of them arebased on ingredients like basil, pesto or balsamic vinegar. However, I must say some of them have an American touch. Many of them are deep fried, have bacon or are served with mashed potatoes. You could find hamburgers and sandwiches, except for the fact that they are prepared in a more gourmet way. There are Salmon Burgers or Smoked Gouda Chicken Burgers. Steaks are the top dishes of this place. There are five types of steaks, whether with mushrooms, garlic or peppers. Gillishe’s educational influence was clearly reflected in la carte du jour. After studying in Grand Rabbits University, he made a food tour and training in France, Italy and Spain.

Even if Kalamazoo is a student’s city, this place was full of middle aged people. Most of them were around 40 or 50 years old. They enjoyed night drink and their Saturday chose from the enormous wine variety this restaurant offers. Imported and domestic wines were available. Of course, the prices changed a lot between both.  You could also find some families chatting while Western Michigan University College of Fine Arts renowned musicians entertained the guests with live jazz music. Music is the principle ingredient in this restaurant. Even when Gillish invited me to the kitchen, cooks were preparing food with the rhythm of music in the background.

            The best way to begin a “Unions” dinner is with a Fried Boursin Cheese. The waitress who attended me always highly recommends it to all of her costumers because it is her “favorite”. It is fresh goat cheese covered with crunchy fried pastry. The cheese presentation might be treacherous. It looks like a deep fried potato, but once you try you have to change your opinion. Around this cheese were slices of hot baguette and glorious small tomatoes seasoned with basil and olive oil. The combination of the cheese with the tomatoes and the bread was simply delectable. You could easily feel how your palate expanded. This appetizer reminded me of the time I ate in Via Veneto (Rome’s boulevard) where I had something pretty similar. For a few seconds, I travelled to Italy again. As a seafood fanatic, I was induced to choose a second appetizer called Grilled and Chilled Shrimp Cocktail. It was six large herb and garlic - grilled shrimps, served with a hot sauce and corn tortillas. The shrimps were natural, fresh and huge. Their flavor and cooking point were just perfect. Nevertheless, the combination of the shrimps with the hot tomato sauce simply didn’t match.  The sauce wasn’t even spicy enough. It was like putting together red pants and a yellow blouse. They were discordant.

            The musicians took a break. Now, I was sure of it. It was Aretha Franklin music. The artists drank water to moisten their throats and discuss among them. They were working on how to improve their show, probably. They can rest, but the waiters can’t stop. They were walking, nearly running, from one place to another. Dishes came in, dishes went out. I continued inspecting the menu. I couldn’t figure out exactly what type of food this restaurant offered. This was no specifically American food. It was a wild European, Mediterranean, American combination. The place adapted perfectly to a United States environment, but the food didn’t.

            The Union is close to celebrate its tenth birthday; it was opened for the first time in 2002. Eric Gillish said that in commemoration of this celebration, he is planning to change the restaurant’s menu. However, he must not change the incredible and extravagant Seafood Papardelle. It was handmade wide noodles tossed with shrimp, lobster meat, scallops pan seared and pesto cream sauce. On the top were a lump of crab and a few drops of balsamic. The mix of the cream with balsamic was amazing. They gave you generous pieces of lobster and again, huge and fat shrimps. It was simply delicious. Nonetheless, I still think this can’t be called an American dish.

            Eric Gillish explains that one of the highest alterations, compared with normal American Food, is that he doesn’t use a lot of oil or fat in his food. He tries to make it as healthy as possible. “This is one problem of American food”, said. I asked him what was his favorite dish on the menu. He couldn’t answer my question. It depends on his humor and day. According to him, our appetite and tastes change every day. Yes, I think this is definitely true. But most of the people can’t escape from desserts. “The Union” does not have a lot of dessert// options, but they are really different from one another. The Pecan Toffee Chocolate Torte and the Apple Blueberry Crisp are the best. The first one is a cake which has three layers of different types of chocolate and pecans. The combination of dark chocolate, butter toffee and chocolate mousse was so rich. Even though the second one also had layers, in this case, they consisted of oatmeal, nuts, apples in caramel, and blueberries. It was served warm with vanilla ice cream. Delicate and tasty!

            “The Union” is a good casual place to enjoy an evening out with your friends, have a drink, listen to good music and eat something more elaborated. Nevertheless, before deciding to go there, it would be better to check your wallet, your pockets, even your piggy bank because it might be more expensive than you would have expected. 

Fried Boursin Cheese

Grilled and Chilled Shrimp Cocktail 

 Seafood Papardelle

Pecan Toffee Chocolate Torte 

Apple Blueberry Crisp 

Pre Dining Expectations, The Union Cabaret and Grill

Most of my experiences with American gastronomy have been with junk food like burgers, pizza, hot dogs, French fries and chicken tenders.  I wondered if I could find gourmet restaurants, apart from this type of food. I doubted the United States only has fast food.  Besides, in my Food and Travel class, I always hear to my classmates that they have visited different good restaurants close from here. I have been doing some type of research, trying to find a good American restaurant in Kalamazoo city. I am sure you can find high quality restaurants in the States, but I though all of them were specialized in other countries’ gastronomy like French, Italian, or even Japanese food and they are located in big cities like Chicago.

 My host mother, an American woman from Detroit, suggested going “The Union Cabaret Grill” restaurant from Millennium group, in downtown Kalamazoo. This is a specialized American food restaurant. As a good host, she wanted to introduce her guest to good food. “We don’t only eat McDonalds”, she says. “You will be surprised”. Surprise? What type of surprise? Maybe I will try completely new flavors. Maybe I will go to a really fancy place. Maybe I will be shocked.  I hope it will be a completely different food experience from my old ones.

I don’t really know what to expect. I’ve always had the stereotype that Americans don’t have fancy food because I have mostly visited McDonalds or Subway type of restaurants. I guess the menu will offer greasy and enormous dishes like ribs and pork meat, something with turkey, salads with different mayonnaise dressings, pasta like macaroni and cheese and probably apple pie or pecan pie. I don’t know why, but a Thanksgiving dinner comes to my mind. I imagine this place full of men drinking beer in the bar and listening to country music. Yes, I know, another American stereotype. Too many American movies! Once I went to TGI Fridays, a typical USA restaurant. The food was good, but one thing that shocked me was the dishes’ sizes. I couldn’t eat all that food! One of characteristics of American culture is that everything is BIG. Probably is this restaurant the dishes will be normal since as it is gourmet.  

 As Lucy M. Young says “Food as well can carry us into the realms of experience, allowing us to be tourists while you stay at home, go to a restaurant, read cookbooks or watch televised cooking shows”. This means I will be a tourist, an outsider, a foreigner is this place. My main purpose is to experience change. Everything will be kind of exotic. I will cross a new border. I’m really looking forward to see The Union’s dishes.  

One of my concerns is if I get disappointed. Perhaps it is only a normal place with a little bit more elaborate food, nothing especial. However, my host mother words resound in my head. “The Union” is a place I want to go not only because of its food, but because curiosity is killing me.

Secon version: Tata's World

Maria, get out of the kitchen! said Grandma Tata. This is how all her grandchildren called her. Actually, I did not know her real name until I was 14 years old. Tata was nervous because the pots with hot water could drop over me while I was running around the kitchen. Her kitchen was my favorite place to play. It was relatively small but full of conceivable things. Through an enormous cupboard you could see different types of dinner sets and all kinds of cooking utensils, Tupperwares of all sizes, millions of recyclable plastic containers. Next to the cupboard were shelves with little bottles full of condiments and spices like cinnamon, cardamom, black and pink peppercorns, cayenne pepper, cumin, salt, achiote (it’s yellow and gives color to food), saffron, coriander, tarragon, basil and mustard seeds. Each time Tata opened these little bottles, a mix of smells floated in the air, making me feel giddy. Fresh corn excelled itself in big wooden plates. Corn is something that you will always find in Ecuadorian kitchens. Its red, yellow and black colors brightened with the little light that came through a tiny window. Big and small pans and pots hung from the walls as if it was an exposition. There were two stoves; maybe because Tata usually had to cook for so many people. One stove wasn’t enough. During weekends she invited around 25 people: her six children, her 12 grandchildren and all her sons in law. I must say her several dogs weren’t considered guests, but they were also eating with us.

This world always has produced a dizzy feeling inside me: too many people, too many things. Everything is so messy but at the same time everything has its own order. It was almost impossible to walk there. The 1940’s fridge plus a small wooden table worsened the panorama. Finding a way through the kitchen was something only my Grandma could do. You had to be careful not to drop the several pots that were on fire. That is why she was yelling at me all the time: Maria, get out of the kitchen! I had the ability to drag myself through the floor and skipped most of the obstacles. I loved to imagine myself selling all kinds of products in the Indian market, of course using my Grandma’s foodstuff. I recreated my games in one of the kitchen’s corner or under the wooden table, when Tata was mad at me. I talked alone pretending to be the best stallholder and I stole one of the many aprons in the kitchen. I took all the jars full of rice and other grains, the vegetables and fruits that were stored in the kitchen’s entry, and of course the mini bottles with spices and condiments. Sometimes, my cousins wanted to play with me. However, the place was so small, it was so intimate, so mine, that I didn’t want to share it with anyone. I didn’t like to play outside. That was when I heard it again: Maria, get out of the kitchen. Go play outside with the other kids! My grandmas’ kitchen was really old and full of things but to me, it was the coziest place ever. It was the place where my imagination took place.

A daily routine was accomplished in Tata’s kitchen. When I slept at my grandma’s house, mostly during my summer vacations, she woke up at 6 am to pick up the newspaper from the kitchen’s door. I was still between my dreams and reality. I could feel her steps and the first noises she made in the kitchen. Once I was awake, the first thing I always did was to go to the kitchen. A delicious but simple breakfast was waiting for me! A hot and steaming cinnamon tisane, hot bread, fresh cheese and homemade jelly were served. Now, I think and realize that my Grandmas’ breakfasts were not the biggest feast but each thing was so well prepared that simplicity made it so tasty. Especially bread; it was my favorite foodstuff!

 Tata didn’t bake bread. Every day at 5 pm., Grandma took out her apron, brushed her white and short hair, put her red cherry lipstick on and changed her shoes for going to the bakery. To me, this was a whole adventure. We walked together, holding hands. I always took with me a big straw bag sewed by Tata to carry the croissants. The smell of the fresh bread could be perceived two blocks away; then was when I began to walk faster. The bakery seller- Cecilia Criollo- had known my grandma and most of our family for a long time. Cecilia’s bakery was part of one of her house rooms, just next to the kitchen. In the left part of the room you can find bread made from wheat, flour, barley, semolina and amaranth. There were all bread sizes and forms. In the right part of the room were exclusively whole – grain bread.  Finally in the front part were the sweet type breads; most of them have sugar frosting on the top. The smell was getting deeper. I couldn’t control my anxiety. I only wanted to tear up that hot greasy croissant and feel how the butter melted in my mouth. While Tata selected the type of bread she wanted, Cecilia gave me small bread called rose (like the flower) that is made basically of water and salt. It wasn’t the croissant I wanted so badly! That’s why Tata’s breakfasts were so delicious - because it was the moment I could taste my croissants. I bitted them fallowing their half moon form, very slow and patiently. They were so crispy and fluffy. They were sooooo delicious! Maria, stop eating so many croissants, this is going to be your fourth one!, said Tata. I pretended not to hear her!

Grandma Tata or Carmen, her real name, was obsessed with her daily kitchen routine. I loved to be part of it. I always wanted help her buy bread, play in the kitchen while she was cooking, wait for the milk truck and be her company while she completed all her tasks. Her kitchen was a world full of imagination as it was the place where my games came up. It was a parallel world away from my real school life as I always had fun. It was the place where my child mind flew away and where there was no space for boredom. It was the place where I always had croissants and played! 

Haute Cuisine Migration

When we think in Italy we associate it with a crispy and thin pizza, the best Bolognese spaghetti, prosciutto or fresh ice cream. France with its original foi-gras, natural oysters, escargots, crème brulé or Bordeaux red wine. Japan with sophisticated sushi, sashimi or tempura chicken. Year ago the only way we could experience all these flavor and tastes was travelling thousands of miles on plane. People dreamed going to these countries with the desire to try their delicious food. After reading Adam Gopnik short story “Is There a Crisis in French Cooking?” make me realize how things have changed. Currently, we can find French, Spanish, Italian, Thai, Japanese, Cuban, or other countries restaurants in almost every big city. Food has crossed the Atlantic Ocean and migrated. We don’t need to travel big distances anymore. Nothing it’s new, we know about every type food. Is this good or all the charm has been lost? Personally, I think it has its positive and negative aspects. In places like the United States or England where their national food it’s not the best, having these types of restaurants and food varieties would induce people to try healthier and well prepared food. On the other hand, before all this food revolution took place, these countries were unique for their food and restaurants that only can be found there.   

Now in Ecuador, a little and third world country, you can find all type of restaurants. The most famous are the Peruvian ones and Japanese. Not all of them are incredibly expensive; you can find restaurants of all prices. International food experience has spread even to small countries. Also in New York or Chicago it’s easy to locate Ecuadorian restaurants and try their typical dishes.

The author of this story focuses in the French case. As the best French restaurants are now in New York or San Francisco, their haute cuisine can be reached by everyone. The principal consequence is that “a nouvelle cuisine that replaced the old style (original French food) has by now been reduced to set a clichés, and become a licensed subject of satires” (73), says Gopnik. Now French cuisine is considerate rigid and less ambitious because they are not open to adopt other techniques and international ingredients. Adam Gopnik says the first meal in Paris was for a long time one of new reliable pleasures for an American in Europe (68). Do you think that experience has changed for all of us?

It is true that we can taste Quiche Lorraine or Onion soup in our favorite and closest French restaurant. However, I consider that eating them in New York and in Paris are two completely different experiences. It never would be the same. Food it’s an experience further than flavor, presentation and nourishment. The accordion music or Edith Piaf’s music, French language, Paris beauty could never migrate to New York. For me, it continues being a unique experience! New York can have its own charm, but the environment and people are always different. France is France! New York is New York! Irreplaceable.