GRAZING with Jennifer James

By Lisa Polisar

“Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in lightly.”
M. F. K. Fisher, An Alphabet for Gourmets (1908-1992)

Restaurateur Jennifer James has created Albuquerque’s food-antidepressant of the decade. Equal parts chef and philosopher, James did her homework and managed to fill an invisible void in the local restaurant scene, resulting in Nob Hill’s most progressive new eating venue, GRAZE. Defying the looming tower of odds that challenges any new restaurant, Graze is in its second year of business, and has an exponentially-growing appeal.

Jennifer is no nonsense about everything she does. Her vision carries a great deal of conviction, in that she only uses exactly what she needs to make her foods taste fabulous. When asked, she said that “simple” was her one-word food philosophy.

“You don't have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces - just good food from fresh ingredients.” Julia Child

“I don’t ever want things too complicated,” she says. “Two to three components tie a dish together.” And she’s a fanatic about fresh herbs. “Arugula and citrus are two elements that can make any dish taste alive and new on the plate.”

Growing up in the Midwest, Jennifer spent her childhood primarily around chefs and farmers. And these are the two populations she spends most of her time with now. “I love how farmers always come to the back door,” says Charles Dillaway, one of Graze’s newest intern chefs from TVI’s Culinary Arts program. “Jennifer buys all her ingredients from local farmers and vendors, so everything we make is always really pure in every sense.” Jennifer attributes the down home side of her menu, for both Graze and her other restaurant, Jennifer James Contemporary Cuisine, to her Midwest roots, resulting in dishes like deviled eggs, cheese plate, and a “grazing plate” consisting of relish and pickled vegetables. And these strong roots have influenced more than just her menu. Her business partner is cousin, Michael Chesley, and sister Kelly Burton is another Graze chef.

Putting “FUN” Back into Eating Out

For kids, eating anywhere other than home is fun. And there are all kinds of cool venues in town that cater just to them , like Chucky Cheese, Pistol Pete’s, and Red Robin. For adults, we’re more than just discriminating. Adults eat out because a) we don’t feel like cooking, b) to make up for a stressful day, c) conduct a business meeting, or d) to celebrate an event. And some of the factors that affect whether or not to go out involve the status of our budget and energy level. But on a deeper level, we have specialized needs that we subliminally want, even expect, a restaurant to fill. And this is precisely how Jennifer James has made her success, by not just preparing food but by addressing people’s needs.

“My restaurant vision,” she explains, “is to create a movement where people consider food to be a social event and not just a necessity, much in the way Europeans do. Food and wine, in Europe, come together at the table with us, giving us a chance to laugh, debate, and express ourselves.” While electronics have impacted the integrity of the American family, the way we think of food is a symptom of these changing priorities - hence the presence of so many fast food restaurants, cafes, and bagel joints. With her natural, high quality, organic ingredients and commitment to supporting local farmers, Jennifer is slowing us down and broadening our awareness of the food we put in our bodies.

“Fake food -- I mean those patented substances chemically flavored and mechanically bulked out to kill the appetite and deceive the gut -- is unnatural, almost immoral, a bane to good eating and good cooking.” Julia Child

“Graze isn’t about super-sized portions,” Jennifer continues. “It’s about quality. Four bites of my ice cream fill you up more than two scoops of regular commercial ice cream.”

A huge part of the success of both restaurants is attributable to her dynamic staff. “They’re giving, hard working, and really smart. And that’s important to me because I expect them to be focused and learn fast.” She requires that her staff sample all the food and wines, to allow them to explain the menu and make intelligent recommendations to customers. She admits that her procedure for hiring staff is a bit unconventional. And though she relies on the “vibe” she gets when meeting a potential employee, she says she’s only been wrong once or twice.

Need Fulfillment

The success of Graze defies every rule in the book. It’s a huge space, a corner lot in pricey Nob Hill, with on-street parking. “Nob Hill,” says Jennifer’s cousin/partner Michael Chesley, “is not as consistent as I would like it to be. We could have one Tuesday night with twenty customers, and the next Tuesday night have eighty. So when I go to work every day, I have no idea how much money we’re likely to make.” But it works. Why? Because of Jennifer’s concept of need-fulfillment with her restaurants.

When I asked her why people come to Graze, she admits that some of the reasons are not what she was striving for. “I don’t like trendy restaurants,” she admits, wanting instead to give people fabulous food, a good value, and a comfortable atmosphere to serve their sense of adventure. Chesley, however, feels that Graze doesn’t only cater to adventurous eaters. “We want to inspire people who aren’t adventurous to take a leap. When people come into Graze, they have to work harder than they do going somewhere else. We take them out of their comfort zone and give them something new and different. When you go to a chain restaurant, you have an idea when you get out of your car what you’re going to have. When to you get to Graze, especially for first time, you have no idea what to expect, and this can be very intimidating.” What you can expect is to have all of your senses stimulated, good music, aesthetic décor, lots of attention by their servers, and fantastic food to feed your body and soul.

How it Started

James majored in restaurant management at University of Illinois and, at that time, was very interested in “food science.” Then, after graduation, she became less enchanted with management and more interested in cooking. She worked at Albuquerque’s Chef Du Jour and Café Miche, and always had a quiet notion of going into business with her cousin Michael. “I was approached by a fellow restaurateur,” she says, “to take over the San Mateo space (formerly Café Spoleto). Although I had the concept for Graze already mapped out, we felt it wouldn’t work in that space and location. So we opted for a more traditional concept, and opened Jennifer James Contemporary Cuisine in the summer of 2001. The level of success was overwhelming.”

The opportunity for Graze arose in a similar way. Another fellow restaurateur approached Jennifer with a similar offer. The space (formerly Kanome), was a perfect fit for her innovative vision for Graze, so in the wake of JJCC’s success, she and cousin Michael decided to take another risk.

James cites three chefs as the primary mentors who helped establish her identity as a serious chef - Connie Allgood (owner of Chef du Jour), Claus Hjortkjaer (owner of Café Miche), and Kevin Zinc. “Connie taught me a lot about combining flavors and tastes, and Claus was interested in the totality of the experience of eating out, from food and wine to the servers and atmosphere.” Says Intern Chef Charles Dillaway, “Because she knows all the classic dishes, something like basil and lime ice cream is not a stretch for [Jennifer] , it comes very natural.”

New Concept

What comes to mind when I say ‘adventures in eating’? Weird food, no doubt. Jennifer is using traditional, high quality ingredients and old fashioned philosophies to put the “fun” back into eating out, by changing the structure of an American meal.

She got her idea about small plates six years ago and uses this concept as the bedrock for the Graze menu. Similar in size to Spanish tapas, Graze, like the name implies, allows diners to try several different dishes at one meal by ordering mid-priced, appetizer-sized foods. And it’s not just finger food. The small plates include everything from fried calamari to duck confit with fall chutney. A party of four might order 4-5 of these small plates and share them across the table, a very old fashioned and yet progressive concept.

Says Chesley, “Jennifer told me about her concept for Graze - to serve locally-produced fine food but offered in portions to where a customer is not committed to just one thing, that they can have a variety of foods in one setting. I didn’t really understand the concept at first, but now I’m so proud of what it’s turned into. We’re really giving people a lot of options and variety all at once.”

Sound progressive? It is. But what if you’re a typical American carnivore? Chances are you wouldn’t be caught dead eating chickpea fries or quinoa with oranges and fennel. Well, rest assured that Graze’s Fall menu includes shrimp cocktail and braised Berkshire pork shank.

Graze’s eclectic menu ranges from $1.50 for deviled eggs to $16 for New Mexico lamb loin, with the majority in the $8-$9 range. JJCC has their more formal menu organized into “small plates” and “big plates”. Here, small plates range from $6 for consume to $12 for pan seared scallops. Big plates are $20-$25.

The Albuquerque restaurant scene is extremely competitive, with more than a handful of venues guaranteed to surprise you with their quality. Aside from Café Miche and Chef Du Jour, Jennifer lists Albuquerque’s Café Bodega and Ambrozia as well as Trattoria Nostrani of Santa Fe as some other restaurants that are doing it right, catching the perfect balance between atmosphere and food. But what sets her restaurants apart from the masses is her willingness to take risks and give us things we’ve never seen before. Graze, with its innovative menu and “small plates” concept is changing everything. And Jennifer James Contemporary Cuisine is a tiny, creaky-floored, converted house on a very busy stretch of a busy street. South San Mateo could never be construed as a “good location” for a fine dining establishment. But it more than just works. With both of her restaurants, Jennifer has thought of everything, from the smiling host and table linens to food and wine. What she offers, through her own efforts and by selecting employees who believe in her vision, is care. JJCC and Graze intend to address, if not meet, your digestive as well as emotional needs.

In terms of a long-term vision for Graze, Chesley wants to continue to develop their reputation and, in short, feed people. “So, if you want something different and want to have more of an experience than just a meal,” he says, “come to Graze.” James summarizes her vision by saying that, “food should feed your heart, your soul, your spirit, your head and your body all at once!”

Jennifer James Contemporary Cuisine, 2813 San Mateo NE (884-3665)

Graze, Central Avenue SE, (268-4729)