Cafe 54 on East Pennington

ARIZONA GOURMET LIVING: SPRING 2009 - Shaping New American and Fusion meals with a twist at Café 54 is no obstacle for Executive Chef Michael McCord—it's a passion shared with fellow employee trainees in a program the venue provides for adults recovering from mental illnesses.

In addition to illuminating downtown Tucson with its fine cuisine, Café 54 also houses a unique program for adults recovering from mental illnesses. Showcasing his years of hands-on experience with food and his ability to teach cooking as a job coach for employee trainees, Executive Chef Michael McCord crafts our Meal of the Season—Grilled Asparagus Spring Rolls. But the meal
doesn’t end there.

Topping off our fresh, spring creation with a flavorful dessert, is Sous Chef and Job Coach Keith Martin preparing his New York Cheesecake with Orange Jalapeño Syrup (see recipe on page 46 of attached PDF).

Making his way back through doubled swinging doors and down the elongated kitchen towards the back of Café 54, Chef McCord gets busy creating our meal.

Picking up the recipe for the spring rolls from Miraval Tucson, McCord says smiling, “It [Grilled Asparagus Spring Rolls] is officially on the menu, but I put a little twist on it with the grilled veggies.”

Setting his prep station with vivid vegetables—he says the asparagus reminds him of spring—rice paper wrappers, rice wine
vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil, canola oil spray, and fresh mint leaves, McCord looks at his table, then dives right in.

“Spring rolls are a light entrée,” he says over his shoulder as he reaches for a bowl in which to mix ingredients. “They’re refreshing
and you don’t want something heavy during lunch.”

After combining shredded cabbage, carrots, vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil, minced ginger and garlic in a large, stainless steel mixing bowl, McCord tosses ingredients and sets the main filling for the spring rolls aside.

As McCord gathered other fixings for our meal, Sous Chef and Job Coach Keith Martin got to work on the New York Cheesecake with Orange Jalapeño Syrup.

With Café 54 since last November, Chef Martin moved from Houston, Texas, and has been in the restaurant industry for 10 years.

“I taught myself a lot as a kid by watching the Food Network,” Martin says of learning how he came into cooking and how he became a chef. “I watched my grandma cook, and my parents cook. I would watch cooking shows with my dad on Saturday mornings after watching cartoons.”

Taking out of a large fridge a luscious slice of cheesecake—part of a whole pie made in advance—Martin gently sprinkles candied orange peel and crystallized jalapeños on and around the slice.

Carefully admiring his decorated slice of cheesecake, Martin then tops the dessert and surroundings with Orange Jalapeño Syrup.

Martin suggests pairing “something sparkly” with his dessert, such as champagne or a mixed B-52.

“[This cheesecake dessert] has got that kind of sweet and sour orange kind of flavor,” adds Martin, pausing from decorating his dessert, “then a little bit of heat from the jalapeño, but that gets cut by the creamy cheesecake, so it’s not that intense, spicy flavor. It’s a nice blend of sweet, spicy, and sour.”

Finished collecting the rest of the ingredients for the spring rolls, McCord—who’s working back-to-back with Martin—grills red and yellow bell peppers, and green onions, and then cuts them into strips.

aking a step back after remembering that he needs a bowl of hot water, McCord stops to say, “The dish is simple and to the point.”

Making his way back to his prep station after retrieving the hot water bowl, McCord begins assembling individual spring rolls.
He places a round, rice paper wrapper into the hot water bath, insuring its softness and flexibility in order to wrap it around what
he calls the “cabbage mixture” and grilled veggies. Removing the wrapper from the bath and onto a flat cutting board, McCord then
layers the cabbage mixture and grilled veggies onto the transparent wrapper.

Rolling the wrapper with its colorful contents, McCord adds a couple enoki mushrooms, mint leaves, and a dash of cilantro before closing up the roll.

Though rolled inside the rice paper wrapper, the vegetables’ vivid appearance shines through.

Before he dresses a square, black plate with the spring rolls, McCord whips up a “real simple dipping sauce” to accompany the light and healthy entrée. After mixing red chili paste, light corn syrup, ketchup, and soy sauce in a bowl, McCord places the tangy, yet spicy concoction into a small cup.

Taking the plate, McCord places individually selected romaine leaves on the dish, then slices a couple of spring rolls in half diagonally. He then places the halved rolls on the plate, stacking them on each other and open, showing the vibrant color of the vegetable filling.

In addition to the cup filled with the Red Chile Dipping Sauce, McCord decorates the plate with Sriracha chili sauce.
“The taste of the spring rolls is like fire cracker shrimp,” McCord says as he wipes off the edges of his complete dish. “[The
spring roll dish] reminds me of Miraval and it’s really healthy.”

Martin suggests pairing the spring rolls with Japanese beer, ice wine, or sake.
Housed within Tucson’s downtown arts district, Café 54 not only provides fresh and elegant meals, the unique restaurant is also home to an exceptional training program for adults recovering from mental illnesses. There is also a Café 54 site at The Tucson Botanical Gardens—The Gardens Café. This site also houses a rehabilitation support program with trainees.

“We are a rehabilitation support program,” says Mindy Bernstein, Executive Director/Owner of Café 54. “Our agency mission is to support individuals recovering from persistent chronic mental illnesses; to help them regain their ability towards their recovery with a focus on reintegration into the community.”

Be sure to stop by this innovative and unique Café with a cause.

BY JENNA CRISOSTOMO | PHOTO BY YVONNE MANGLONA