{"id":15377,"date":"2011-08-10T15:09:48","date_gmt":"2011-08-10T20:09:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/?p=15377"},"modified":"2011-08-10T15:18:49","modified_gmt":"2011-08-10T20:18:49","slug":"budas-viuda-bistro-staff-shares-uncommon-similarity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2011\/08\/10\/budas-viuda-bistro-staff-shares-uncommon-similarity\/","title":{"rendered":"Buda’s ViUDA Bistro staff shares uncommon similarity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Honing the senses: Buda\u2019s ViUDA Bistro staff shares uncommon similarity<\/strong><\/p>\n

by WES FERGUSON<\/p>\n

The footsteps of harried chefs squeaked across the kitchen floor of Buda\u2019s
\nnewest bistro last Thursday. Grills sizzled and steam whooshed. In the
\ndining room, forks and knives clinked like tiny music against the china.<\/p>\n

The faint sounds of cooking and eating, lost in the din of many busy
\nrestaurants, were magnified at ViUDA Bistro in downtown Buda. Most of the
\npatrons were too busy eating to talk.<\/p>\n

The others talked with their hands, using sign language.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe deaf community is very small,\u201d said General Manager Paul Rutowski, who
\nopened ViUDA four weekends ago with executive chef Kurt Ramborger. \u201cWe are
\nlike a big family, so once we informed those folks of the bistro, they all
\ncame in flocks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like Rutowski, Ramborger is also deaf. So are the sous chef, line cook and
\neven a dishwasher. Rutowski, who is the president of the Texas Association
\nof the Deaf, waits tables seated with deaf and hard-of-hearing patrons.<\/p>\n

While deaf friends have provided steady business in the bistro\u2019s first few
\nweeks of operation, Rutowski said ViUDA\u2019s real market is local folks from
\nBuda and Kyle.<\/p>\n

The bistro is steeped in Buda history. The restaurant\u2019s name derives from
\nthe Spanish word viuda \u2013 meaning \u201cwidow\u201d \u2013 which English-speakers pronounced
\nas Buda. According to the common explanation of the city\u2019s origins, the
\nviudas were a pair of widows who cooked at the Carrington Hotel in the
\n1880s.<\/p>\n

On ViUDA\u2019s menu, the prime rib dish is called The Carrington. The nightly
\nspecial is called The Corruption, for the anglicized corruption of the word
\nviuda. The Corruption last week was yak meat, of all things, served with
\ndecadent yam chips and piquant slaw.<\/p>\n

Rutowski and Ramborger also have a catering business, though ViUDA has
\nquickly become their primary focus. Open Thursday, Friday and Saturday
\nevenings, the bistro shares a space with Casa Alde, a local establishment
\nthat serves breakfast and lunch.<\/p>\n

Casa Alde general manager Ren\u00e9 Alcala had been looking for a way to utilize
\nthe location in the evenings when his restaurant was closed. Then he met
\nRutowski at a local gym.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw he had a catering business and a lawn service as well, and I was
\nimpressed with his get-up-and-go,\u201d Alcala said.<\/p>\n

As for the executive chef, Ramborger, he is a red-bearded Irishman who goes
\nby the name \u201cthe Irish chef.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rambor-ger responded to questions via email:<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve been a chef for many years, so you must have spent a lot of time in
\nkitchens where the staff didn\u2019t understand sign language. How does that
\ncompare to working in the ViUDA kitchen?<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, fer my 17 years in the restaurant industry, Latinos predominate in
\nthe kitchen all over America. Since I am second-generation deaf and American
\nSign Language is my primary language, I\u2019ve always had an easy tyme
\ngesturin\u2019 with Latino workers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t ever really need to write broken English or speak their language.
\nMost of the time, when I started working in a new restaurant, them white
\narses didn\u2019t really know how to be workin\u2019 with a deaf person. I always
\ntaught them how to harmonize with me by gesture and a few small food
\nsigns.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m always very determined in the kitchen where I end up emerging to be a
\nchef. Not many deaf are professional chefs in the predominately hearing
\nworld. They always struggle to be ladderin\u2019 up. We need to do somethin\u2019
\nabout that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo there\u2019s a win-win situation for me to be able to be trainin\u2019 a few deaf
\nto be professional chefs. Not just that but an easy convention fer me to
\ncommunicate with them on my standards of the dishes to serve.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJacquelyn Doudt is my sous chef. She is still a student at Le Cordon Bleu.
\nI have seen my youth year in her desire to become a professional chef. Since
\nI have already been lucky enough to be an apprentice under three chefs, \u2018tis
\ntyme fer me to teach a new apprentice to be another professional deaf
\nchef.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m always sayin\u2019 to many doubtful patrons, you don\u2019t need ears to cook
\nfood.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the philosophy behind your menu?<\/p>\n

\u201cSince my years of journey in the restaurant industry, I have always wanted
\nto open a bistro where I can put my talent of creatin\u2019 and innovatin\u2019 dishes
\nwith local foods. Paul and I wanted to have a comfy-with-old-charm style
\nwhere we can be servin\u2019 moderately priced, simple gourmet meals.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBistros are defined mostly by the foods they serve \u2013 local foods
\nincorporated into robust, earthy dishes and slow-cooked foods. At ViUDA
\nBistro, we have an interchangeable menu by the season of local foods. Not
\nlike any corporate jack-ass with their same menu fer many years.\u201d
\nYour \u201cCorruption\u201d special the other night was yak, the long-haired Himalayan
\nbovine. What does yak taste like?<\/p>\n

\u201cTruth be told, I like to be a daring chef cookin\u2019 with different food. I
\nnever had yak meat before. They are a \u2018new\u2019 meat which not many people have
\ntasted or know much of.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFound out we have a yak ranch up in Weatherford, Texas. After my research
\nof yak meat, I decided to order one for our Corruption dish. There were two
\ndifferent specials. One \u2018twas yak burger, and the second was yak cutlet with
\nyucca root masher and sauteed zucchini, topped off with pepitas pesto.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYak has very dark red meat. It\u2019s the leanest meat, over angus, longhorns,
\nbison, elk and venison.\u201d<\/p>\n

Interview has been edited and condensed.<\/p>\n

Source: http:\/\/haysfreepress.com\/archives\/22248<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Honing the senses: Buda\u2019s ViUDA Bistro staff shares uncommon similarity by WES FERGUSON The footsteps of harried chefs squeaked across the kitchen floor of Buda\u2019s newest bistro last Thursday. Grills sizzled and steam whooshed. In the dining room, forks and…<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[10343,4621,23,10346,6220,10333,10336,10337,24,10344,62,10347,1412,985,10340,6406,10335,6628,10339,10342,1456,1085,10338,178,191,853,10345,10341,10334],"class_list":["post-15377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deaf-news","tag-angus","tag-article","tag-asl","tag-bison","tag-buda","tag-budas-viuda-bistro","tag-carrington-hoytel","tag-casa-alde","tag-deaf","tag-elk","tag-english","tag-gourmet-meal","tag-hard-of-hearing","tag-history","tag-jacquelyn-doudt","tag-kurt-ramborger","tag-kyle","tag-latinos","tag-le-cordon-bleu","tag-leanest-meat","tag-longhorns","tag-paul-rutowski","tag-rene-alcala","tag-restaurant","tag-sign-language","tag-texas-association-of-the-deaf","tag-venison","tag-viuda-bistro","tag-wes-ferguson"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p752R-401","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":15497,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2011\/08\/18\/i-deaf-news-fund-raising-party-at-viuda-restaurant-austin\/","url_meta":{"origin":15377,"position":0},"title":"I DEAF NEWS Fund Raising party at Viuda Restaurant – Austin","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"August 18, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"I DEAF NEWS Fund Raising party at Viuda Restaurant DATE: August 25, 2011 TIME: 5:00 PM to Closing ADDRESS: 108 North Main Street Buda, TX 78610 i DEAF NEWS is hosting a fundraising party at Viuda Bistro at Casa Alde. 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