Dan Koller Goes Guerrilla: Marc”Park” Cassel’s Meal at 48 Hours @ Sylvan Thirty

Posted on February 23rd, 2010 12:32pm by Nancy Nichols
Filed under AgriBusiness, Celebrity Chefs, Celebrity Diners, Foodie People, Openings/Closings, Restaurant News

Marc Cassel cooks for charity.

Dan Koller, the managing editor of People “Who Need People” Newspapers, took his lovely and talented wife, Jessica, to dine at the first supper at 48 Nights @ Slyvan Thirty, the guerrilla restaurant on Sylvan  operated by the Smoke/Bolsa dudes, Chris Jeffers, Chris Zielke, and Tim Byres. The restaurateurs have teamed up with the Mass Care Task Force (American Red Cross Dallas Area Chapter, North Texas Food Bank, The Salvation Army DFW Metroplex Area Command, and Volunteer Center of North Texas). Chefs participating in the project will rotate and all of the proceeds for these dinners will go to these charities.

Anywhoo, Dan is writing a full report on the OC phenom for Friday’s edition of Oak Cliff People, but today he has a brief recap of his experience here. First chef up was/is Marc Cassel from Park. (There is a second Cassel dinner tonight.)  I  looked over the menu and I have three (dumb) questions. One of the items is braised Kobe beef cheeks, stroganoff risotto & Tom’s microgreens.

I am assume “Kobe” cows have two cheeks. Are they big cheeks that are divided into smaller servings? I would assume Kobe beef cheeks are very expensive. Were these cheeks donated to the cause? If everyone at the dinner (30) got two cheeks, does this mean it took 30 Kobe cows to fill the order for last night’s dinner? Or were the cheeks cut up and tossed in the stroganoff? I am curious. I love cheeks—veal and haddock are my favs. Just curious. Anyone?

18 comments

  1. They were divided. Don’t believe they were donated, certainly not mentioned if so. Goal is to make $1,000 a night so it sounds as though that includes normal food costs at $75/ticket.

    @ 1:04 pm on February 23, 2010

  2. My scallops..gratis..

    @ 1:10 pm on February 23, 2010

  3. Nancy,

    You can see the beef cheek pieces in the above picture.

    @ 1:29 pm on February 23, 2010

  4. DEF,
    In the back? Looks like lamb in the front.

    Hi, Willy!! Did you dive for them??

    @ 1:37 pm on February 23, 2010

  5. Sorry on the Mountain skiing. You know what’s that like :)

    @ 1:44 pm on February 23, 2010

  6. You misunderstood the menu. The cheeks came from Kobe Bryant and were divided. He has always had a very big mouth.

    @ 1:53 pm on February 23, 2010

  7. Nancy,

    I found this picture of a beef cheek.

    http://www.eatsforone.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/beef_cheek.jpg

    it looks pretty big. Nobody got 3 whole cheeks, unless they came from mini-cows. The cheeks were cut into cubes and braised. Stroganoff came into play with two elements: the beef was accompanied by sauteed mixed mushrooms, and was served atop sour cream-enriched risotto.

    @ 2:15 pm on February 23, 2010

  8. NN,

    Yes, both pictures are of the cheeks. The lamb loin was sliced thin and served on baby arugula. Those are definitely the cheek pieces.

    @ 2:16 pm on February 23, 2010

  9. So I take it you and Gavlist were there. Thanks for the input. Now we know cows have massive cheeks and Kobe Bryant has a big mouth and is capable of writing big checks.

    @ 2:24 pm on February 23, 2010

  10. Pretty cheeky article, I’ll say.

    @ 3:09 pm on February 23, 2010

  11. Is there a schedule of which week each chef is working? I’d like to buy tickets.

    @ 4:44 pm on February 23, 2010

  12. no schedule for the chefs. They release the menu 1 week before the dinner, but don’t say who’s responsible. The chef is revealed after a pre-dinner cocktail, as you walk into the dining area.

    @ 5:52 pm on February 23, 2010

  13. Calling Marc Cassel, get yoour hiney back to the kitchen at Park post haste! (and be sure to take your sous chef with you). I ate at Park this past weekend and the food was insipid. Perhaps it was because the “chef” du jour looked like a homeless person. Your concept is slipping fast……

    @ 8:26 pm on February 23, 2010

  14. Love Park and Marc Cassel rocks. Just one more reason to appreciate the great chefs of our city.

    @ 9:23 am on February 24, 2010

  15. SOAS

    How does a sous chef appearance influence your evaluation of the quality or execution of the executive chef’s recipes? Typical shallow Dallas fashionista comment added to the Simon Cowell styled commentary and remarks reveals the lack of depth of your capacity for culinary analysis or potential original thought in your criticism. Go forth and eat dirt.

    @ 10:22 am on February 25, 2010

  16. Tartare; the appearance of the “sous” chef was of note as there was apparently more effort put into the “bohemian chic” chef attire than into making a simple dish even marginally palatable. That’s my beef.
    If you cannot make simple taco’s moderately enticing, then bring back the executive chef. End of story.

    @ 9:31 pm on February 25, 2010

  17. THE FOOD AT PARK IS DISGUSTING!!!
    ENOUGH SAID

    @ 1:28 am on February 26, 2010

  18. Hello just stumbled your site and been browsing around some of your posts and just wondering why you chose a WordPress site dont you find it impossible to do anything with? Been thinking about starting one.

    @ 11:44 pm on March 1, 2010