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April 2007
Jon and Pete Nowak - owners
Café Corner
1105 Pennsylvania Ave.
Columbus, OH 43201
(614) 294-CAFE
 DINE
ORIGINALS
C Magazine: Why did you choose to join Dine Originals Columbus?
Jon and Pete Nowak: We felt strongly that the independently owned
restaurants in Columbus need a way to be heard and thrive among the mass
of chain owned restaurants in the city. There are also great networking
opportunities. It provides a great outlet to bounce ideas around or to get
advice from other local restaurant owners dealing with the same type of
issues you are.
C Magazine: What is your role in the Columbus chapter?
Jon and Pete: Aside from the gift certificate program, we donate food and
services for charity events and participate in local chapter meetings and
events.
C Magazine: How do you encourage other local businesses to join?
Jon and Pete: We have hosted cocktail events to encourage membership. The
track record of the Columbus and national chapters are a good selling
point.
C Magazine: What do you think is the biggest benefit of being a part of
Dine Originals?
Jon and Pete: Networking, group advertising and exposure.
AMUSE BOUCHE
Describe and name the perfect glass of wine to go with:
C Magazine: An 18oz bone-in steak?
Jon and Pete: Big California cab.
C Magazine: A Twinkie?
Jon and Pete: BA or TBA German Riesling.
C Magazine: 10oz. Kobe beef burger, medium-rare and smothered in Bleu
cheese?
Jon and Pete: Argentina Malbec.
C Magazine: Tiramisu?
Jon and Pete: Vin Santo.
C Magazine: Flourless chocolate cake?
Jon and Pete: Banyuls Grand Cru.
C Magazine: Liver and onions?
Jon and Pete: South African Pinotage.
APPETIZER
C Magazine: Given the amount of corporately-owned chain restaurants in
this city, what does it take for the “little guy” to not only survive, but
thrive?
Jon and Pete: Local restaurants tend to form personal relationships with
their customers and the community that corporate-owned restaurants do not.
We feel people value that. With the smaller size of our restaurants, we
can concentrate on the product going out and individual service, not just
feeding the masses or just what’s most profitable.
C Magazine: On a scale of 1-10, how does Columbus rate compared to
restaurants in L.A. or New York?
Jon and Pete: 7-8, but we feel there is an influx of big city taste being
produced and accepted in the Midwest. On our last menu, we added a
truffled egg sandwich. We didn’t really think it was an item that would
sell, but it was a flavor combination we really enjoyed. It turned out
that people were much more receptive to it than we could have imagined. We
sell a lot of those sandwiches.
C Magazine: What separates Columbus diners from those of other big cities?
Jon and Pete: Columbus diners can be very loyal. This is largely due to
the relationships the owners and staff develop with them. Good food
doesn’t hurt, either.
THE MAIN COURSE
C Magazine: What do you consider your establishment’s signature dish?
Jon and Pete: Fig and Prosciutto sandwich: Prosciutto, dried Calymirna
figs, provolone cheese and white truffle oil on Old World bread.
C Magazine: How often do you change your menu?
Jon and Pete: 2-4 times/year
C Magazine: Do you ever accept “off-the-menu” orders?
Jon and Pete: Absolutely.
C Magazine: What was going through your head on the night when your doors
first opened for business?
Jon and Pete: What have we gotten ourselves into? I hope this works.
C Magazine: What advice would you pass on to younger, less experienced
restaurateurs? Jon and Pete: Don’t try to be everything to everyone. Be
true to your vision, but be open to change.
C Magazine: How long after the opening did you realize you were going to
be successful?
Jon and Pete: 8 months to a year.
C Magazine: Do you remember your first set of patrons? What did they
order?
Jon and Pete: Yes, crepes….from the previous owner’s menu.
C Magazine: Do you remember the worst food faux pas you’ve ever witnessed?
If so, what was it, and did you correct the person who made it?
Jon and Pete: People ordering Merlot with a “t”…….well-done filets………no.
C Magazine: What recipes on the menu are your own?
Jon and Pete: All of our recipes are our own or inspired by other dishes
we have enjoyed. Mostly not in sandwich form. Our beet and borsin sandwich
is based on a salad Jon used to serve at Smith and Wollensky's in Miami
Beach. There is an attention to detail and ingredients given to dishes in
restaurants that isn’t given in most sandwich shops. We are giving
restaurant know-how and creativity to our sandwiches that is a fresh
alternative to your everyday sandwich shops. There are great delis in
Columbus (Katzinger’s) that do what they do as well as any big city delis,
but we are preparing sandwiches with specific reasons why ingredients are
assembled with thought to textures and how flavor coexist between two
pieces of bread. We’re not reinventing the wheel, but it is a different
approach to sandwiches. We want our menu to be approachable and also have
something for people looking for a little more in a sandwich.
C Magazine: If you had it to do all over again, what would you change, and
what would you do exactly the same?
Jon and Pete: It would have been nice to have more money starting off, but
the fact that we didn’t has made the café what it is.
C Magazine: Who are your favorite set of “regulars”?
Jon and Pete: We love them all, but we hold a place for Kevin Miles.
C Magazine: Of all your menu items, describe your personal favorite.
Jon: Beet and Borsin sandwich: roasted beets, borsin cheese, mixed greens,
spiced walnuts, and raspberry vinaigrette.
Pete: Sandwich Tapeno: Prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, balsamic reduction,
olive tapenade, and basil pesto.
C Magazine: How often do you think a restaurant’s guests like to see menu
changes? Jon and Pete: Seasonally. I think people like to see seasonal
ingredients highlighted as much as possible.
C Magazine: If you weren’t doing this, you’d be…?
Jon: Pissed off and working for someone else.
Pete: Continue working in wine and getting ready to take the next
sommelier test.
C Magazine: If you were to start another concept aside from the one or
ones you’ve already achieved, what type of place would you open?
Jon and Pete: Have to stay tight-lipped.
C Magazine: Since you own and operate your own business, are you ever off
the clock? If so, what do you do to unwind?
Jon and Pete: No, clean grease traps and fix coolers.
C Magazine: Do you ever find yourself eating at another restaurant and not
able to enjoy the meal because you know you could have done it better, or,
vice versa, wish you could make it that good, too?
Jon and Pete: It’s hard not to think about the ins and outs.
C Magazine: Who is the biggest celebrity you’ve ever served or cooked for?
Pete: Keith Richards.
Jon: Nelly Furtado.
C Magazine: What was the worst job you’ve ever held while working your way
up the culinary ladder?
Pete: Dishwasher and fry cook at Joker’s Comedy Club in Dayton.
Jon: Slinging pies on campus.
SIDE DISH
C Magazine: What is the most overrated dish on Columbus’ menus?
Jon and Pete: Calamari and tuna tartar.
C Magazine: What is your favorite childhood snack?
Pete: Peanut butter and sugar sandwiches.
Jon: Grilled cheese and miracle whip.
C Magazine: What is your favorite adult snack?
Jon and Pete: Pizza and ranch dressing at three in the morning.
C Magazine: Who is the most overplayed TV cooking host?
Jon and Pete: Rachel Ray.
C Magazine: What is the most underused ingredient?
Jon and Pete: Fiddlehead ferns and tomolives.
C Magazine: Is there a specific combination required for a successful
restaurant? What percent is related to the food selections, atmosphere,
service and wine choices?
Jon and Pete: Service: 40%; Food: 30%; Atmosphere: 20%; Wine: 10%.
C Magazine: Describe a perfect dining experience from appetizer to desert.
Jon and Pete: This is if we were having a meal from some of our favorite
places in Columbus:Soup: Hot and sour soup—Happy Dragon; Beet Salad—Basi;
Scallops w/ duxelle—Burgundy Room; Sweet Breads—Rigsby’s; Huckleberry
Cheese Cake—Pistachio.
C Magazine: What is the oddest thing you’ve slapped on the grill for a
BBQ?
Jon and Pete: Kangaroo last week.
C Magazine: Who has the best hot dog in the city?
Jon and Pete: Natural casing hotdogs from Rife’s market on the grill.
C Magazine: Favorite thing to eat on a stick?
Jon and Pete: Corned dogs.
C Magazine: If you could eat your weight in one item, what would it be?
Jon: Florida Stone crab.
Pete: Porcini mushrooms.
C Magazine: Who has the most coveted bottle of wine that you know of?
Jon and Pete: Charlie Trotters: 1865 Chateau Lafite-Rothschild.
C Magazine: What is one culinary treat you want to attempt but have yet to
do so?
Jon and Pete: Iberico fat dipped cherries.
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