Fresh
and Local Heads Outdoors
One
of San Francisco's trendiest new dining destinations is The City's
historic Ferry Building, with its stalls of quality, product-specific
food and beverage providers. There, Cowgirl Creamery's Artisan
Cheese, Far West Fungi, Frog Hollow produce, Scharffen Berger
chocolate, McEvoy Olive Oil, and Ciao Bella gelato are among the
high-end food products sold. Though increasingly, those same items
are appearing on menus in the most unexpected places, like at
Stan's Place at Lake Chabot, the Angel Island Café at Angel
Island State Park, and Drakesbad Guest Ranch in Lassen Volcanic
National Park.
These
all are park concessions, but they're unlike your father's concession
stand, in that fresh, local and made-from-scratch fare has headed
outdoors.
Dee
Wagner, director of food and beverage for The California Parks
Company is leading this culinary revolution. At Stan's Place,
she rewrote what people expect from a low-cost concession menu,
creating one that delivers expected comfort food to the lake's
mostly fisherman-focused clientele with culinary elan.
Wagner
said, "We deliver the kinds of dishes a fisherman would expect
to find at a marina... biscuits and gravy, burgers and nachos,
but the similarity ends in name only. Wherever possible, we make
as much as we can from scratch. The gravy on those biscuits is
made from scratch, as is the cheese sauce, salsa and guacamole
on the nachos. We prepare a special sauce that includes smoked
paprika from Spain for the burgers that makes them stand out.
That makes our customers look forward to returning to the lake
and Stan's Place, just for the food. And, it's helping us attract
non-fishing clientele who come to hike and enjoy a meal with us
in a beautiful location.
"We
could buy great pickles, but we make our own," said Wagner,
"Our all-natural pork comes from Snake River Farms, though
we season, roast and prepare the pulled pork, ourselves. Our focus
is on fresh, local and organic wherever possible, even at a snack
stand. It's all about taking it up a notch, making sure all the
components of a menu items are the best they can be that sets
us apart." On Angel Island, The California Park's Company's
clientele expects a higher standard. Two years ago, Wagner created
a second dining location near the café, the Cantina, featuring
Lagunitas beer on tap, street tacos and live music every Saturday
and Sunday. Response has been so strong that the deck fills quickly
on weekends and Angel Island has become a trendy destination for
millennials out for a fun adventure.
Higher
standards come with a cost, reminded Wagner, "We took a hit
at Drakesbad Guest Ranch this summer when we introduced a new
menu, but that cost is about rebuilding our reputation there and
getting our guests to return each year. We can only do that by
making their entire experience unforgettable and food is one aspect
of their vacation experience that we absolutely control,"
said Wagner.
At
Drakesbad, all meals are included. So guests have no choice about
what to eat. Wagner said, "With only 19 rooms, we're compelled
to serve set menus. So, we chose to focus primarily on dinner,
serving distinctive pre-set vegetarian and non-vegetarian entrees
with salad and dessert. We wanted these dinners to be special
and memorable. For example, on Fridays, we serve king salmon with
lobster claw meat and fresh prawn risotto, English peas, roasted
baby carrots, asparagus and vin blanc. We're looking for a 'Wow!'
factor, while managing costs. There's only an ounce of lobster
in that dish, but after you've spent a day hiking national park
trails, it sounds expensive, indulgent and the guest reaction
is over the top."
Wagner
explained, "What we deliver in a slightly higher cost for
dinner, we try to make up by economizing with cross-over breakfast
and lunch buffet menus. On Tuesdays, we make up for the expensive
rack of lamb served on Sundays, by plating a delicious lasagna.
The pasta is low-cost, but even there we don't cut corners. It's
all hand-rolled and prepared from scratch."
Special
attention was given to the children's menu which one guest - a
restaurateur - called the best children's dinner he's seen. Kids'
meals are presented in a lacquered Bento box, its compartments
filled with tantalizing fresh fruit, fun veggies, salad and the
child's choice of entrée from favorites such as fried chicken
or mac 'n' cheese.
You'd
think you could charge more for such creative innovations, but
park concessioners operate in regulated environments where prices
are set by government officials. An improvement to the menu does
not mean you can charge more for it. However, The California Parks
Company is convinced that improvements in the park dining experiences
will translate into business for the future.
More
about The California Parks Company and its concessions is found
at: www.norcalfishing.com,
www.angelisland.com,
www.drakesbad.com
and www.calparksco.com.
by
John Poimiroo