Rustica: a Taste of Europe in Kalamazoo (Workshop rough draft, intended audience Kalamazoo College students)

            Rustica.  The restaurant’s name has as much flavor as its food does.  Just by saying the word you can taste the classic European techniques used in crafting each exquisite meal.  Whether you are ordering something as simple as a side of asparagus or as daring as the duck, the artistry is there, just begging you to take a bite.

            Rustica is conveniently located within walking distance of Kalamazoo College, located downtown on Kalamazoo Mall.  As you walk into Rustica, you can pretty much see the entire layout of the restaurant right away.  It is narrow and small, a bit too small for my taste.  The close tables are cozy at best.  There is no music to set the mood for your meal, which is for the best because it is already so loud it is hard to hear the server as she asks for our drink orders.  Although it is snug, it is very pleasant.  The walls are pale with simple decorations that makes it feel more like you are dining in a friend’s home than in a restaurant.  Tucked away in the back is a bar serving a wide variety of wines and beers, both local and European.  In the middle of the dining area is the clearly visible kitchen so you can see your food as it is being prepared.  The entire layout, while somewhat crowded, is simple and classy, a theme that fits their food selections.

            At first Rustica’s fine dining may seem intimidating.  The restaurant is beautiful and simple.  The candle at each table is intimate and pleasant.  But by this simple and elegant taste, you can tell this is the sort of restaurant that is going to have more than one fork.  Getting a table is a battle on its own.  The venue and the hours of operation are both very small, doors not opening until 5 pm.  The menu may be short, but good luck understanding half of the words on it.  I had to use my iPhone to look up almost every word, though the server was more than willing to answer any question I had.

            But once you are seated and have dictionary.com’d every word on the menu, the dining experience is nothing short of fantastic.  The menu is far from extensive, but it is loaded with a variety of foods and flavors to please even the pickiest of eaters.  The food is seasonal and local, and it shows.  If you are an adventurous eater, I highly recommend the roasted duck breast.  The sweetness of the marsala sauce compliments and subdues the salty meat.  It tastes like a perfectly cooked chicken and a tender steak mixed into one.  The meat is as soft as butter, practically dissolving on your tongue.  The flavor of the duck stuffed puff pastry was at first overwhelming, but after eating it with the bed of refreshing spinach, the greens and meat combine into an explosion of perfect flavor.  And don’t let the extra room on the plate fool you.  The size and shape of the meal is not just for the aesthetic pleasure it supplies; it is so rich it should be more than enough to fill you up.  A side order of grilled asparagus is the perfect thing to counteract the intensely flavorful entrée, topped off with a poached egg that creates a chewy, slimy, smooth texture that is both refreshing and invigorating.  If you are going to try the baked seafood tagliatelle, consider yourself warned.  It is not for the faint of heart.  While the seafood itself tasted like a day at the beach, the sauce it is prepared in tastes and smells like a man’s shoe after running a marathon.  The cheese is potent and funky.  Not bad, but not for most taste buds.  That being said, you’d be hard pressed to find anything on the menu that hasn’t been masterfully crafted.  The chefs cook right in front of you so you can see their artistry at work.  Their menu and techniques are as open and honest as their simple design.  They have nothing to hide.

            If you make the wise decision of walking into Rustica, no matter what you do, do not even think about leaving if you have not tried the desert.  Undo the top button of your pants, don’t eat the entrée if you have to, just save room for dessert.  Particularly the callebaut chocolate brownie, topped with chocolate ganache and hazelnuts alongside a bed of chocolate gelato with caramel sauce.  It is the crack of dessert foods.  As you eat it, everything turns to slow-mo.  Your teeth hit the top layer and crack through the rich ganache, descending into the warm cloud of the brownie and finally cools down with the rich and smooth chocolate gelato.  It is warm and cool, crunchy and soft, it is God’s gift to mankind.  Get it.

            Being the cheap college student that I am, I was biting my nails as the check made its way to the table.  If you can’t pronounce the food you are eating and if the dessert gives you an out of body experience, it can’t be cheap.  Yet, all things considered, it was.  I wouldn’t quite say the restaurant reaches its goal of being your every occasion meal as it says on their website, but when you do have a special occasion and want to do something to celebrate it, Rustica is a magnificent option.  The dining experience in all aspects lives up to the richness of the restaurant’s name.  It is affordable, it is classic, it is fantastic.

Roasted Duck Breast

Callebaut Chocolate Brownie