Palate Dancing on the Square

By Melinda Hemmelgarn, M.S., R.D. • Photos by Dan Hemmelgarn

Over the river and through the woods, down winding scenic roads we traveled. Destination: Emmet’s Kitchen and Tap on the Square in Fayette.

I’ll be honest; I wasn’t expecting much. Not to be smug, but I’ve eaten truly exceptional food in my life — from New York City’s ethnic neighborhoods to the finest New Orleans fare, with stops at open air markets and white-linen table tops in Paris, Barcelona and Rome. My work revolves around food, farming, diet and health. You could say I’m a picky eater but only because I care about what we eat and how it affects the quality of our lives.

Sandwiched between a Subway and a Savings and Loan, Emmet’s sits squarely under signature blue awnings. As we pulled up, warm lights beckoned through squeaky clean windows decorated with gold leaf lettering. Was that beguiling aroma wafting from Emmet’s? Let go in.

My husband and I met owner Rob Schluckebier at the bar, a structure that dates back to 1936 when the building housed a drug store with fountain service. I love a place with high ceilings and history.

Rob led us to a table where we sat and compared notes. After finishing high school in Sailsbury, Mo., Rob went to the University of West Florida in Pensacola. The beach appealed to him. A decade earlier I attended college in Tallahassee, a little farther from the coast but close enough to reminisce about succulent Apalachicola oysters and plump Gulf shrimp.

Rob intended to major in sports medicine but started working as a busboy in Scotto’s, an authentic fine-dining Italian restaurant in downtown Pensacola. The industrious chef was first generation from southern Italy. My best friend’s grandmother emmigrated from Sicily, so I could imagine the terrific dishes created in Scotto’s kitchen.

Each morning, hours before going to class, Rob would show up at the restaurant and simply watch the master at work, and he’d jump in to help when summoned. Rob found his calling and began his culinary journey and apprenticeship.

Interstate 10 shortens the distance between Pensacola and New Orleans unless, like Rob, you stop along the way to learn cooking secrets from an elderly African woman selling boiled peanuts from a roadside stand. Rob made the Crescent City his home for a year, where the skilled hands at Commander’s Palace, Brennan’s and K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen fueled his passion for Cajun and Creole cooking.

I drove the same stretch of highway in 1978 on my way to the Mardi Gras where I met my husband and fell in love with gumbo and jambalaya. You’ll find both dishes on Emmet’s menu.

After eight years steeping in southern hospitality, Rob returned briefly to mid-Missouri to help manage his family’s farm. He left again two years later, this time for Chicago to experience the creative contemporary restaurants Trio, Tru and Spago’s.

After working impossible hours and on the verge of burnout, Rob headed back to his hometown roots where he met and married his wife, Cindy.

Emmet’s opened in July 2002. Rob named the restaurant after his grandfather but says the “menu is dedicated to all the great cooks who I have learned from over the years.”

Rob cares about where food comes from, too. He tries to order from regional sources he knows best. For example, you won’t find shrimp imported from Asia on Emmet’s menu. Rob remains partial to Gulf shrimp. He also changes his menu to reflect the seasons.

“I like to introduce people to flavors,” he says, with an emphasis on “simplicity and fresh quality ingredients,” that allow “Mother Nature to speak for herself.”

Rob believes “food is personal, like a fingerprint,” which explains his unique signature dishes that reflect a culmination of his life experiences. He enjoys witnessing his customers’ immediate gratification. “Good food should make your palate dance.”

The charming towns that define rural America depend on the survival of businesses such as Emmet’s. Rob’s more than a 
darned good cook; he’s a community developer who feeds Fayette’s economy.

“I want to create jobs in Fayette,” Rob says. “I feel responsible to the people I employ.” Despite the burden of climbing costs, Rob continues to offer health insurance to his employees and meals to their families.

Rob is also building social capital with a welcoming public dining room where strangers become neighbors over shared meals.

Choosing a restaurant is like voting with our forks. If you want a candidate who promises a culinary adventure and rich community, take the long and winding road to Emmet’s.

Dishes We Tasted and Loved

Angry shrimp with spicy red chili and garlic sauce, served with Louisiana rice

Bayou shrimp with creamy honey jalapeno dressing

Beef tenderloin pasta with Maytag blue cheese and house-made Worcestershire sauce

Mama’s angel hair pasta with sautéed plum tomatoes, fresh basil and baby spinach, seasoned with extra-virgin olive oil, aged balsamic vinegar and topped with sweet creamy feta

Rob’s Tips for Delicious, Doable Holidays:

• Focus on family; the food will take care of itself.
• Manage your time by making ahead what you can, but don’t be overwhelmed.
• Pass down family food traditions.
• Invite children to help out.

Emmet’s Carrot Cake

(courtesy of Chef/Owner Rob Schluckebier)

• 1 ¼ cups oil
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 eggs
• 1 pound carrots, peeled and grated
• 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
• 1 cup dark raisins (optional)

Filling

• 1 cup sugar
• ¼ cup flour
• 1 cup heavy cream
• ¼ cup butter
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

Frosting

• 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 3 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine oil and sugar in bowl; beat well. Sift together dry ingredients. Sift half the dry ingredients into sugar mixture; blend well. Sift remaining dry ingredients, alternating with egg; mix well after each addition. Stir in carrots, pecans and, if desired, raisins.

Pour into lightly oiled 10-inch tube pan. Bake in preheated 325-degree oven about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Cool upright 
in pan.

To make filling, combine sugar and flour in small heavy saucepan. Gradually stir in cream. Add butter and salt. Cook over very low heat and stir frequently until mixture comes just to a simmer. (This might take 30 minutes.) Let simmer 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat, and cool to lukewarm. Stir in nuts and vanilla. Cool completely, ideally overnight.

To make frosting, combine cream cheese and butter in food processor or mixer. Add confectioner’s sugar and vanilla,
and mix until perfectly smooth. Refrigerate if too soft to 
spread immediately.

To assemble, split cooled cake into three layers. Spread pecan filling between layers. Reassemble on cake plate, and frost top and sides with frosting.