Good Times Rolling

  I once heard a Cajun cook say that a proper roux requires stirring over heat for about as long as it takes to enjoy five beers. Johnny Schulze agrees that this cuisine is a challenge to get right because it's not about recipes and requires a special combination of patience and passion. The Louisiana-born-and-trained chef, who now calls Northeast Ohio home, is bringing that culinary ethos and his considerable skill to this neck of the woods, making authentic jambalaya, etouffe and gumbo that he serves from the window of  Zydeco Bistro, his bright orange food truck."I went to cooking school in New Orleans," he says, "But my real eduction came from watching people who really knew how to cook the old slow way. I make the food I love to eat."

   Schulz learned about managing a mobile kitchen while in the National Guard. After years of working anonymously in other peoples' restaurants, he decided to go out on his own with a food truck. He plates po'boys, hush puppies, barbecue shrimp and other Creole and Cajun dishes at farmers markets, Walnut Wednesdays in downtown Cleveland and other public events. There's a live calendar on his website that makes it easy to find out where his truck will be.

  I was one of many in his line at the Tremont Farmers' Market recently.  Made a meal out of an outstanding  blue crab salad. Field greens and crab meat, plus a few small legs suitable for  sucking, were tossed with pickled vegetables — celery, cauliflower, carrots, and onions — purple cabbage, cherry tomatoes and a tasty dressing. Schulz is using as much local produce as he can and bringing in specialized ingredients from back home that he needs. The seafood is as fresh as you can get.

  Between dishing it out three to five days a week, prepping, catering and teaching cooking classes Schulze is pretty much on the job every day. He's also in the process of doing the build-out for a brick-and-mortar restaurant in Tremont. If all goes well,  Bourbon Street Barrel Room will open in early 2014. "I'm working harder than I ever have in my whole life," Schulz told me, "But I've never been happier."

  For food as good as Johnny Schulze's, I don't mind eating out of a paper container standing on the sidewalk or sitting in a park. But I'll be even happier when he has a permanent home and that restaurant of his is open and serving.

Cream of the Crop

  
July is National Ice Cream Month, so this seems like an auspicious moment to post my rave about  Mason's Creamery and the two utterly likable people behind it. Jesse Mason and Helen Qin just started showing up at farmers markets and other local public gatherings to sell scoops of their small batch ice creams in May. I had my first taste last month. I tried Vietnamese Coffee, which they cleverly serve with a drizzle of condensed milk, and knew that I'd come upon something special.

  The young couple relocated here from Los Angeles, and the move was a homecoming for Jesse. The timing was auspicious. The Cleveland Culinary Launch & Kitchen which I wrote about in May, had recently opened, providing a licensed space where Jesse, who's skill set also includes graphic design and animation, could make their ice creams, using organic milk and cream, and local ingredients like eggs and seasonal fruits. He's in charge of production and Helen is the official taster, as well as social media manager and encourager-in-chief.

Deciding what kind of ice cream they want to offer is a joint project. And they're definitely on the cutting edge and coloring outside the lines when it comes to flavors, their latest include Nutella, tangerine and mimosa. I was wowed by Raspberry Lambic, one of the regular vegan versions. "Life is too short to stop at vanilla and chocolate," says Helen.

"We have those, but we want people to live a little, experiment too," Jesse adds. According to my food world news feeds what they're doing reflects a trend sweeping the country for getting all funky and fearless with ice cream. Andrew Knowlton of Bon Appetit has observed that people are putting in whatever they can think of, no matter how crazy or oddball it sounds, from avocado to foie gras.

  Ideas come from many sources:  Helen's Chinese heritage, their years in LA's vibrant international culinary scene, travels in Columbia and Italy, plus stuff they eat, like and read, and suggestions from customers and  Facebook fans.  A recent tweet of mine commenting on how messy it was to peel fresh mangoes prompted the creation of mango lime chili. It was a knockout combination. The tastes really pop, thanks to the spice —  almost undetectable except for a kind of extra brightness — and because they use less fat, 9 to 10 percent compared to the typical 14 percent (yet, you still get a rich creamy consistency).


This week  Mason's is debuting a really off-the-wall  flavor: chicken and waffles. It starts with bits of crispy fried bird folded into batter. Jesse, who told me he tries to maintain strict control over how much of his own product he consumes, confessed that he couldn't help himself and overindulged in a great big bowl of it. I can't wait to give it a try. Find it today at Walnut Wednesday food truck Chow Down and Saturday during the Cleveland Flea, this Saturday, July 13, at Sterle's. 

 Mason's Creamery has no permanent storefront home ... yet. But the pair are looking at different neighborhoods and properties. Meanwhile, they're living the carny life, moving from place to place every day, toting around the freezer, setting up their tent and table, and making people happy wherever they go.
 

Lunchtime Party

Hints of sunshine and blossoms on the trees remind us it's time to part from our desk and eat lunch outside.

Make midday a celebration with weekly Walnut Wednesdays, starting tomorrow through Sept. 25 at the up-and-coming NineTwelve District at  East 12th Street and Walnut Avenue.

From 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. this week, the Downtown Cleveland Alliance brings food trucks, including Umami Moto, Fired Up Taco Truck, DonutLab and more to the district as local band Faction plays covers from a wide range of musical genres.

Samantha Severo, DCA marketing and public relations specialist, sees the events as a way to bring some added excitement to the city's central business district. "We want to show that neighborhood and that side of town that there is foot traffic," she explains.



And on May 16, don't miss the first of four once-monthly Pop-Up Parties taking place in Perk Plaza. Delight your ears from 5-8 p.m. with the sounds of Justo Saborit Latin Soul as you dine on food truck treats and sip local brews from Great Lakes Brewing Co. This year's after-work parties feature a new element: shopping. Treasures from Cleveland Handmade and other local artisans will be available during a sidewalk sale with a flea market feel.

The E-Line trolleys now have extended hours in the NineTwelve District, making it even easier for Clevelanders to get their weekday lunch fix.

Walnut Wednesdays and Pop-Up Parties give the downtown workforce something to look forward to this summer while bringing new energy to the neighborhood surrounding renovated Perk Plaza. "You can see people who pour out of these buildings," Severo says, "just showing how lively it is."