Granville Sentinel Finds Diners “expects to return frequently”
New restaurant serves courses one chapter at a time
EVELYN FROLKING • Contributing Writer • July 16, 2008
When his mother gave him a gift of Ernest Hemingway’s collected short stories, James Housteau spent his youth traveling the world vicariously through the author’s imagination.
Now, a father of two and owner of the Wine Cache on River Road, Housteau is writing his own short story in a different sort of way. Housteau opened The Short Story, a new restaurant, an American brassiere, on Friday.
Upstairs from the Wine Cache, The Short Story, with its separate west entrance, features an intimate dining room and bar, where dark woods and rich earthy colors create a warm environment for up to 45 diners. As a brassiere, the restaurant offers formal food in a less formal setting, Housteau said.
Housteau’s beloved author’s portrait hangs on terra cotta colored walls.
“There’s definitely a ‘Hemingesk’ theme here,” Housteau said as he looked around the cozy dining room where small, unimposing framed posters of Key West join the striking portrait of Hemingway as a young man.
Housteau recalls his love for Hemingway’s stories and for the author’s passion for good foods.
“I’ve always been into food,” he said. “This interest actually got me into wine. Wine was more approachable, easier because it’s retail.”
“But I always wanted a restaurant,” he said. “And my curiosity came from Hemingway when I was young.”
Housteau has read nearly everything Hemingway has written.
“Within these pages, I could escape to France, Spain or parts of Africa. In any afternoon, I could run with the bulls, hunt on safari, prendre un café à Paris or spend the day trout fishing in Michigan,” he writes in the introduction to the menu, a story in itself.
The story menu begins with a Prelude, Apertifis Nouveau like the “No No” Martini and Hemingway’s famous Havana Mojito.
Each course of the meal is a story part: from the prelude to the introduction (appetizers) to Part I (chilled small plates), Part II (hot small plates), Part III, (large plates), Denouement (desserts), Footnotes (after dinner drinks), the Appendix (wines by the glass) and the Index (the wine list).
“I wanted to bring the flavors of the world into one place,” he said of a fine dining menu that will change occasionally as it features cultural culinary dishes and styles.
To do this, Housteau conducted a search to “bring a lot of talent to bear on the project,” he said. His “authors” include two chefs and a general manager, supported by four servers and a dishwasher. Elizabeth Dyke, of Granville, is the bartender.
Executive Chef Chad Lavely comes from well-known Columbus restaurants, such as the Refectory, Carolyn’s and Handke’s Table. Recently, Lavely worked under two certified master chefs, first as chef de cuisine at Handke’s Table and then as executive chef of a small resort under the direction of Roland Henin, CMC.
In the kitchen with Lavely is Sous Chef Andrew Beck, who recently completed a four-year formal French-style apprenticeship under Chef Dale Gusset of l’Antibes Restaurant in the Short North Arts District.
Julie Mulisano, general manager, is an expert in fine liquors and cocktails, Housteau said. She was selected as one of 50 bartenders in the United States to be featured in “Secrets Revealed of America’s Greatest Cocktails” and designed cocktails for The Refectory Restaurant and managed their spirits program for several years. Most recently, she was general manager at Lucé.
“We want to raise the bar,” Housteau said. “But most of all, we want people to feel comfortable here.” For Housteau, this means casual dress is acceptable, and while reservations are strongly encouraged, people should feel free to stop in for dinner anytime, he said.
The Short Story is open from 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays and from 5 to 10 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays.
Unlike Granville’s other restaurants, The Short Story is tucked away on River Road.
“I don’t mind being hidden,” Housteau said. “The Short Story has a presence of its own, and people will seek us out. I love seeing their faces light up when they walk in,” he said.
One Granville family enjoyed the new restaurant twice on opening weekend. John Kralovec and his wife, Julie Houpt, were among those who filled the dining room on opening night and then returned the next evening with other family members to a second full house.
“They’ve done a really nice job,” Kralovec said. “There’s an intimate feeling to it, relaxing and great jazz playing.”
Kralovec also liked the menu with its selections of small plates and larger dishes.
“You can have a multi-course meal or smaller plates, there’s lots of options making the price point just fine,” he said.
He likes the theme, too, as it is expressed by Housteau in the introduction to the menu.
“There’s a nice story behind it.”
Kralovec expects to return frequently, and that’s just what Housteau wants.
“We want people to come here to enjoy themselves and to believe in the restaurant,” he said. “Restaurants that work have soul, and that’s what we want to have.”