04.10.07

Back to Tirolo

Posted in The Story at 12:11 pm by Chef Matt

Some say you can never go home again, and since I had left Cafe Tirolo back in November, I had not been back. Yes, even though it is my next door neighbor who runs the place, and I was friends with many of the people there, I just hadn’t had a chance to be back.

It was my last meal there, and my first meal back. They really are great.

I am not sure if it was because I was so busy all the time, or if it was because I just needed some time to put the experience behind me. Either way, I found myself in Arlington yesterday around noon, so I thought I would drop by for one of my beloved chicken parm subs.

It is still cold here in DC, so there was not a huge crowd, but the indoor seating was still pretty full. That is good, since it says to me that business is about as good as can be expected for this cafe whose pace of production is based heavily on the climate. I walked up to the counter, and there was Sarah taking orders. She of course recognized me, and was happy to see me. I looked behind the counter to the cooking area, and I did not recognize a single person back there. The turnover had been complete since my departure - and that was only four and a half months ago.

There was a bit of a line, so I wasn’t able to go into a long ordeal about how things were going with me, only to tell her that business was busy and I was enjoying my work at Vero. I then asked about Meryem - had she gone back to visit friends and family in Morocco like she had always wanted to?

“I am mad at her,” she replied. “Too much drama from her all the time. I let her go.”

This was a total shock to me. I mean, yes Meryem did produce drama, but she also produced amazing food at an incredible pace. She was the lifeblood of the kitchen, and I thought that when she left, the cafe would suffer greatly.

“When did she leave?” I asked.

“Back in January. She thought we could never make it without her, but we are doing fine, and I like it better now.”

One of them is in this book, or maybe they both are. But I don’t care enough to actually read it…

Sarah then went on to explain that the whole “not teaching me the sauces” debacle - which was one of the core reasons I had to move on - was because of Meryem. That it was Meryem that didn’t want me to learn how to make the food there. This is an odd recounting of the events, seeing as how Meryem said she would happily email me the recipes… I have no idea who is lying, and who is telling me the truth. The only thing I know is:

I don’t care.

I moved on from this place because it was not right for me any more. Playing both sides against the other is indicative of what I was going through on a daily basis near the end of my time there, and I had had enough of that nonsense for lifetime. It was a fabulous first job, and I learned a lot in a very short time - especially since it was so fast-paced and the people were so experienced. But once the drama became too much for me to handle, I moved on and have not looked back.

So I smiled politely at Sarah’s explanation of events, and explained how it didn’t matter too much as I have already created some sauces myself that are now being used at Vero. I placed my order for a chicken parm sub and a Sprite and pulled out my wallet to pay.

“No, that’s OK Matt! You don’t need to pay!”

I guess we’re still good neighbors after all.

It was just at this time that the most regular lunch customer of Cafe Tirolo - Bob - appeared behind me. He recognized me, and I told him how I was doing, and he asked me to join him for lunch. It was really great to have a chance to sit down and enjoy a meal as a customer with a man I had served so many times as a chef. I told him the story of how I had become a chef, and how I was enjoying this next place I had moved on to, and he even said he might swing by for dinner some time.

“That would be great Bob, I would love to see you there! Just don’t stop coming here for lunch!”

Maybe I am not THIS good of a neighbor, but I try…

Gotta take care of those that take care of me. It’s what good neighbors do.

“Oh, I would never do that!” he said. “Even with Vic and Meryem gone, the food is still great here.” And I have to agree. Everything still tasted the same since Sarah religiously followed Vic’s directions and recipes. The faces have changed, but the quality is still the same.

It is amazing how seamlessly things can carry on as new people move in and out of the necessary positions in a restaurant. It’s like the food is there to create itself - it just needs the right people to do it. When we move on, there is always someone ready to take our place and be the next person to create those wonderful dishes just like we had before. The proof, as they say, was in the Chicken Parm.

Matt

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