New Venture: Rose Finds Her Compass

Posted on January 24, 2014 by Amy

Our feature image was taken by K. Thompson Photography, and is used with permission. Courtesy of Rose Previte.

If not for the building permits taped to the door, I wouldn’t have found the place. The sign in the dust-caked window promises passerby that, soon, this row house just off 14th Street NW will become “Compass Rose,” joining the Washington neighborhood’s throng of trendy new bars and restaurants that are seemingly springing up overnight.

Rose Previte, the establishment‘s namesake and mastermind, throws open the door and warmly welcomes me into a frigid construction site. Work lights in their yellow plastic cages illuminate unfinished, exposed brick walls and the sawdust covering the floor (and everything else). A space heater keeps designer Martina Crivella comfortable enough to complete today’s task: finishing a gorgeous distressed wood wall reminiscent of a pop-up street market stall.

Rose invites me into her office, otherwise known as Café Saint Ex – the bar next door. I follow the petite dark-haired dynamo around the corner and we settle in at the bar with a few hot toddys. She wastes no time, chatting excitedly about being this close to realizing her dream.

INSPIRATION: IF YOU BUILD IT, THEY WILL EAT

Rose and her husband, David Greene, co-host of NPR’s Morning Edition (and my colleague), had just returned from three winters in Russia. When it’s that cold, she laughs, time is measured in seasons.

Rose had left everything, including her job, to join David on his assignment as NPR’s Russia correspondent. She admits that learning the language — aside from being able to call a cab or order food — wasn’t going to happen. Without that, getting a job was out of the question. To keep busy, she traveled with David for work, seeing some 30 countries in three years. And she put her bartending experience to use, teaching the fine art of mixology to local American housewives from her living room. Even with that, the most balanced-driven person might go a little stir crazy not being able to work.

“You have to laugh,” says Rose, “because it’s the only way you survive.”

If not working while abroad wasn’t easy, the situation didn’t necessarily improve when she returned stateside.

“You want to talk about a new beginning,” she says. “I’d left a job in New York, came back to [Washington, D.C.], where I hadn’t worked in four years. So I started thinking, ‘What do I really want?’ ”

Rose had 14 years of experience in the food industry and had always wanted to open her own place. So she called Mike Schuster — her former employer at Pour House and owner of several other D.C.-area restaurants and bars — to ask him to teach her about the business. He would later came on board as her partner. She got Georgetown business students to write a business plan, which helped her figure out how much money she’d need.

Then came the ask – which wasn’t easy. Generating enough capital to launch a business? “You really have to find people who love you and really want to help you,” Rose says.

BUILDING A BUSINESS, LITERALLY

With a little money, a year of research, her work experience and Mike’s know-how, a lease was signed on the space in January 2013. The concept for the bar was drawn from her travels with David and the street food they ate along the way. That food captivated Rose because it brought people together – rich and poor. And though the menu isn’t set yet, she reveals one thing that’s sure to be on it: Mokhrakuli Khachapuri, a cheese bread from the Democratic Republic of Georgia. She says Compass Rose will be one of the few places anywhere outside that small country that serves it.

There’s an easy explanation for why: You just can’t get the cheese used to make that bread here. Rose has actually reached out to Georgia’s ambassador here in D.C. to try, and even he laments not being able to get the salty flavor of his homeland easily on American soil. But that didn’t stop her: Rose is trying to find a dairy farm in Maryland that will recreate it. Her fingers are crossed.

Inspiration for Rose’s menu will be drawn from all over: the Middle East, Beirut, the Caribbean and South America. You could say it is as diverse as she is, with her Lebanese mother and Sicilian father. She and the Compass Rose team plan to leave Asia alone, Rose says, because so many other places do that cuisine well. (For more foodie details, look for our Meet The Chef interview in March! You’ll also be able to see updated pictures of the space.)

Ambiance will also play a big role at Compass Rose. The space has been designed to give you the feeling of being in a busy marketplace, with “found” objects to remind people of faraway travel experiences. “It’s going to be casual,” Rose says. “It’s going to be fun – that’s what street food is.”

And fresh. In fact, the food will be so fresh, she says, “we literally don’t have a freezer.”

Her number one goal? To be a neighborhood place. She describes it as “Brooklyn-esque.”

“I really wanted it to be an extension of my home, and it kind of is … since we live upstairs,” she adds, laughing. “We’re invested as locally as you can possibly be!”

THE CHALLENGES (ANOTHER HOT TODDY, PLEASE)

It’s good she’s still laughing, as launching this new venture hasn’t been a cake walk.

It took about seven months to get a liquor license. She says the local neighborhood organization battled them every step of the way. Because of this, Compass Rose went from having a backyard garden that seats 30, to enclosing almost the entire space to address the group’s concerns about noise. The addition took an additional three months. Now, they’ll have a small patio that seats less than a dozen people and closes at 11:30 p.m.

She’s not sure she would have survived the fight without Mike, her business partner. It was a draining process, she says, both physically and financially. They were in a holding pattern waiting for that license, waiting to break ground, but still paying rent. Then their small business loan got railroaded by the government shutdown in October.

And even now, just weeks away from opening, the worries don’t ever really go away.

“The things that keep me up at night are: Will I be able to make the money back?” says Rose, “Will [customers] get what I’m trying to say?”

COMPASS ROSE IS DIFFERENT

I tell Rose I think they will, and share some of the things that make me crazy in restaurants. Like when they clear plates before everyone is finished eating. Or when you can’t get a drink – at your table or the bar. That’s something she understands: According to Rose, customer service is 90 percent of a business. “You’re never going to wait 15 minutes to get a drink at the bar,” she says.

Having a smaller place is part of that. Rose wants to be able to watch what is happening. You can’t do that in a larger establishment. “It’s so personal for me. I go to El Centro, to Masa 14 – it’s just different model.” And she intends to build strong relationships with her staff, just like Mike did with her. As she puts it, you bring up good staff to become good partners in the future.

From the moment you walk in the door, she wants you to feel welcomed.

“It sounds so simplistic,” she says, “It’s just to be greeted, to be made to feel welcome.”

Well, here’s something to make you feel welcome: Drinks on the house! OK, not exactly … but here’s a recipe from Rose you can make at home and some restaurant recommendations to keep you busy until Compass Rose is open. We know you can’t wait to go (neither can we!)

Want to be in-the-know when Compass Rose make’s its grand debut? Follow them on Twitter and check them out on Facebook for the latest.

Compass Rose’s “Summer Night In Beirut”

8 ounces lemonade
1/2 ounce vodka
3 drops rose water

Combine all in a tall glass over ice and stir. Garnish with lemon slice and mint.

Rose’s 14th Street Corridor Dining Recommendations:

Little Serow – Does a great job making you feel welcome!

Doi Moi – Excellent Asian Food

Etto – Simple and, really good (same folks as 2 Amys)

Tagged with: bar, Cheese, cocktails, compass rose, david greene, drinks, georgia, npr, restaurant, review, rose previte, street food, washington dc
Posted in Dear Diary, On The Road

Rolling Through Portland’s Legendary Food Trucks

Posted on August 2, 2013 by Adam

I’ll be honest — I’ve never been particularly dialed in to the food truck scene. My previous experience with them was a visit from “The Roach Coach” back when I worked for the Boston Globe. So when I learned that my vacation trip to Portland, Ore., would include some research for a food trucks post, I had no idea what I was getting into.

As some of you truck-savvy readers already know, it turns out that Portland (PDX for those in the know) is famous for its vast food cart offerings. The vendors gather in pods, which makes me think of groups of whales or moving containers, not culinary delights. But I had no idea of the scope of fare you could find! There’s a cart for every ethnic food you can imagine, and a visitor hungry for classics can also find chicken and waffle trucks, grilled cheese carts (though, sadly, closed when we visited) or pretty much anything you could possibly hope to try. And odds are the food is great (although not always, as you’ll see).

Picking something to eat can be daunting if you don’t have a specific hankering. We were overwhelmed while wandering through the food cartmetropolises. But eventually we found Beez Neez Gourmet Sausages at Southwest Third and Oak streets, and immediately noticed the reindeer sausage. Yes, that’s right: reindeer sausage. How could one dine on poor Rudolph and his flying kin? Well, I decided it was time to find out!

Vendor Bryan guided us in decorating our sausages with sauerkraut and spicy mustard. Wow! The flavor combination was awesomeness on a bun. I had expected reindeer to be very gamey, but it was perfectly flavored. Bryan then charred and served us a jalapeno pepper … totally delicious.

Behind every food truck vendor is a story, and Bryan shared his while whipping up our reindeer treat. He had made his way to Portland from Alaska (of course!); it’s where he now gets his reindeer meat. Because everything served in Alaska was previously frozen (no pun intended), the food quality in Portland really impressed him. And he had to quickly adapt to the local culture by learning things like the difference between vegan and vegetarian.

Bryan loves his cart and the opportunity it gives him to meet people. Surprisingly, he has no interest in opening a restaurant. “It becomes your life,” he warns. He is interested, however, in someday opening a Brownie-focused storefront. He has a great love of baking, he says, and wants to create a bakery and small coffee shop to maintain that personal touch — all while making some incredible brownies.

After finishing off our sausage, we wandered around to give our appetites a moment to recover — until we happened upon Tabor Chzech Food: Home of the Schnitzelwich. The cart boasted an impressive sign, noting that it was one of the top 10 food carts in the U.S. and inviting eaters to Czech out Czech food. With billing like that, how could we pass by?

Sadly, the truck didn’t live up to expectation. Maybe it was the not-so-friendly person manning the station that didn’t want to be in a photo. Or maybe it was the sandwich. It was pretty good; I wont say it was bad. It was enormous, for starters. And I really enjoyed the crunch. However, it was oily and completely overwhelmed by a horseradish sauce. Certainly a big enough sandwich for two … Sadly, we were two people that didn’t really want it. Maybe the lack of enthusiasm and personal connection soured our test buds? Sorry, Tabor.

Despite feeling a bit full, we decided to push on. We wandered around, looking for something interesting enough to try. Enter The Dump Truck, known (world wide-ish, even!) for its dumplings. We were happily convinced to try every dumpling on the menu, and we were glad we did. Our favorite was the potato curry, served with a delicious coconut-yogurt sauce. The “Down to Earth” dumpling, with mushrooms, cabbage and ginger, served with a tasty chili sauce, was a close second. I also really enjoyed the bacon cheeseburger dumpling. What can I say? It was a delicious little bacon cheeseburger hiding out in a dumpling! Last, but not least, the “Mr. Ma’s Special.” The minds behind The Dump Truck, Reid and Julia, named it for the gentleman from Beijing who taught them the art of making these wonderful dumplings. I think our only regret was that we just had NO room for a dessert dumpling. Totally. Stuffed. (Much like a dumpling!)

Reid and Julia were living in China where they met Mr. Ma and learned to love eating and making dumplings. After five years, they were ready to return to the U.S. and, as they were watching the 2008 election, felt like was the right time. They picked Portland based on their love of biking, general atmosphere, connection with nature and opportunities in Julia’s industry, the athletic apparel business.

The pair opted for a food cart over a restaurant because they wanted to start small and wanted to be “niche.” Getting the truck wasn’t tough; with Portland’s thriving food cart community, they were able to find one on CraigsList without much trouble. But getting the location was a little tougher. Reid says they wanted to be downtown for its density and foot traffic. “I thought I could convince [the company that owns all the downtown food pod lots] to open up a parking lot without carts to our cart, but no luck — there just isn’t enough power on most lots,” Reid says. So they took one of the last available spots downtown at the time, “which is why our cart is so tall,” Reid explains. “It’s an un-level parking spot that was undesirable. Now, I love it, because we’re so much taller than everyone else and it gives our cart a certain mystique.”

As for their food prep, they make all of their own fillings and sauces with “the best ingredients we can find and hand-roll every dumpling. Rolling dumplings is a labor of love, and [it] takes a lot of practice to roll out the thousand or so we serve everyday,” Reid says.

Finally, asked what dumpling they would recommend to a person to get them hooked, Reid said “The Xiaolongbao soup dumplings. We make them for special occasions only because they are so difficult to make. Like a traditional pork and scallion dumpling, but with a soup gelatin inside that melts when cooked and when bitten into, it’s a salty burst of soup in your mouth. Goes perfect with tangy ginger and Zhenjiang vinegar.”

Now, waittaminute. THAT wasn’t on the menu. We’ll have to find our way back to try that one.

All in all, our food truck tour was an amazing adventure. There are so many food trucks, and so many varieties of meals to try, it’s impossible to get to all of them on a short trip. The few we did sample barely scratch the surface. And the quality of the food here blows away the old concept of the food truck.

Often, road food is not for the faint of gastro-intestinal fortitude. But in Portland, the road food served by these amazing carts should not be missed! And if Portland is too long a trip, you can probably find a great food truck right around the corner!

Tagged with: Beez Neez, Dumplings, Food carts, Food trucks, Oregon, Portland, Reindeer, Sausage, Schnitzelwich, Tabor, The Dump Truck, Travel
Posted in Dear Diary, On The Road

Meet The Chef: Warren Brown

Posted on October 26, 2012 by Sarah

It all started in 1999, when Warren Brown began honing his baking skills by experimenting in his home kitchen. He was a full-time lawyer by day, so how did he find the time to fine tune all those cakes? Do all the trial and error that goes into getting the ingredient ratios and the temperatures just right?

By basically giving up his social life, he says, baking every night and on the weekends. He was entering his 30s at the time, the age when the bar scene starts to get a little old and the desire for different pursuits and challenges springs up.

“Life was about to get really boring unless you introduced something,” Warren says. “Everyone was complaining about their quality of life.”

And CakeLove was born.

Since opening the business in 2002, that initial spirit of experimentation has continued. It’s fueled by a passion for staying true to the homemade and natural, in keeping with the “cakes from scratch” mantra emblazoned on the company’s T-shirts. But not cutting corners on ingredients or methods, Warren says, can be a tough balancing act.

CakeLove’s signature — what really sets it apart — is Warren’s Italian meringue buttercream icing. When Warren tasted his creation for the first time, memories from his childhood returned. He and his sister loved to eat a certain chocolate roll cake made in a bakery outside of his hometown, Cleveland, Ohio. It was like a giant Ho Ho. His new creation was reminiscent of that icing. Warren swears it was the same kind of European buttercream — smooth and light.

The base for his Italian meringue buttercream, and the cake itself, is butter. And this is what creates an issue. The cake can’t be eaten straight out of the refrigerator, because the icing would be too hard. It needs to sit for about 10 to 15 minutes to give the butter ample opportunity to soften. Warren says this is when his cakes are at their best, but that doesn’t necessarily work for some of the companies CakeLove serves. Customers order instant gratification. They want to eat it now.

“I feel sorry for people who are so resistant, who don’t want to wait. I know a lot of people who don’t like it wham-bam,” he adds with a wicked grin. It doesn’t seem he’s referring to the texture of the cake here.

Warren used to work as an educator in reproductive health. He says students used to ask him, ‘What am I supposed to do [with] 15 minutes?’ Again, he smiles.

Hmm … our imaginations are all aflutter now! Sadly, girls, Warren met the love of his life at CakeLove — and we’re not talking about that buttercream. He and his lovely wife are celebrating their fourth anniversary on the day we visit. She’s not into sweets, so clearly the man knows more than one way to a woman’s heart.

I digress.

So, Warren is looking to alter his recipe into something that tastes good and has the right texture/consistency, straight from a cooler case. His personal preference is to use butter in his recipes — he says it’s his “aesthetic.” And he doesn’t want to completely compromise by using an ingredient like Crisco. His happy medium has been experimenting with vegetable oils, which he already uses in his vegan recipes.

On the day we visited his store at the National Harbor in Maryland, he was doing some more experimentation, and asked We The Eaters to help taste test for him. Oh, drats.

As he offers us layers from his test cakes, he analyzes the cake’s appearance. He’s like a cake geologist — or cakeologist — inspecting the striations for clues on what he needs to tweak next.

This is natural for someone who likes chemistry and science. His dad, who passed away last year, was a pathologist. Warren watched him do his own prep work at home. This seems to have sparked his love of baking, which we see first-hand in how he measures and mixes his ingredients, and in his critical appraisal of the test cakes.

Holes in the cake, says Warren, mean the flour measurements were off. He stresses the importance of measuring by weight, not measuring cups. All flours weigh different amounts, so it’s even more important when a recipe calls for something like pastry or almond flour. He experienced this first hand, measuring with cups in the early days. It’s one reason why you’ll find the baking recipes in his cookbook offer measures in weights. You can definitely tell the difference, he says.

“You absolutely HAVE to measure by scale,” he says. “If the recipe calls for more than 2 tablespoons — use a scale!”

Warren Brown’s Tips for Eaters

Scale – If measuring by weight, you must have a scale! Warren recommends a basic digital scale, nothing fancy. A little detail like an angled front is important, too. It keeps you from straining your back as you try to read it.

Adequate amount of space – This one seems too simple, but is the most important for any cook and applies in all aspects of the kitchen. Large prep bowls allow you to mix and stir without any spills. Removing any clutter from your workspace not only lets you focus on your tasks, but also gives you plenty of room to spread out.

Thermometer – Heating to a proper temperature, whether you’re cooking or baking, makes a big difference. Warren recommends the Taylor Classic Candy thermometer and we saw him using it in his kitchen when making his meringue.

Hitting the right temperature – Play with the heat during cooking. Take the food off the heat or out of the pot. Food will keep cooking when off of the heat, so timing can be key.

Tagged with: Baking, butter, Cake, cake love, cakelove, Chef Warren Brown, Dessert, Flour, Icing, meringue, Sugar, Technique
Posted in Featured, Meet the Chef, On The Road