Uptown Girl

How a love affair with Uptown Bistro began at a downtown job.

A funny thing happened about four hours after I began working for a former employer at a downtown office in July 2004. I got hungry. Outside my window, I saw a vibrant restaurant on the southwest edge of the “horseshoe” that is Old Town Square.

I strolled across the block and into Uptown Bistro. Large windows and a patio offered a perfect spot for people-watching. The restaurant had a European feel, with suspended orange light fixtures over the bar and tastefully designed sunflower arrangements in copper and black-wire baskets hanging from the eggplant-colored ceiling. With roughly 36 tables, the bistro’s intimate space filled quickly.

As I took a seat, I noticed just about everything from the kitchen looked hearty and healthy. A generous, well-dressed side salad accompanied the lunchtime sandwiches. My personal favorite was chicken schwarma and a side of fattoush salad, as well as that heavenly hummus and zataar chips (a real deal for $7). For dinner, there were Seafood Crepes Nicole, with scallops, shrimp, tomatoes, mushroom, spinach, a slice of Parmesan cheese and just the right amount of creamy cognac sauce. The drink menu consisted of 20 red wines, 10 white wines, a half-dozen champagnes and sparkling wines and $8 martinis.

During lunch, I noticed that many rushed professionals picked up their orders at a long bar along the south wall. I lost count of how many containers of tomato bisque I would carry back across Old Town Square in the years to come.

Then, there was dessert. Personally, I savored the dark chocolate/white chocolate cheesecake, though you can’t go wrong with the Caramel Napoleon, a caramel cream cheese mousse that is light but decadent. The pastry chef changes the offerings regularly, but the one constancy is that all desserts are priced at $5. And the service was impeccable at the bistro, with constant attention from the well-dressed staff.

At one point during lunch, a customer at a nearby table wondered aloud why people would choose to stand in line at a chain restaurant when they could grab a table at Uptown Bistro, a sophisticated yet casual Mediterranean restaurant with an open and airy feel. After my first time—and too many to count since—I wonder the same thing.

RECIPES:

>> Butterflied Shrimp in Chocolate Sauce
8 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon dry sherry
Juice of 1 large orange
1⁄2 ounce bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1-inch piece of fresh ginger root, finely chopped
1 small dried red chili, seeded and chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

To butterfly the shrimp, carefully slit open the underside, cutting them almost, but not quite, through to the back line. Press down firmly to flatten. Coat shrimp in flour and set aside.
Gently heat sherry and orange juice in a small pan. When warm, remove from heat and stir in the chopped chocolate until melted.
Heat the oil in a frying pan. Add the garlic, ginger and chili; cook for 2 minutes until golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve. Add the shrimp, cut-side down, to the oil and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until slightly brown with pink edges. Turn and cook another 2 minutes.
Return the garlic mixture to the pan and pour the chocolate sauce on top. Cook for 1 minute, turning the shrimp to coat in the sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Makes 4 servings.

>> Mediterranean Grilled Tuna with couscous

Four 7-ounces fresh yellowfin tuna steaks

Tuna Marinade
1⁄2 cup sliced tomato, peeled and seeded
1⁄4 cup slivered garlic
2 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped
1⁄2 cup kalamata olives, chopped
2 tablespoon parsley, chopped
2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch of red pepper flakes
2 cups olive oil

Combine mustard, vinegar and lemon juice. Slowly whisk in olive oil until emulsified. Then add remaining ingredients. Cover tuna steaks for 2 hours. Grill tuna steaks medium rare, about 2 to 3 minutes each side. Marinade can be strained and heated in a saucepan to use as a topping. Makes 4 servings.

Couscous with Toasted Pine Nuts and Raisins
2 cups precooked, fine-grained couscous
2 cups boiling water, lightly salted
1⁄2 cup dark raisins
1⁄2 cup pine nuts, toasted in a 350° oven until golden (about 5 minutes)
 
Combine couscous and raisins in a bowl. Add boiling water. Cover immediately to steam for about 7 or 8 minutes, then fluff with a fork and add pine nuts.

From Mackinac Island to Old Town Square
How Chef Jeremy Wade made his way to Uptown Bistro

Contemporary American food, grounded in basic French technique. That’s how 32-year-old Jeremy Wade, chef at Uptown Bistro, describes his cooking style. The Wichita native spent more than a decade honing his craft at such fine Michigan eateries as Hotel Iroquois and The Gandy Dancer, a “semi-upscale, high-volume, fresh seafood restaurant” that food critics refer to as one of Ann Arbor’s prized offerings. After training under master chef Rocky Rachwitz, Wade returned to Wichita to earn a business degree. But he soon changed his mind to follow his first love—food. He worked as executive chef at Cibola until Uptown Bistro owner Melad Stephan hired him.

Wade now describes his role at Uptown Bistro as half-management, half-cooking. “My heart and soul is cooking on the line, through to service,” he says. Wade also sometimes showcases his culinary creativity by catering at special events, including the Sedgwick County Zoo’s penguin exhibit opening in May. When he’s not working at Old Town Square, Wade enjoys spending time with his 5-month-old son, Ezra Christopher.


Chef Jeremy Wade’s Favorites

Cookbook: Jeremy is currently reading Au Pied de Cochon (At the Foot of the Pig), the tale of a chef in Montreal, and The Reach of a Chef: Beyond the Kitchen by Michael Ruhlman.

Food at Home: Italian. “I make a killer traditional tomato meat sauce with pork spare ribs, fresh basil and San Marzano tomatoes.”

Kitchen Tool: “A really, really good chef knife. Shun, from Williams Sonoma, has the best knife I’ve ever used, with an 8-inch curved blade for rocking.”

Dream Escape: A few days in Napa Valley, eating at the French Laundry in Yountville, California. “It’s regarded as one of the best restaurants in the United States,” he says. Or if all expenses were paid, he’d travel to Spain or Italy.

Chefs: He enjoys the TV series Top Chef and keeps an eye on Grant Achatz, chef/owner of the Chicago foodie mecca Alinea. “His style is very space age,” says Jeremy. “There’s a lot of chemistry involved.” Thomas Keller of the French Laundry is also high on Wade’s list, as is Anthony Bourdain, who travels to restaurants around the world in a Travel Channel series called Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.

Hobbies: KU basketball. He’s also a Michigan Wolverines football fan. Jeremy would also like to start playing hockey again. “I played a few times up in Michigan,” he says, “but I never learned to skate very well. I was always envious of my friends who did.”

Food Weakness: “This is shameful, but Ben and Jerry’s Phish Food (chocolate ice cream with caramel-marshmallow swirl and fish-shaped chocolate chunks). Or a Big Mac and fries from McDonald’s.”