Horse of a Different Chef
Driving south on the Sixth Street bridge the other week, I glanced over at The Yard (the patio at the Iron Horse Hotel) as I cruised closer to the roundabout. Holy motorcycles! “Bike Night.” That’s how the Yard spends its Thursday nights in summer. I’ll tell you, that lot was packed with hogs. The patio has its own food menu, including “back yard” pizzas baked in a wood-burning oven. There are eight kinds – Makin’ Bacon to the Lady of Spain. Scott Pampuch is into those artisan pies. Pampuch is a Minneapolis-based chef who will soon oversee the hotel’s food operations, as well as those at Stack’d Burger Bar and the other culinary enterprises that parent company Dixon Development creates. Who is Scott Pampuch? The Winona, Minnesota native most recently served as executive chef and F&B director at the Minnesota Valley Country Club. Pampuch’s website offers the chef’s thoughts about local, sustainable foods and his three-part food show on Ovation TV. He also spent more than seven years running Minneapolis’ Corner Table, which is takes a shine to local sourcing. Pampuch, who officially joins Dixon Development on July 1, told me that besides loving wood oven-baked pizzas, he digs cooking grass-fed burgers. Kind of perfect since Stack’d has a penchant for grass-fed beef.
Brake for Cheesesteak
Walker’s Point is known for being the source of a growing number of new attention-grabbing restaurants. But the area is home to places with a bit of history, places like The Philly Way (405 S. Second St.), purveyor of cheesesteak sandwiches, chili dogs, chili cheese fries and other creations. Owner Dave London is close to opening another location (at 1330 E. Brady St.), which he says will be quite different from the small WP space. Besides having a “brand-new state-of-the-art kitchen,” says London, the Brady Street digs will not lack for seating. Expect menu additions, including breakfast sandwiches. D-Day is targeted for July.
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