{"id":17297,"date":"2012-01-19T00:04:35","date_gmt":"2012-01-19T05:04:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/?p=17297"},"modified":"2012-01-19T00:22:14","modified_gmt":"2012-01-19T05:22:14","slug":"viuda-bistro-appeals-to-the-deaf-and-hearing-in-buda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2012\/01\/19\/viuda-bistro-appeals-to-the-deaf-and-hearing-in-buda\/","title":{"rendered":"Viuda Bistro appeals to the deaf and hearing in Buda"},"content":{"rendered":"

Viuda Bistro appeals to the deaf and hearing in Buda<\/strong><\/p>\n

Michael Barnes, Out & About<\/p>\n

January 17, 2012<\/p>\n

BUDA \u2014 Casual customers might not even notice. Instead, diners at Viuda
\nBistro might focus on the ingenious food, the warm social glow or the funky
\nd\u00e9cor, seemingly at odds with the complicated cuisine.<\/p>\n

At some point in the evening, however, on nights when Helen’s Casa Alde in
\ndowntown Buda doubles as Viuda Bistro, co-manager Paul Rutowski greets
\ncustomers through a signing interpreter. The curious diner, peeking into the
\nkitchen, might also catch chef Kurt Ramborger and sous chef Jacquelyn Doudt
\nmid-discussion, fingers flying through American Sign Language.<\/p>\n

They \u2014 as well as other employees and a subset of the regular crowd \u2014 are
\ndeaf or hard of hearing.<\/p>\n

“The deaf community has always been very supportive of us,” Rutowski says of
\nthe bistro that opened, at first monthly, now four days a week, last year.
\n“They came in flocks at the beginning and it (has) kind of worn off a bit.
\nBut we continue to have a good number of loyal customers.”<\/p>\n

Still, the Wisconsin-born teacher and businessman doesn’t mind when people
\ndon’t notice the discreet ASL.<\/p>\n

“Personally, I try to eliminate the perception of deafness,” Rutowski, 43,
\nstates with customary tact. “As Kurt says, you don’t need ears to cook. I
\ntry to be transparent, because I don’t want people to either come (or) not
\ncome because of our deafness. We want them to come because they enjoy the
\nambience, service and food \u2014 nothing else.”<\/p>\n

So what’s up with that name, which, if pronounced with a diphthong,
\nresembles “Buda”?<\/p>\n

“Viuda” is Spanish for widow. The Carrington Hotel, located in the 1880s
\nalong the railroad tracks in the Hays County town of “Du Pre,” was staffed
\nby widows. Thus, according to local lore, when forced to change its name
\nbecause another Texas town had already claimed “Du Pre,” “Buda” was borrowed
\nfrom a corruption of “viuda.”<\/p>\n

Next up: The distinctive location of Viuda Bistro inside a folksy Mexican
\nrestaurant. For three decades, Helen’s Casa Alde was among the only eateries
\nin droopy downtown Buda. It served mostly breakfast and lunch, overseen
\ntoday as in the past by 88-year-old Helen Alcala. Her son, Buda native Rene
\nAlcala, met Rutowski through fitness classes.<\/p>\n

“We became Facebook friends and that’s how I found out that Paul was running
\na catering company,” co-manager Rene Alcala, 54, says. “I was very impressed
\nwith the energy he put into his business.”<\/p>\n

So Rutowski, Alcala and Ramborger hatched a phased plan to re-introduce a
\ncertain cuisine to a community that, for a while, had supported chef Paul
\nPetersen’s excellent Little Texas Bistro.<\/p>\n

Rutowski and Ramborger, who have lived north, south east and west, met in
\ncollege.<\/p>\n

“Deaf people tend to move around the country because of limited job
\nopportunities, or to be where the deaf schools are,” he says. “Some would
\nlike to stay where their families are, but it’s hard.”<\/p>\n

Rutowski’s gregarious mother mainstreamed her son until he, by chance,
\nencountered students from a deaf school.<\/p>\n

“I was 11 and had no idea there was such a thing,” he says. “I said: \u2018Hey
\nmom, what’s that?’ \u2018Oh, no, no, no that’s not for you, because you’re too
\nspecial.’?”<\/p>\n

Rutowski grew up oral, speaking to everyone in the family and at school,
\nwhere he was popular.<\/p>\n

“When you are young, it’s easy to get along with everybody,” he says. “But
\nat junior high, they develop groups or cliques and I couldn’t really find a
\ngroup I could fit in. I was a very good athlete, but the school had no
\nsupport services, just a very pure hearing environment. So I twisted my
\nmother’s arm.”<\/p>\n

He visited the school for the deaf and never turned back. After graduating
\nwith honors, he attended Gallaudet University in Washington D.C., engaged in
\ndeaf activism and headed to Western Maryland College for a master’s degree.
\nHis first job was teaching at Texas School for the Deaf, one of the best
\nsuch schools in the country, in a city that maintains a reasonable comfort
\nlevel with deafness.<\/p>\n

“I don’t feel deaf here in Austin,” he says. “In Wisconsin I did. They don’t
\nhave the type of exposure we enjoy here.”<\/p>\n

How did this charismatic businessman end up selling baked orange cake, Bacon
\nJalapoppers and Yammy Yak with herb-roasted sweet potatoes and saut\u00e9ed
\nspinach-cranberries to fascinated urbanites, suburbanites and exurbanites?
\nWhile well-composed Rutowski operates as the brains of the business,
\nfun-loving Ramborger could be considered its heart.<\/p>\n

Los Angeles-born Ramborger, 40, who goes by the sobriquet “the Irish chef”
\nand emails in a thick dialect, has cooked up and down the West Coast,
\nhosting celebrities such as Bill Gates.<\/p>\n

Ramborger grew up “embedded in two kitchens of (a) deaf mamma and an Irish
\ngramma,” he writes “I grew up immersed with mo mi’ladies as they whipped up
\nthe home-style food. The immersion went deep into mo soul and never left
\nthere. Pursuin’ mo true passion … bein’ a self-taught chef in \u201890s.”<\/p>\n

Long after college, Ramborger ran into Rutowski while serving as a chef on a
\ndeaf movie production in Austin. They launched Arouse Your Palate Catering.
\nThe first event that they tested at Casa Alde was a wine and cheese tasting.
\nThen they launched the bistro concept on the first Thursdays of the month
\n\u2014 including a memorable outdoor wild boar roast \u2014 which led to regular hours
\nThursdays through Sundays.<\/p>\n

“I think the city of Buda has been very accepting of us,” Alcala says. “Kurt
\nhas become a fixture on Main Street.”<\/p>\n

Ohio-born Doudt \u2014 educated at Gallaudet and Le Cordon Bleu (Austin) \u2014 was
\nworking as a line cook when Rutowski and Ramborger asked her to join the
\neffort. Working in the kitchen, she isn’t afforded the opportunity to
\ninteract with deaf and hearing customers as often.<\/p>\n

“My vision is to establish a base at the restaurant to show hearing people
\n\u2014 customers, employers, owners, managers and chefs \u2014 that it is very
\npossible to work with deaf people in front of house and back of house,”
\nDoudt, 23, says. “I am hoping Viuda Bistro will set an example to all
\nrestaurants.”<\/p>\n

Although they are grateful to the City of Buda for business assistance, the
\nmanagers feel the inability to obtain a wine-and-beer license has hampered
\ngrowth there.<\/p>\n

“I’m hoping to stick around for the long term,” says Rutowski. “I would love
\nto expand Viuda into the Austin scene one day. But we need to first become
\nself-sustainable with the Buda location. It takes time and patience.”<\/p>\n

mbarnes@statesman.com<\/p>\n

Bacon Jalapoppers<\/p>\n

12 medium jalape\u00f1os<\/p>\n

10 oz. whipped cream cheese<\/p>\n

6 oz. Cheddar cheese<\/p>\n

1 Tbsp. finely minced red or purple onion<\/p>\n

1 1\/2 tsp. granulated garlic<\/p>\n

1 tsp. lemon juice<\/p>\n

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste<\/p>\n

1 egg<\/p>\n

1 egg white<\/p>\n

1 cup Italian bread crumbs<\/p>\n

12 thick slices of hardwood-smoked bacon<\/p>\n

Frying oil<\/p>\n

Slice the jalape\u00f1os in half, lengthwise. Remove the innards and seeds. Put
\naside. In a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, Cheddar cheese, granulated
\ngarlic, onion and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Mix well. Spoon
\nthe mixture into the jalape\u00f1o halves. In a shallow bowl, beat the egg and
\negg white. Dip the filled peppers into the egg, then coat with bread crumbs.
\nBake at 250 degrees until bread crumbs turn brown (10 to 15 minutes). Set
\naside to cool. Wrap with bacon and insert toothpick. Deep fry for a minute
\nor two at 350 degrees.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Jacquelyn Doudt, sous chef at Viuda Bistro<\/p>\n

Baked Orange Cake<\/p>\n

12 Valencia oranges<\/p>\n

1 1\/2 cups cake flour<\/p>\n

1 tsp. baking powder<\/p>\n

1\/2 tsp. baking soda<\/p>\n

1\/2 tsp. sea salt<\/p>\n

1\/2 cup sweet cream butter at room temperature<\/p>\n

1 cup baker’s sugar<\/p>\n

2 medium eggs<\/p>\n

3\/4 tsp. Mexican vanilla extract<\/p>\n

1\/4 tsp. orange oil<\/p>\n

3\/4 cup well-shaken buttermilk<\/p>\n

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Cut oranges in half and remove the flesh, wash
\nthe rinds, then pat dry. (You can use orange flesh for something else.) Sift
\nflour, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt. Set aside. Whip butter and
\nsugar until fluffy, five to eight minutes. Add eggs, one by one. Then add
\nvanilla extract and orange oil to blend. Alternate blending portions of
\nbuttermilk mix and flour mix. Foil the bottom of orange rind and fill 3\/4
\nfull with cake batter. Bake for 45 minutes. Add your own icing or whipped
\ncream.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Kurt Ramborger, chef at Viuda Bistro<\/p>\n

Yammy Yak with Herbed-Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Saut\u00e9ed Spinach-Cranberries<\/p>\n

For the sweet potatoes:<\/p>\n

2 lbs. sweet potatoes cut into 1\/4 inch dices<\/p>\n

3 Tbsp. dried basil<\/p>\n

2 Tbsp. dried oregano<\/p>\n

1 Tbsp. garlic powder<\/p>\n

1 Tbsp. onion powder<\/p>\n

2 tsp. sea salt<\/p>\n

2 tsp. black pepper<\/p>\n

1\/4 cup olive pomace oil, or olive oil and canola oil blended<\/p>\n

For the spinach-cranberry mix:<\/p>\n

4 cups fresh spinach<\/p>\n

1\/2 cup dried cranberries<\/p>\n

2 Tbsp. sweet cream butter, or 2 oz. clarified butter<\/p>\n

2 tsp. freshly grated or minced garlic<\/p>\n

1 Tbsp. basil oil, or extra virgin olive oil<\/p>\n

Salt and pepper to taste<\/p>\n

1 lb. sirloin or T-bone yak steak (available at www.Texasyaks.com)<\/p>\n

Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees. Mix the sweet potatoes with other
\ningredients and bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until soft. Season the yak
\nwith sea salt and black pepper. Heat an iron skillet for 10 minutes, then
\ncook yak on high heat until medium rare to maximize flavor, searing three to
\nfour minutes on each side. Then cook further in oven for six to eight
\nminutes. Once yak is in the oven, heat butter and basil oil in a large pan
\nuntil bubbling. Add garlic, salt and pepper for another minute. Add
\ncranberries and cook two more minutes before adding spinach. Toss. Pull yak
\nout of oven and plate. Heap herbed-roasted sweet potatoes on one half and
\nsaut\u00e9ed spinach-cranberries on the other half.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Kurt Ramborger, chef at Viuda Bistro<\/p>\n

Source:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.austin360.com\/food-drink\/viuda-bistro-appeals-to-the-deaf-and-hearing-2107309.html?viewAsSinglePage=true<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Viuda Bistro appeals to the deaf and hearing in Buda Michael Barnes, Out & About January 17, 2012 BUDA \u2014 Casual customers might not even notice. Instead, diners at Viuda Bistro might focus on the ingenious food, the warm social…<\/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":[1629,23,21,12184,51,12189,10337,8391,12185,35,24,493,1570,40,10340,6406,10339,12187,12188,1085,178,92,604,10341,12186],"class_list":["post-17297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deaf-news","tag-american-sign-language","tag-asl","tag-austin","tag-austin-360","tag-business","tag-carrington-hotel","tag-casa-alde","tag-chef","tag-city-of-buda","tag-community","tag-deaf","tag-gallaudet","tag-hearing","tag-interpreter","tag-jacquelyn-doudt","tag-kurt-ramborger","tag-le-cordon-bleu","tag-little-texas-bistro","tag-paul-petersen","tag-paul-rutowski","tag-restaurant","tag-school","tag-texas-school-for-the-deaf","tag-viuda-bistro","tag-western-maryland-college"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p752R-4uZ","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":15377,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2011\/08\/10\/budas-viuda-bistro-staff-shares-uncommon-similarity\/","url_meta":{"origin":17297,"position":0},"title":"Buda’s ViUDA Bistro staff shares uncommon similarity","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"August 10, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"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. 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