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June 7th, 2010

David Asher of The Old Place

Tattoos and all, Chef Asher breathes life into The Old Place.

By: Stephen Roesler

David Asher looks the part. Just over six feet with tattoos crawling out of shirt collar, you’ll likely find Chef Asher on his 69′ Harley or directing an amiable kitchen crew in the back of The Old Place. But that’s not to say he’s unsophisticated, just not ostentatious. With a vision to keep his restaurant rustic and a hint of inspiration from Dom Deluise, Asher aims to accentuate the undeniable antiquity that healthily lives at The Old Place.

“The Culinary world has gotten so hyped up in the past few years,” he says distastefully. “I think it has lost its simplicity, its palatability. Everything is so technical that its made people believe you have to be really, really good or you shouldn’t touch food.”

And that’s wrong, believes the CIA (Culinary Arts Institute) trained Asher. It’s about the company, conversation, and communion with family and friends.

With a humble background from central Florida, his chef asher fascinating road to the Old Place is entirely atypical. Growing up around a family who believed in traditional gender roles, cooking was left to the women. In his case, however, his mother was not a cook.

“If we wanted to eat, we had to make it ourselves,” he says with wide blue eyes. “I was taking egg noodles and putting paprika and butter in it and figuring out something good to eat.”

But the slender chef has come a long way from his childhood menu. After attending college for a short stent, Asher began a job as an EMT. Quickly deciding it wasn’t for him, he began working at the Hard Rock Café and later moved to the Blue Jazz Café as a Garmache. Dissatisfied, Asher pursued formal training. “I had to find a way to get that coat,” he insists.

Making a drastic move to New York City, he soon received a French culinary degree. He went on to work at Casa La Femme, Eros, and Tapas Bar and Lounge – all in mid-town Manhattan. Before long, the visibly composed chef began to feel pressure to leave town.

“I was in a relationship at the time and she really wanted to go to California,” he explained. “I made it in New York,” he thought. “I’m sure if I can make it there, I can make it anywhere.”

With a U haul and a few hundred dollars, they left town. “Long story short, we’re not together anymore,” he laughs. But that hasn’t affected his success. After literally transforming a Pasedena-based eatery into a white tablecloth restaurant, he moved north of Los Angeles to escape the traffic.

Since his arrival, The Old Place, known in the ’70s for its clams and sirloin steak, has undergone a substantial change. Asher has taken a fare of just two items and vastly expanded. They now offer a seasonal menu that varies weekly.

‘We have grown up and become a little more flexible. Now we have sour cream, now we have diet coke,” he says sarcastically. “We have chicken on our menu and salad. We’ve got it all.”

Although he preserved the classic bone in rib eye, sirloin and clams, the Old Place now boosts a full menu. A lot has changed. This week they’re serving a Novy Ranch filet mignon. Known for its grass fed, healthy cows, Novy Ranch produces some of the finest local beef.

“We want everything to be local Californian,” he says firmly. “We don’t want to get Maine lobsters. We want to get spiny lobsters out of the Pacific here.”

And the regulars don’t seem to mind. In fact, it’s difficult to get a reservation at the Old Place because their customers are so loyal.

“It’s a good story,” Asher comments sincerely. “Here at the Old Place, we love that story.”

Continuing to foster the Old Place, Asher’s job is literally 24-7. Making calls to purveyors in the middle of the night, researching potential menu items on his days off, and regularly working in the kitchen 5 days a week, Asher rarely gets time to himself. But when does, you may see him tinkering with his classic Chevy hard tail or removing some of his old tattoos.

His right hand has the letters L-O-S-T strewn across his fingers in fading ink. As for the other hand, “It used to say H-O-P-E, but I took that off with a Dremel tool,” he says casually. “A little crazy. I didn’t want it on anymore.”

If you happen to see him around town, don’t be afraid to ask him how many tattoos he has. He’ll likely tell you with a half-mooned smile, “Just one big one.” You’ll know it’s him.

EwingSIR does not guarantee information contained in this blog, readers are encouraged not to rely solely on this information and to do their own independent research of facts contained herein. Blog information was obtained from independent sources that we do not endorse, and we do not investigate this information for accuracy.

Posted by on June 7th, 2010

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April 30th, 2010

John Mayall at the Canyon Club

A pleasant surprise at the Canyon Club john mayall

By: Stephen Roesler

The Canyon Club, at least the way I know it, remains infamous for burn out bands, crapped out voices, and sometimes repugnant personalities. Occasionally, however, the most unsuspecting groups prove they deserve infinite praise. This was the case with John Mayall.

Walking in a few minutes late, I observed the thinly spread crowd calmly reclined in their chairs, imbibing the sounds as if they were spraying through the room. I grabbed a drink and casually strolled the center of the venue, noticing the notably older crowd. John Mayall, known more for his blues days in the late 60’s and 70’s, certainly attracted a well seasoned bunch. Scattered about, however, remained a healthy crew of up and comers as Jeff Biebyuck, former singer of Bad Blood commented. It became clear that these young artists were around to receive an education.

I immediately noticed Tom Canning on keyboard. Standing as if he was straddling a horse, the slender artist known for his productive relationship with Al Jarreau captured me with his violent solos. Canning handed his solo off to guitarist Rocky Athas who spontaneously stole the show. Acclaimed as the guitar lead for Black Oak Arkansas, Athas slowly faded into a rhythm as he lost his inhibitions; for moments he seemed to be existing in an entirely different reality than the stage of the canyon club.

Mayall, known for a multi-instrumental music career of over 50 years, is most praised for the founding of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers. Mayall was influential in shaping artists such as Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, and Peter Green of Fleetwood and Mac. Mayall’s long history was no mystery during the show as he and bass player Greg Rzab passed solo’s back and forth. Mayall, who is a sensation on harmonica, controlled the movement of the crowd as they vibed to the inherently pleasant blues rhythm. Long bass riffs followed by Mayall’s freestyle harmonica/beat box pseudo singing overtook the audience. There were people playing air guitar, women dancing, and one dude playing the drums with one hand the bass with the other.

Despite my past Canyon Club failures, this event certainly revived my interest. Here is a taste of John Mayall:

EwingSIR does not guarantee information contained in this blog, readers are encouraged not to rely solely on this information and to do their own independent research of facts contained herein. Blog information was obtained from independent sources that we do not endorse, and we do not investigate this information for accuracy.

Posted by on April 30th, 2010

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Geography

Agoura Hills is considered the "Gateway to the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area." The city is unofficially divided into a number of varied districts, the most notable of these districts include Downtown, Forest Cove, South End, Malibu Junction, East Agoura, and Old Agoura. Agoura has a Mountain called Negrohead Mountain. Named after John Ballard.

History

Agoura Hills was first settled by the Chumash Indians, and later by Spanish Franciscan missionaries. In 1845. José Maria Dominguez was given Rancho Las Virgenes as a Mexican land grant and Maria Antonia Machado de Reyes later purchased the rancho from Dominguez in 1845. The "Reyes Adobe" ranch headquarters can still be found today in a museum along Reyes Adobe Rd. in central Agoura Hills. By 1900, Agoura Hills was being used as a popular stage stop for travelers along the Camino Real because of its natural spring at the foothills of Ladyface Mountain, one of Agoura Hills' defining geographic features. In the 1920s, the community was briefly known as Picture City, as Paramount Pictures owned a ranch in the area used for filming Westerns. To obtain a post office of its own the residents were required to choose a one word name, and in 1927 chose a misspelling of the last name of Pierre Agoure, a local Basque man and French immigrant who had settled in the area in 1871 to live the lifestyle of the Mexican rancher and styled himself Don Pierre Agoure, accordingly. Agoure was a successful sheep herder and had a reputation as a swashbuckler. His name was chosen for the post office as it was the shortest name proposed.

Music Scene

Agoura Hills is known regionally for its live music scene and artistic originality in the alt/rap-metal scene, a fame that has given rise to such top acts as Underwood, Delve, Hoobastank, Fort Minor, and Linkin Park. This music scene was born amid the coming of age of the children of the first wave of migration into Agoura Hills, those that settled in the 1960s. The 1980s was the first boom in the music scene, but by the late 80s, as many of these original rockers moved off to college or aged, the scene quietly began to slip away. However, in the mid-1990s the music scene took off again, energized by the coming of age of the children of those who had settled in the early 1980s. But by the 2000s, much of this wave of teenagers had aged or gone to college, leaving the scene with only a shell of the energy it once had. Although the scene lives on, pushed forward by various Battle of the Bands competitions and garage concerts, the lack of a third major wave of migration to Agoura Hills. Agoura Hills is home to The Canyon Club, a highly regarded concert venue that hosts national and regional touring acts such as Peter Frampton, REO Speedwagon, X, Steel Pulse, The New Cars, Asia, Boys II Men, Which One's Pink?, Alan Parsons, and The Smithereens.

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