Two new eateries on opposite sides of the city will cater to a variety of tastes, with dishes like juicy burgers and trendy tapas paired with wine.
•Beach Bums Gourmet Burgers & More has opened with a full bar at 620 W. Washington Center Road (in the former Fricker’s location). Besides burgers (beef, turkey and black bean) and sandwiches, the family-friendly restaurant offers fish and shrimp, steaks, chicken, pasta, ribs, wings and salads. You also can choose from three kinds of fries – steak, waffle and sweet potato – and various appetizers.
There also is a children’s menu.
Hours are 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily, for now. For information, call 489-8534.
•Chops Steak & Seafood, 6421 W. Jefferson Blvd., will add a wine bar next door in December. (The locally owned Health Kick has moved a few doors down).
Owners Kara and Chuck Pastor plan to offer an extensive wine list and some craft beers at this new venue, an extension of Chops, but it doesn’t have a name yet. It will open in the evenings and have its own entrance.
The food menu will offer small portions or gourmet appetizers, with beef and seafood dishes, salads and specialty pizzas. Wine will be available by the glass or bottle (or wine flight). The Pastors also plan to have regular tasting events and wine dinners.
L’Asiatique shutting doors
Meanwhile, another eatery has become a victim to these tough economic times.
L’Asiatique, 200 E. Main St., will close at 10 p.m. Saturday.
Owner-chef Pete Jovevski opened the restaurant in the former Park Place on Main in September 2008. He revamped the interior a bit and changed the menu to reflect an Asian flair.
The difficult decision to close was made last weekend, he says. He plans to go back to cooking full time, although he’s unsure where. And he doesn’t yet know what will happen to the restaurant space.
“It’s a lot easier being a chef than being a business owner. I’m sorry to see it go,” he says.
Barr Street Cafe opens at Anthis
With pumpkin cheesecake and an apple-cranberry-cheddar turnover, the Barr Street Cafe is serving up the flavors of fall.
Entrées are honey-walnut shrimp with rice; roast beef with cranberry-wine sauce; chicken Valentino (stuffed with roasted peppers, mozzarella and herbs); pork-loin panini with apples and cheddar; lemon cod; and a marinated shrimp and citrus salad (mixed greens, oranges, grapefruit, pears and red onion with raspberry vinaigrette).
Each is served with a vegetable of the day or soup.
Prices range from $5.95 to $7.95.
The student-run café is in Anthis Career Center, at 1200 S. Barr St.
Hours are 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays – but the café will be closed next week for private events. It also follows the Fort Wayne Community Schools calendar.
Reservations are recommended; call 467-1031 to leave a message.
Sadly, the café’s popular holiday tasting event has been canceled this year because of the cost.
Philharmonic plays with food
With nearly 700 recipes, “Playing with Food” offers a taste of the best of Fort Wayne.
The new cookbook – published by the Fort Wayne Philharmonic Friends, the volunteer arm of the orchestra – features recipes ranging from gourmet dinners to pet treats (there’s even a mastodon roast). Recipes were submitted by volunteers and musicians, including maestro Andrew Constantine.
The cookbook is $25 and will be sold at some Philharmonic concerts. Or you can order one by calling the box office at 481-0777.
The Philharmonic Friends also are having a Cookbook Kickoff party from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Allen County Public Library. Tickets are $10; call the box office to register. At the event, the cookbook is $20.
Train station offers ‘Flavor of Fall’
The Baker Street train station will turn into a soup/chili/chowder/gumbo kitchen on Nov. 5. It’s the third annual “Flavor of Fall,” a benefit for the Brenda Hanchar Foundation, which is run by volunteers and provides durable medical equipment to low-income families in northeast Indiana.
Restaurants include Aboite Grill, Bourbon Street Hideaway, Chappell’s, Hall’s Old Gas House, Joseph Decuis, Market Street Grill and Sycamore Hills Golf Club. The Fort Wayne Derby Girls and Jane Avery of Community Harvest Food Bank will be cooking, too.
The event runs from 4 to 7 p.m. with a tasting, cash bar and silent auction (with golf and hotel packages, Mad Ants tickets and restaurant gift certificates). The University of Saint Francis Jazz Ensemble will perform.
Admission is free, although donations are accepted. You can also vote for your favorite creation by tipping at the chef’s station – each dollar equals one vote.
The event typically draws 800 to 1,000 people. The dress code is business casual.
Big Boy touts 99-cent special
Get a “ham scramble” breakfast (scrambled eggs with ham, plus toast) for 99 cents at Azar’s Big Boy. This offer is good from 5 to 8 a.m. Mondays through Thursdays.
On Thursdays, if you opt for the adult salad bar ($5.90), you can get a free Big Boy burger. The all-you-can-eat seafood buffet with crab legs is $11.95 from 5 to 9 p.m. Fridays. And you can order a three-piece fried chicken dinner for $4.99 from 4 to 9 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
Hours are 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 5 a.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays.
The eatery is at 6800 Bluffton Road. For information, call 747-7496.
Farmers market moving indoors
The folks who launched the popular Historic West Main Street Farmers Market in May are starting an indoor version to help you get through winter.
It will run every Saturday from Nov. 21 to April 17 at Paula’s on Main, 1732 W. Main St. Hours will be 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Vendors will offer greenhouse produce, apples and cider, jams, seafood, soups, breads, pies and cakes, candy, flowers and artwork.
For information, call Chris Shatto at 515-9700.
Tidbits
•The Acme Bar, 1105 E. State Blvd., has new owners who hope to reopen it by Thanksgiving. I’ll have more details in a future column.
•Waynedale Bakery is selling “King of Pop” iced sugar cookies in honor of the Michael Jackson movie “This Is It,” out today. They are $1.25 each or $12 a dozen. To order, call 747-2992.
•Orchard Ridge Country Club is offering free dining membership for the rest of the year to former Summit Club members. For information, call 747-3117 or visit www.orchardridgecc.com.
•The culinary team at Joseph Decuis in Roanoke has been invited to prepare a meal at the James Beard House, run by the James Beard Foundation in New York City, next August. The foundation’s annual awards (www.jamesbeard.org) are the “Oscars” of the food industry.
