Herald and Review from Decatur, Illinois • Page 62

10 GOOD LIFE Decatur, Illinois Sunday, February 28, 1993 FT 7 ipwi Stoney's t's a simple notion. Wine complements food. Food complements wine. Yet here in the prairie, few restaurants have embraced that concent 7 --with a commitment and a nassinn on the four sensational years of California wine production, buying cases from the famed 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1987 harvests. The Wine Spectator, a magazine that is a national guide for wine aficionados, honored Stoney's with its "Award of Excellence." But now the list is purposely being down-sized.

Has Dave lost his lust for wine? No. But he's regained his sense of good business. "Part of it is a matter of space," he said. "And as long as we're trimming, we're going to trim the things that don't sell while concentrating on the wines that do sell." Brown has carefully pared the list to a current offering of 168 varieties, although another 20 or so are in-house but won't be listed until further aging. "My goal is to get it down to 100 kinds of ine," he said.

That will still allow him the freedom of keeping some daring and lesser known varieties on hand. Asked to pick a personal favorite, Brown settled on one red, one white. The red: "A good California red zinfandel, probably a Ridge Geyserville or Storybrook Mountain, 1984 through 1987. 1 like fire and spice wines more than fruity wines." The white: "The 1989 or 1990 vintage of Gewurztraminer, a French white with a German name." Stoney's most expensive bottle of wine is a 1982 Vielles Vignes Francaises champagne. "Very, very rare," Brown said.

And a bargain at $240 a bottle. My personal choice: A 16-ounce ribeye steak, medium rare, and a glass of soft merlot or 1986 Ca-kebread Cellars California cabernet sauvignon. Absolutely heaven. One bold enough to do so is Dave Brown's jewel, Stoney's Restaurant in Dalton City. For the lover of fine wines, Stoney's sits as an oasis.

Seemingly misplaced in the shadow of the Dalton City grain elevator, Stoney's has become a mecca for sizzling steaks and a shockingly broad wine list. The man behind the plan is Brown, who bought Stoney's in 1977. A 1962 graduate of MacArthur High School, Brown worked on the East Coast and in upstate New York before winding his way back to Decatur at the Brown Jug and the Red Carpet Inn. Along the way, he developed a keen interest in wine. "I'm self-taught," he said, meaning he has read a lot, listened a lot and tasted a lot of wine.

Stoney's first wine list contained 10 or 12 offerings: "A hoijse red, a house white and about five or six bottles of red and another four bottles of white." But when Stoney's was destroyed by a fire in 1986, an opportunity arose. "When we rebuilt, it gave us more room and a chance to do more with wine," he said. The restaurant grew from 184 to 300 seats. And Brown enthusiastically constructed a ground-floor wine room, humidity and temperature controlled. "That opened the door.

And I was determined to have the best wine list between Chicago and St. Louis." At its peak in 1991, Stoney's housed 218 varieties of wine and 3,500 to 4,000 bottles. He was able to get in Photo by Darrell Goemaat Dave Brown set out to give Stoney's the finest wine list between Chicago and St. Louis. GRAND CRU: Swartz Restaurant Esker's Tavern The Wagon fBIi Bo L.

alk about taste with a tradition. ee this strawberry," said Swartz Restaurant owner Keith Ashbv. holding a moderate-sized berrv between his thumb and Decatur's most famous neighborhood tavern has been serving 1 finger. "We wouldn't make a pie from this kind of strawberry. Not plump enough.

The top third is white. Not good enough." up deep-fried fish fingers for decades. Whole families have been raised on Esker's fish fingers and, NbTgood enough for the array of fat, flavorful berries that go into the more recently, Esker's fish chunks. "Without question it's something people identify very closely with Esker's," confirmed owner Doug Burrows. "We've had regulars eating fish here for years." Children who once tagged along with their parents on a Friday night outing are now the adults toting in their own kids.

Fish fingers began appearing at Esker's when one-time owner "Speed" Esker first added a deep fryer and grill. "I think Speed got tired of watching his morning crowd leave at about 11 o'clock to go get something to eat," Burrows said. "That's when Esker's added food." For many years the Esker's fish fingers were commonly called snapper fingers. "That's what they were," Burrows said. "Red snapper.

But the cost of red snapper got to be so high Speed had to switch." So snapper was replaced by grouper, and grouper has been served at Esker's for more than 20 years. "People still call it snapper," Burrows said. "In fact, on the box it says, 'Snapper but it's grouper." Golden brown strips of fish are stacked in a wax paper-covered plastic basket like Lincoln Logs and bussed to a table or booth, piping hot. Originally served on Friday only, Esker's fish is now available every day of the week. "But we still sell more on Friday than any other day," Burrows said.

Another temptation is chunks of fish deep fried squares of cod coated with a cornmeal-based breading. You can order fish chunks in baskets or on sandwiches with cocktail sauce, tartar sauce or both. One of the best values in Decatur is Esker's large fish finger basket. For $3.15 you'll get an average of eight fish fingers, plus sauce. For $3.65 you'll also get thick steak fries.

It's a load to gobble, even if you have the appetite of Moby Dick. making of Decatur's most spectacular pie strawberry pie at Swartz Restaurant. This is currently a period of withdrawal for all of us in love with strawberry pie. The only seasonal offering among Swartz's 24 varieties of pie, it is available only six or seven months a year because of the limited quantity of top-grade berries. "The berry season is coming on now in Plant City, Ashby said.

"Once the berries reach here we'll probably add it again." Probably? Definitely! "Coconut is our most popular pie, but only because it is available 12 months a year," Ashby said. "If we had fresh strawberries year-round, it would be our most popular, I'm sure." "Fresh" is the operative word. "We use only fresh berries, never frozen or processed," Ashby said. "And they've got to be excellent berries. Illinois berries are the best, and when they are available we buy them from local suppliers." It takes more than a quart of strawberries to make a pie, and Swartz bakes 10 to 15 every day until supplies are exhausted usually by fall.

Straw berry pie is sold by the slice, by the whole pie and through the restaurant's catering business. "I only eat about six slices of pie a year," Ashby said. "Every piece I eat is strawberry." He said most customers order the pie topped with whipped cream or accompanied by a scoop of ice cream, a la mode. Each slice arrives looking like a plate piled high with wet rubies, individual gems to be plucked and savored. To have an entire strawberry pie in your refrigerator is to know the feeling of having gemstones in the household safe.

The motto says it all: "When we're fryin', the Colonel's cryin'." And judging by the crowd at The Wagon on Wednesday and Saturday nights, owner Dave "Flash" Jordan is right. -More than one self-styled expert believes The Wagon serves up the best, most finger-lickin' yummy fried chicken in Decatur. Fried chicken is nothing new at The Wagon. For years it was a Wednesday night staple, a half-chicken that you pulled apart piece by piece. So when Jordan took over in December of 1980 he had no intention of burying the bird.

No, he just had to decide how to serve it. And when. After some thought and a few inquiries, Jordan decided to launch his version with a grand sendoff. "It was either in 1981 or 1982 on a Wednesday night and I sold a half-chicken, cut into four individual pieces and fried, for $1.99. They almost killed us.

We did it on a Wednesday and repeated it on a Saturday, and the response was so great we decided to make it every Wednesday and Saturday." The response is still great so much so that Jordan has fried chicken on his menu six nights a week (not on Friday because his deep fryers are busy cranking out fish). But it is still a Wednesday and Saturday happening because of the "specials" created for those days. Three pieces of chicken are offered on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday at a cost of $4.29. That includes cole slaw, roll and butter. But on Wednesday and Saturday the same $4.29 buys four pieces breast, thigh, wing and leg, plus slaw, roll and butter.

Jordan credits his chicken's success to two primary factors. One, he buys only fresh poultry, never frozen. Two, his cook, Georgia Read, "can cook chicken with anyone in town," he said. "We use Georgia's flour mix and Georgia's batter mix, then deep fry in pure corn oil," he said. "Corn oil doesn't saturate into the meat the way other oils can.

And no matter how many pieces we're frying, Georgia knows just when each piece is done." As proof of the product's popularity, on a single Wednesday night The Wagon has served up as many as 1,500 pieces. "We sell a lot of chicken to go," Jordan said. "A lot for University of Illinois tailgate parties, reunions and picnics. We've had them order 250 to 300 pieces at a time and pick them up to go." Because Medicare Doesn't Cover Everything. MOLDf MAID IS THE PROFESSIONAL SOLUTION Dependable, Uniformed Professionals Customer Employee Protection Bonded Employees General Liability Worker's Compensation All Payroll Taxes Free In-Home Estimates Affordable Rates Convenient Service Schedule Cleaning Supplies Equipment Efficient Two-Person Teams MOLLY MAID Marked Vehicles American Family offers four new Medicare Basic Benefits Basic Benefits Basic Benefits Basic Benefits Skilled Nursing Skilled Nursing Skilled Nursing Co-insurance Co-insurance Co-insurance MOLLY MAID IS SERVICE Living Close to the Part A Deductible Part A Deductible Part A Deductible Supplement Plans to suit your particular needs without sacrificing your life savings.

Our policies range from basic to the maximum coverage allowed by the Federal Government. Part Deductible Part Deductible Part Deductible foreign Travel Emergency foreign Travel Emergency foreign Travel Emergency AMf'TIG Part Excess (100) Part Excess (100) Bathrooms Cleaned Sanitized Including Fixtures Mirrors Kitchen Counters. Appliance Surfaces, Floors Sinks Cleaned Caipets. Hardwood. Tile Vinyl Flooring Vacuumed Throughout Vinyl Tiled Floors Thoroughly Washed Thorough Dusting of Baseboards, Sills, Decor Furnishings Spot Cleaning to Remove Fingerprints Smudges Other Services Available to Meet Your Needs Gift Certificates Available for that "Special Gift" MOLLY MAID MEANS SATISFACTION Your home will receive the care and attention you people who care because MOLLY MAID Services are Satisfaction Guaranteed.

For your FREE in-home estimate without obligation, call: 4290224 Owners: JOE MYRA SEPICH A.M. Best, the respected authority for rating insurance companies, has consistently placed American Family in its highest rating category of Superior, based on At Home Recovery mm financial strength and operating performance. Extended Drugs $3000 limit) Preventive Care AMERICAN FAMILY Mike Tish 424-6024 auto im aamss tjuntin This product is not connected with or endorsed by the US Government or the Federal Medicare Program. Come Grow With Us! MOIIYMAIIX YOU'LL LOVE COMING HOME TO A CLEAN HOUSE Independently Owned and Operated Uu, Home Of The Raggedy Ann Festival 4 C4 0 1 Mav 25tn 26th JJK ,7...., and the Annual rn 11 1 Broomcorn Festival Gordon's I -ruZ Clothing DrLSf Tradition 27268733 COtl tltlU GS Areola Areola First ARCQLACgjjgg) National Bank Member FDIC Variety ore Construction Company 127 N. Oak Tool Rental 268-491 1 stP You'a Why Were sPecial Arnla w- Rt- 133 Areola Ph.

268-3014 Mrcuid 8 am-7 pm Sunday Noon-4 pm 71 1 Areola Hometown Proud Vyverberg's rr "In the Heart of Amish Country" Cf fj In Downtown Areola 7 am -11 pm 7 Days A Week Fresh Dairy Meat Produce 117 W. Washington, Areola, IL 61910 268-3646 268-3747 Brian Lynch I Moore Bros. I DeBrun Auto, Truck Farm Tire Service I ASpHsIt CO. Interstate Battery Dealer I I Serving you since 1921 22St 121 W. 1st South 226-3524 I Ph.

226-4226 Ron, Don, Ken Dennis Moore I Golden Prairie Assumption Newspaper Veterinary Clinic viiwfMrwi "Serving the Area 5 Years" 'Your hometown newspaper" Hunting Dogs Small Animals Complete Job Printing Service Rt. 51 226-3733 i 226-3721 301 S. Chestnut Decatur Mobile Veterinary Assumption By appts. 422-2227 Jim Fleming The City of OjjfM Assumption rush Mayor Offering 59 years City Officials of profitable service to the farmer MWMMHMHBMHB Storage Drying Many different grain EdPs Dairy Bar handling prsrams We Specialize in Ice Cream Assumption 226-3212 Sandwiches Pana 562-5084 Rte. 51 Owaneco 879-2363 Ph.

226-4297 Vestervelt 738-2321 Out patient cataract surgery that is comfortable, with no post-op restrictions and takes less than 15 minutes. Introducing an innovation in cataract surgery By The Alward Eye Clinic: CLEAR CORNEAL PHACO AND NO STITCH CATARACT SURGERY plus THE ALWARD SMALL INCISION INTRAOCULAR LENS IMPLANT ALWARD Eye Clinic and Laser Surgery Center 428-2522.