ThisWeek Community Newspapers Westerville
June 9, 2011
Page C1
The Beat Arts, eats and fun in central Ohio Bluesman Guitar Shorty
5 could just flip over the fact
FAB 5 By Jim Fischer
jfischer@thisweeknews.com When the planned local pro-
1 duction of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance fell victim to the company’s recent restructuring, CAPA was able to secure the New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players to present the same classic light opera for the same dates: June 10-12 at the Southern Theatre. (Meanwhile, CAPA and Opera Columbus will get to work on fashioning the model of a modern opera company.) Pirates is a masterwork for sure, finding the composer and lyricist at the top of their considerable game — clever, engaging, incisive and a frolicsome good time. Tickets are $102.50-$10. Call (614) 469-0939.
2 The Beat has gotten mileage
in the past out of suggesting that Zeppelin Productions bringing Bruce Robison to town is its biggest show of the year — because the rugged singer-songwriter stands 6-feet, 7-inches tall. But the Saturday, June 11, Ro-
Pirates of Penzance
Bruce Robinson and Kelly Willis
bison show is the biggest yet, as the lovely and talented Mrs. Robison — the smashing and smooth country singer Kelly Willis — is sharing the bill this time. Kelly’s out of semi-retirement for a few marital-bliss shows this summer; expect a show both playful and poignant. Tickets are $30. Call (614) 5656130.
Robert Plant and the Band of Joy plays the Palace Theatre Monday, June 13. Plant revived the name of his pre-Zeppelin outfit for his current project, one that boasts a lineup sure to thrive in the folk-rock legacy of the original. Opening is North Mississippi Allstars, touring in support of their latest CD, Keys to the Kingdom. Tickets are $62.50/$42.50. Call times in the last 20 1-800-745-3000. 3 Two years or so, The Beat has caught Robert Plant live in conAustralian chanteuse 4 Lovely cert. Lenka recently released her While the signs of inevitable sophomore CD, Two. The collecaging are certainly there, we were tion of jaunty, whimsical pop ditnot disappointed and, frankly, a ties reveals an artist confident and little surprised both times at the charming, insinger’s fitness, and especially his vested and invoice. gratiating. A spin of Two found The Beat smiling on a number of occasions — Lenka the kind of stuff The Beat wishes would find a home at Top-40 radio or at the very least Adult Pop, because it’s catchy and fun but still credible. We’d anticipate her show, Tuesday, June 14, at The Basement, will be a joyful dance party. The alluring and quirky Elizabeth and the Catapult opens. Tickets are $12/$14. Call 1-800745-3000.
that he’s able to do what he does for a living. No, literally. Aside from his catchy nickname (more on that later) and one-of-a-kind licks and riffs, doing back flips and other stage gymnastics is what Shorty’s known for. Shorty started doing the flips when he was in his teens, encouraged by one of his mentors, Guitar Slim, to add some showmanship to his performances. That was in the 1950s. He’ll still do a flip today at age 71. “I just like to have myself some fun,” he told The Beat. “But you can’t get too excited, and you have to do it in time, in rhythm. If the band is going crazy and they don’t know what’s coming, well, one time I ended up with my right arm in a sling.” Shorty tells the story of his influence on a young Jimi Hendrix (Shorty would befriend and later marry Jimi’s half-sister), of whom Shorty said, “Jimi would go AWOL from his Army base to catch my local shows. He told me the reason he started setting his guitar on fire was because he couldn’t do the back flips like I did. “I’m up there to entertain and make the fans happy,” Shorty told The Beat. Born David Kearney in Houston, Texas, and raised by his grandmother in Kissimmee, Fla., Shorty attempted to follow in his uncle’s footsteps as a guitar player. As a 6-year-old, Shorty said, he would sneak into his uncle’s room once he’d gone to work and try to play the guitar, until one day he’d just about given up. “I was kicking it and slamming the strings. I told my grandmother ‘I hate that guitar,’” he said. “My grandmother asked my uncle, ‘Will you teach that boy to play
Guitar Shorty and his band will play Von Jazz & Blues Supperclub Thursday, June 16. Tickets are $20. Call (614) 431-5299.
guitar before I kill him?’” Long hours on his uncle’s knee gave way to a gig with a local band — but being a kid in a band full of adults also meant he was the shortest member of the band. A club owner laid the moniker Guitar Shorty on him then, and it stuck. His reputation was growing as well, and he caught the ear of blues master Willie Dixon and that of Ray Charles, who hired him and with whom he spent a year on the road, still in his teens. In the 1950s and ’60s, Shorty toured and recorded the occasional single. He moved to the Los Angeles area in the ’70s, and played gigs with every blues star, including B.B. King, Johnny Copeland and T-Bone Walker. But it wasn’t until the ’90s that he began a serious recording career. His new CD, Bare Knuckles,
is his seventh — third for Alligator Records. “I still enjoy what I’m doing,” he said. “I’m thankful every day for the gift to be able to do this.” Shorty admitted that most of his trademark licks are recorded live rather than rehearsed. Still, the studio is no substitute for the stage. “Stuff just comes to me while I’m playing. The same song tonight and tomorrow night is not going to sound the same,” he explained. “If you do the same thing over and over, it’s like eating the same food all the time — it gets stale. “If you can’t be creative, you’re wasting your time. That’s what music’s all about.” ■ For more from The Beat’s interview with Guitar Shorty, read the BeatBlog at www.ThisWeekNews.com/blogs.
New chef brings menu thrills to The Rossi “The thrill is goooone, baaaaby,” yowled B.B. King as I was seated at a rare available table in The Rossi Bar + Kitchen. Usually, a shopworn song like this deflates my mood. But that night (Was it the festive crowd? The stylish restaurant?), the old tune felt almost fresh. And hey, I’ve got nothing against B.B., but as the evening progressed, I realized the blues dude’s words couldn’t have been more off base. Because the thoroughly fabulous food I began slamming back at the Rossi proved the thrill is most certainly not gone here. Actually, I haven’t been more enthusiastic about this place since reviewing it the week it opened, in April 2005. My excitement grew from fantastic nightly specials and spread to just-introduced menu items rolled out by the Rossi’s bright new chef,Andrew Smith. Formerly working in that artsy hotbed of culinary daring called Portland, Ore., Smith’s stuff has been creative without tasting strange, ingredient-conscious without sounding
MENU by G.A. Benton precious. This translates into meals as good as I’ve recently had anywhere in town. Before eating, though, try one of the Rossi’s wild cocktails, like the giggly Beet Down ($10). Not only does this rubycolored, hefty, aromatic oddball go down considerably better than it sounds, but I kinda love it. Refreshingly, it’s a bit citrusy with orange-kissed Watershed Gin flying off pomegranate molasses, both grounded by splashes of earthy beet juice. Crystals of sea salt crust the cocktail glass, realigning the palate between sips. The lovely, light and lemony-dressed arugula salad ($10) is another new favorite. It’s huge — a salad king crowned with toasted hazelnuts and a crunchy crostini smeared with Lucky Penny goat
By Jodi Miller/ThisWeek
Pork and Beans entree at The Rossi.
cheese. Rimming the plate of regal greens are warm prosciutto-wrapped dates that bring smooth and chewy, sweet and meaty contrasts. Like all specials (including a nifty P.L.T.: pancetta, lettuce and tomato salad
with Lucky Penny feta) it’s listed on cards posted above the restaurant “pass.” There, you might also see a (sexily seared) scallop, (bacony) crispy pork rillette and tomatillo-jam appetizer. If you do, order this immediately. Ditto for a terrifically balanced soupof-the-day gazpacho ($6). Rustic yet lush, its fresh and colorful chopped vegetables (tomato, cucumber and red onion) were aromatized by a hint of basil and enriched by drops of an excellent olive oil plus pulverized bread. This brings us to what’s become a much-talked-about dish around town — the Rossi’s incredible new Pork and Beans ($18). Criminally undersold by its mundane name, this breakout entree can easily erase bad memories of underachieving predecessors of the same name. It begins with a huge and beautiful bone-in, center-cut pork chop, expertly char-grilled like the tender and juicy steak it is. On top is a mass of mayonnaisedressed slaw sharpened by sliced green
The Rossi Address: 895 N. High St., Short North Phone: 614-299-2810 Web: rossibarandkitchen.com apple and bits of pickled jalapeno. Surrounding this are gigantic, meaty and creamy corona beans (think extra-large butter beans) that are a riotous pleasure to eat. Combined, it all made for a comfort-food masterpiece dripping with so much arousing flavor that I literally had to pound on the table and declare, “Holy slab of hog, that’s good!” In a similar, dressed-up-casual vein was a glorious Pork Confit sandwich ($9) served with terrific fries. Assembled with carnitas-like strands of intensified pulled pig meat and pickled watermelon rind scented with cinnamon, it’s like the dream of a summertime picnic awakened by a clever chef. And another reason to visit the thrilling Rossi again.
Lac Viet ratchets up cultural-diversity format at Westerville bakery Nanak Bakery and Lac Viet have combined “His good product, my forces in Westerville. good product — that’s a Thang Nguyen has opened his Vietnamese restaugood fit,” he said. rant inside the bakery, which was founded more Plus, he has expanded his than a decade ago by husband-and-wife team bill of fare to include more Hoomin Soltanirad and Fatimah Tajik. appetizers, such as mango Nguyen said his bowls of noodle soups, rice and shrimp salad, crunchy Vietnamese fish tacos dishes and sandwiches match well with the Euro- and fried smelts, and entrees, such as lamb pho pean and Middle Eastern pastries and custom cakes and a lamb rice platter. offered at Nanak, 895 S. State St. The move was strategic, he said. Nguyen has
By Tim Norman/ThisWeek
Hooman Soltanirad (left) is the owner of Nanak Bakery and Thang Nguyen is the owner of Lac Viet on Bethel Road. Raad holds a chocolate ganache raspberry cake and Nguyen holds a dish of shrimp mangos salad and beef pho at the Nanak Bakery, 895 S. State St. Nguyen has opened the Vietnamese restaurant inside Nanak Bakery.
his eyes on the Chase bank crowd in Westerville, where employees number in the 2,000 range. He hopes reasonable prices — no single dish tops $9 — and quick service should get people in the door. “To keep my concept working, I need the volume,” he said, noting that a full liquor license is in place. Banquet space will be used for large parties or spillover seating during restaurant hours. Patio seating also will be added. Nanak, which got its start in Bethel Center, has been long known for its quality, natural desserts. When Soltanirad and Tajik relocated to Westerville in late 2009, Nguyen opened his second Lac Viet in their Bethel Road storefront. Nanak offered a menu of savory items until recently. Soltanirad said it was too difficult to run the bakery and a separate eatery, so he brought in Nguyen. “I know him. I think his food is very good,” he said. “It’s something Westerville doesn’t have.” Nguyen established his first Lac Viet almost seven years ago in the North Market and later opened Phat Wraps, a healthy-food concept on campus. He said he has sold his interest in both restaurants so he could focus on his two other stores. In related news, Nguyen has attained a license through the Ohio Department of Agriculture that allows him to transport food from Lac Viet on Bethel to other locations, meaning he has turned that store into a commissary kitchen. He recently bought a 60-gallon stockpot and intends to sell his pho broth to other restaurants. “I’m ready for the next level,” he said. Lac Viet is open for lunch and dinner hours six days a week, closed Sunday. For more information, call 614-882-0588.
www.ThisWeekNews.com/foodandwine
Recipe of the week Chestnut agnolotti, courtesy of David MacLennan of Latitude 41.
in the University District, he now operates Johnny Oak’s Cajun BBQ at the corner of High and Gay streets downtown. Oak said he’s there from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. His specialties are blackened beef brisket, pulled pork, rib tips — offered as sandwiches or part of a platter — and a smattering of sides, which change frequently. Incidentally, Oak said he got his start on a food truck at Central and McKinley avenues on the West Side of Columbus. Great China has opened in the old Fuddruckers location at 3586 W. Dublin-Granville Road, just east of Sawmill Road. The place offers a full Chinese menu (and a traditional menu for those who ask), plus a few Thai and Japanese dishes, said manager Brad Tsai. Great China seats 120 in roughly 5,000 square feet of space. The restaurant has a full liquor license. It is open for lunch and dinner hours daily. For more information, call 614336-2465.
After 21 years in business, the Wine Vault on Sawmill Road has closed. The last day was Saturday, June 4. Manager John Smither, who had been there 16 years, chalked it up to fierce competition, particularly from the chains. “The pie’s not any bigger and it’s getting split Barbecue veteran Johnny Oak has returned to the mobile food business. In addition to his store thinner and thinner,” he said.