October 5, 2010
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Accordion to Legend
The accordion is music’s metaphor for confusion. It was adored by Tchaikovski and Charles Ives, as well as by John Mellencamp, Tom Waits, They Might Be Giants, Weird Al Yankovich and subway buskers worldwide. The accordion is the main instrument of folk music from valenato and cumbia in Colombia, to baião and forro in Brazil, sevdalinka in Bosnia, zydeco in Louisiana, tejano in Texas and Mexico, tango in Argentina and Viking metal in Scandinavia. Yet many Americans still think it begins and ends with Myron Floren and the Lawrence Welk Show. That’s a tough mental block to chip. Between two wildly successful books (“The Shipping News” and “Brokeback Mountain”), E. Annie Proulx wrote “Accordion Crimes.” That book traced a cursed accordion from 1890 Sicily through New Orleans, Texas, Maine, Minnesota and Prank, Iowa to its end in 1886 Florida. Despite its epic scale, it was Proulx‘s biggest flop.
Accordions are a tough sale so it figures that an accordion themed restaurant might be too. Sergey Lozovich though is a true believer whose Valley Junction café reflects the scope of the instrument by serving dishes from countries with great accordion traditions – Ukraine, Russia, Germany, France and Ireland among them. Lozovich plays his own accordions and at other times he plays accordion videos that range from tango to Tchaikovski. I once asked him about a soup recipe and he responded by comparing eight button accordions to some other kind.
His kitchen is the accomplished hands of Chris Place whose resume covers as many superb Iowa restaurants as anyone‘s. He was the last chef at 43 and the original chef at both Django and Proof. Lately he’s been working for Hong Willer at Café Shi in Ames. So the diversity of a multi-ethnic menu doesn’t phase him in the least.
“We’re just getting started. Pretty soon, I plan to get into baking some East European style rye breads
but for now our mixers are completely employed making pirozhok (savory turnovers), noodles, pelmeni ( a pasta) and dessert pastries,” he explained.
Hearty foods dominated Accordion’s first autumn menu. A borscht delivered spectacular stock (made exclusively with marrow bones), beets that had been sliced, diced and cubed, and some very lean beef cubes. Lapsha resembled chicken noodle soup with deep chicken stock, homemade noodles, diced vegetables and homemade croutons. Chunks of breast meat were the least flavorful things in the pot.
Pelmeni were a cross between ravioli and shu mai, with beef stuffing and a vodka tomato sauce. They were served with sautéed fresh spinach.
Shashlik were kebabs of lean beef and vegetables served on a fabulous bed of spiced green lentils with fresh haricots verts and black walnuts. Potato options included a German style potato salad that my German grandfather would have liked and freshly cut pommes frites.
Accordion’s beer braised pork was the least interesting dish. Lean loin didn’t stand up well to the braising, though lemon pepper, onion, and sautéed spinach-tomato-garlic accompaniments compensated. Good side dishes included home made pickles, and a salad of herring with several root vegetables.
Deserts included apple pirozhok with sauce Romanoff (resembling Bavarian cream) and khvorost – Russian “Twig” cookies dusted with powdered sugar. Croquettes of beef, seafood stew, homemade brats, burgers and potato encrusted fried dishes of whitefish and chicken breast completed the menu. An excellent international beer list and an inexpensive wine list pushed a festive mood.Bottom line – Scratch recipes from the Old World and live accordion music make this place unique in Iowa.
Accordion
227 5th St., West Des Moines, 255-9895.
Tues. – Sat. noon – 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Side Dishes
Nearly a year behind schedule, Copa Cavana plans to open any day now in the old Ingersoll theater while Tommy Farrell’s plans to open a second Italian Beef restaurant on Ingersoll have fallen apart… Rib Shack opened next door to the National Sprint Car Museum in Knoxville while Smokey D’s moved into a larger venue next to the Big Barn Harley Davidson on Second Ave.
