Cajun cookin' hits downtown
Étouffée: a classic Cajun and Creole dish with deep roots in Louisiana cooking. As prepared by three Modesto chefs, it features Gulf Coast prawns or crawfish stewed with fresh cayenne, onion, green pepper and celery inside a bouillabaisse thickened with roux.
It smothers imported Louisiana popcorn rice.
Etouffeé: the name of a new downtown Modesto restaurant owned by George Bertaina, Alicia Zabala and Douglas Hudson. Scheduled to open Friday, it occupies the intimate space at 925 15th St., just off J Street. This site has been home to a half-dozen restaurants over the years, including El Clavel, 15th Street Bistro, The Firehouse, The Brown Bag, Gran Finale and MoMo's Bistro.
Undaunted by this location's past, these three chefs fell in love with the space because of its large patio with wrought iron gates and fencing as well as the step-down entry into the cozy bottom floor of the building, which looks more like a house than an office. It seemed the perfect home for a New Orleans-themed restaurant, the trio agreed.
Bertaina, the former executive director of a culinary training program, and his two former students are devoted to their craft and see food more as art than, well, food. To that end, they plan to put their own special twist on traditional New Orleans dishes.
Describing their approach as creole California cuisine, they plan to use organic ingredients, fresh local products and innovative cooking techniques to deliver food that isn't overly fatty or spicy, but remains true to classic New Orleans flavors.
The menu features a Creole crab Louie salad, crab and crawfish hushpuppies, gumbo, Southern po' boy and muffuletta sandwiches, the restaurant's signature dish -- étouffée, of course -- and much more. The New Orleans pecan pie is likely to be a dessert menu favorite.
The owners are putting together a house band and are hiring musicians so they can have live music most nights, primarily blues and jazz, in keeping with the restaurant's theme. They want to get voice lessons for the servers so they can sing along. It's all part of the plan to create a work environment that's fun and builds camaraderie.
Their recipe for success includes offering the staff health benefits and ongoing training, including a certified culinary apprenticeship program.
If all this sounds pretty ambitious, it is. Bertaina, Zabala and Hudson see Etouffeé as the first in a series of restaurants they want to open. They realize some might find this a strange time to launch such a plan given the state of the economy. But when you love what you do, they insist, why wait to get cookin'? Sounds good to me. For more information, call 549-2245.
Elsewhere on the Business Beat:
What is it: River City Bank at 3020 Floyd Ave. in Modesto. It's in Village One Plaza. Phone, 552-2600. Web site, http://rcbank.com.
What it does: River City Bank is a full-service bank for consumers and businesses. Consumer services include personal savings, checking, mortgages, refinancing and loans (auto, boat, home and equity). Commercial services include checking and savings as well as ag, commercial and construction loans, and investment assistance.
Who runs it: Sylvia Orozco is vice president and branch manager. Orozco has been in the banking industry for more than 30 years. River City Bank has been open since 1971 and has 18 branches throughout California. It is based in Sacramento. Hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.
What makes it special: Moola Moola accounts (for kids under 18) and online banking are offered.
What is it: Mountain Creamery at 12178 Yosemite Blvd., Suite B, in Waterford. It's in the Waterford Plaza adjoining Mountain Mike's Pizza. Phone, 874-5200.
What it does: Mountain Creamery offers Dreyer's ice cream, milkshakes, floats, banana splits, sundaes and ice cream cakes. There are 24 flavors of ice cream and about 20 "mix-ins" available (Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, brownies, Butterfinger, Nerds, Gummy Bears, Sprinkles, Snickers, etc.). Caramel, chocolate, hot fudge, pineapple, strawberry and cherry toppings are offered. Mountain Creamery makes its own whipped cream in vanilla, chocolate and caramel flavors.
Who runs it: Camaron and Perry Keyes, a husband and wife team, are the owners. Callie Keyes, their daughter, is the operations manager. The family owns Mountain Mike's Pizza and has been in the food industry 10 years. Mountain Creamery opened in October. Hours are 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
What makes it special: Mountain Creamery has the old malt shop atmosphere from the 1950s and '60s.
COMPILED BY JILLIAN HANKS
BEE NEWSROOM ASSISTANT
This story was originally published February 27, 2008 at 5:08 AM with the headline "Cajun cookin' hits downtown."