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Chef Rob Dalzell: Hungry for Growth
Story by Pete Dulin. Photography by Matthew Collins.
2008-02-22
Empire of Eateries
Sporting black pinstripe chef pants and a brown North Face jacket, Chef Rob Dalzell strides with purpose through the front room of 1924 Main at 10 AM on Monday morning. With a fine growth of stubble on his chin and jaws and a steady gaze, Dalzell looks like the kind of tall, lean adventurer that action junkies read about in Outside Magazine. Rather than scaling mountains, this chef readies himself for a string of 12-18 hour days spent managing staff and kitchen operations at three downtown restaurants. In addition to 1924 Main’s fine dining, Dalzell runs Pizza Bella (1810 Baltimore) and Souperman (1724 Main). Needless to say, Dalzell has a full plate running this small empire of eating establishments with his wife Margarita. These culinary outposts demonstrate a commitment to the resurgent growth of downtown Kansas City.
“I’m invested in the movement downtown. All the demographics push north, south, east, and west,” says Dalzell. The young entrepreneur originally from the small town of Fayette, Missouri, has firmly established roots downtown. He lives with his wife and two daughters, two-year-old Isabella and three-month-old Ellorah Brooklyn, in the Coleman Highlands neighborhood near Penn Valley and bikes to work.“I’m an urban person. I feel like we’re contributing to the core. I want Kansas City to have a cool downtown, a cool place to grab soup, pizza, or a burger.”
Burger? Town Topic doesn’t have a lock on good-n-greasy patties downtown. Dalzell’s forthcoming establishment, Chef Burger, is set to debut on March 6 at 1350 Walnut near the H&R Block building and Kansas City Repertory Theatre. The enterprising chef intends to up the game for hamburgers by using a custom blend of beef brisket, short rib, and chuck. A laundry list printed on the back of a brown paper bag offers an array of choices: eight signature burgers, quality cheeses, toppings, buns, and sauces. Customers will be able to order, sit at the counter, and watch their burger being built from scratch. Similar to his approach with classic Neapolitan-style pies at Pizza Bella, Dalzell brings food back-to-basics with pure, bold flavors and refines the experience by using top-notch ingredients. And a bonus, there are milkshakes for kids and adults (“spiked” as Dalzell quips), plus twelve beers for grownups to select from and quaff over a meal.
This burger restaurant concept has been simmering on the back burner since Dalzell graduated from Napa Valley Cooking School. After working at Taylor’s Refresher in St. Helena, California, the idea of opening a small burger joint with fast service, affordable prices, and great ingredients has stuck with him. “I want to put soup, burgers, and pizza on a pedestal,” says Dalzell.
Gut Instincts
Dalzell’s business strategy is simple: attract quality diners by presenting a financial spectrum of food offerings. He says,“I want to offer good food at all price points––a three-dollar cup of soup, a seven-dollar burger, four courses for forty dollars.”
The gambit has paid off, attracting a steady crowd of regulars from the residential metropolitan area and office workers. “We’re supported by our neighbors. Local businesses like Shook Hardy & Bacon, Lathrop & Gage, Bernstein Rein Advertising, Barkley, Hallmark, and Blue Cross Blue Shield,” says Dalzell. “
This small business owner has given people numerous reasons to venture downtown and eat, but he admits there are other limitations to attracting people to the urban core as a place to live and shop. “It takes good amenities to attract people,” he says. “Things like the Kansas City public schools and lack of parking hold back downtown. Hopefully, the city will work to improve those areas and help more businesses and people. The Plaza has free parking. How do you draw people downtown? I’m doing my part.”
The numbers do not lie. Dalzell points out that Pizza Bella served 60-70 people on a recent evening. It’s a good amount of business that keeps customers satisfied and money flowing in the local economy instead of dispersing it at chain restaurants owned elsewhere. 1924 Main has been serving customers since 1994, enduring and thriving as an independently owned restaurant. “I give people exceptional product and good service,” the chef says. “If people are shopping for convenience, we’re not the place. Our customers are looking for a unique experience. We do not appeal to the masses. It’s quality over quantity.”
Price, Place, Portion
All of Dalzell’s establishments have a distinct character. Well-designed space and décor is part of the appeal in dining at Souperman for lunch or Pizza Bella for dinner. His flagship restaurant, 1924 Main, was the former location of the Rieger Hotel, Dixie Belle Saloon, and short-lived jazz club called Riegers. Dalzell polished and primed the space to lend it a refined look that is sophisticated without being stuffy. Dark wood, original floor tiles, and marble bar convey a sense of class.
Rather than hide the kitchen, all of Dalzell’s restaurants feature an open kitchen design where guests can experience the sights and sounds. Kinetic energy flows back and forth throughout 1924 Main during service, emanating from cooks rocking the knives and sauté pans to the dining room conversation where guests broker deals or discuss the day’s minutiae over prix fixe courses. The tasting menus change each month and offer affordable prices (three courses for $38, four courses for $48) with sensible portions. “It’s reasonable enough to return once a month. We want to build relationships and connect with people in Kansas City,” says Dalzell.
Kinetic energy flows back and forth throughout 1924 Main during service, emanating from cooks rocking the knives and sauté pans to the dining room conversation.
Regarding portions, he leans forward, cups his hands together, and explains a point imparted to him early in his career from a mentor and chef in Napa Valley. “At La Toque, I learned about small portions. The average portion should be enough food to fit in your hands,” says Dalzell. His unwavering eyes are convincing. “We serve the exact amount of food in three to four courses that’s manageable. Personally, I prefer four to five bites of great food. You get a little of each for a balanced meal. It creates an experience.”
This approach runs counter to the Cheesecake Factory model of churning out huge quantities of food on a plate that can’t (and shouldn’t) be consumed in one sitting. Dalzell agrees that this practice is not healthy for diners, wasteful for restaurants, and diminishes the quality of the experience. Restaurant leftovers simply do not taste as good when nibbling on scraps for the second time.
Souperman is a colorful lunch spot where hungry patrons can grab soups, salads, and sandwiches. The operation is designed for speed and efficiency from the moment that customers walk in and order. The menu is laid out right at the door where people can choose from options like black bean chorizo chili, curried pumpkin-apple bisque and Caesar salad. The half-dozen sandwich choices include Portobello mushrooms with roasted peppers, goat cheese, and grilled onions, or the hearty barbeque brisket with blue cheese and caramelized onions.
Illustrated posters created by local artist Scribe decorate the brightly painted walls. As the name indicates, Souperman plays on a superhero theme with a blue-skinned chef character combating a fast food nation with fresh ingredients in an upscale take on lunch. “It’s meant to be fun, fast, and light. Quick and affordable with homemade flavors,” says Dalzell. “Where else can you get West African peanut soup?”
Nearby, Pizza Bella––named after Dalzell’s oldest daughter––is perhaps the coziest dining venue for families, couples, foodies, urban hipsters, suburban adventurers, and office workers. Designed by the architectural firm, el dorado, inc., the space is designed to be a “fun pizza joint for the Crossroads.” The interior walls and fixtures in gray, rustic brown, and terra cotta orange run counter to the stereotypical red, white, and green color scheme identified with pizza and Italy. Rather, the room’s open design, use of natural materials, clean lines, airy ceiling, and generous street-side window view complements the neighboring lofts and condominiums popping up downtown like mushrooms. Made in Italy, the curvy red plastic chairs in the dining room feel as sleek as sitting in a Ferrari.
Secretly, the desire to move in a bed, some books, paintings, and houseplants lurks in the back of your imagination. Wouldn’t it be cool to live in a hip location like this with a wood-fired oven at your disposal? Instead of inviting the gang over for a pizza party, locals can drop in for tasty appetizers, wine, beers, and pencil-thin breadsticks while waiting for Pizza Bella’s staff to prepare the meal.
The Italian wood-fired oven is visible from the dining area. Sous chefs and cooks prepare pizzas to order and slide them into the maw of the oven. Steady heat bakes the ingredients and dough in short order. The plate-size pizzas arrive as classic combinations (marinara, margherita) or bearing innovative ingredients such leek, potato, radicchio, Prosciutto, pancetta, fennel sausage, and quattro formaggio. Neapolitan-style pizza might seem unusual to a city familiar with Pizza Hut’s dough, sugary sauce, and mass-produced cheese or crummy imitations of New York slices. Dalzell aims to deliver something beyond the standard starch, sugar, meat, and cheese people equate with pizza.
“This pizza is good for you. It’s classic with awesome toppings. The dough is fermented for 36-hours and baked until it is crisp,” the chef explains. “We use Northern California tomatoes for our sauce. No sugar. It’s what pizza was before stuffed crust.”
Full Circle
Dalzell cut his teeth after culinary school by working at three restaurants in Napa Valley. He learned the finer points of seasoning food and balancing flavor profiles from Chef Jan Birnbaum’s Southern-inspired cuisine at Catahoulas. Chef Michael Fiorelli at another restaurant taught Dalzell about discipline and punctuality. “The chef would single me out and make me watch the expeditor send out orders,” says Dalzell of his first training days. “He told me not to touch or say anything for four hours a day, six days straight.”
Combining these experiences with his training at La Toque, Dalzell emerged with a strong work ethic, technical know-how, and drive to develop his career. He advises to prospective chefs, “Build a foundation. Spend at least two years in one place. Focus. It’s the evolution of a cook. You have to learn how to follow before you can lead.”
As one of Kansas City’s most enterprising chef-owners, Dalzell has come a long way from his upbringing in Fayette. Today, he cooks a bit less, trains more, and works with a dedicated staff to maintain standards at his restaurants. He remains optimistic about the prospects for dining in downtown Kansas City. “Kansas City is wising up and breaking out of its shell,” says Dalzell. “If we didn’t see potential, we wouldn’t open two, then three and four restaurants. The future is bright.”
www.kansascitymenus.com/1924main/
www.kansascitymenus.com/pizzabella/
www.kansascitymenus.com/souperman/
www.chefburgerkc.com/
Matthew Collins studied photography at the University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning, where he received a Bachelors of Fine Arts in 2000. Since graduation, he has worked as a freelance commercial and editorial photographer. His photographs are frequently published locally, and have also been seen nationally in New York Arts Magazine and Filmmaker Magazine. He has lived in Kansas City since 2002.