Que paso? Garrett’s After Dark – a test run

Que paso? Garrett’s After Dark – a test run

BRIAN STEINBERG

Staff Writer

Washtenaw Community College culinary arts students got to practice their cooking and dining-room service chops with a test run at Garrett’s After Dark on Jan. 28. The dining room was calm with student servers getting orders out to a crowd of 25, while the kitchen was a frenzy of controlled chaos. Orders rushed in, and students dressed in full chef gear rushed into action. Leading the kitchen crew was Chef Gary Marquardt. “It went well, but we are still working out the system,” said Marquardt, 52, part-time instructor from Saline reflecting on the night’s service. “Our order ticket machine was printing everything in Spanish.” This was Marquardt’s second semester at WCC teaching CUL 230, Quality Food Prep. Running the front of the house was Jill Beauchamp, who teaches CUL 151, Food Service Marketing. “I think the students did really good,” said Beauchamp, 58, a part-time faculty emeritus from Ann Arbor. “We are training students skills to provide a fine-dining experience.” One area that Beauchamp felt needed more work was getting down who ordered what when the food came out to the tables. “We don’t want to auction off the food… ‘Who got the chicken? Who had the pork?’” said Beauchamp, impersonating an auctioneer. Garrett’s is located on the first floor of the Student Center. Friday night’s service is new this year. It started fall semester. One of the unique features to Garrett’s After Dark is alcohol service. A variety of wine, beer, martinis and margaritas are offered depending on that night’s theme. To get a jump start on the semester, staff and guests were invited to a nice sit-down meal with all of the trimmings to help work out any kinks when Garrett’s After Dark opens on Feb. 11 at 5:30 p.m. The test run menu featured grilled shrimp with a mustard sauce as an appetizer and an Italian wedding soup, which consisted of meatballs and spinach in a rich broth. A seasonal soup of pureed root vegetables was also offered. Diners chose between soup and salad. The salad consisted of mixed greens, chopped, hardboiled egg and crispy bacon with a choice of bleu cheese or balsamic dressing. There were four entrees: fish cooked in a parchment paper pouch, grilled pork loin with fruit chutney and polenta, chicken cordon bleu with a wild mushroom cream sauce and eggplant parmesan. The star of the meal was the dessert. Garrett’s featured a cheesecake bomb, which was dome-shaped and covered in chocolate. Also on the menu was a banana foster crème brulee, which was a sweet custard with bananas and a brown sugar rum sauce. Last was the ice cream. WCC just purchased a new ice cream maker this semester, and the culinary students were eager to try their new kitchen gadget. Three flavors of ice cream were featured, including green tea, vanilla and white chocolate. The ice cream came in tuile cookie shells that were shaped like spoons and tulips. Meals are $14.95 at Garrett’s After Dark and come complete with an appetizer, salad, choice of entree, dessert and beverages. Alcohol drinks are an additional $4.95. To make a reservation, call (734) 973-3592 by the Thursday before, at 3:00 p.m. Garrett’s seats 50 guests. It sells out often, so Beauchamp encourages people to reserve in advance.