Lawrence.com

Posted by Tom King September 29, 2003 at 8:58 a.m.

Teller's

Darkness Hard times demand simplification. When the world outside goes crazy, humans take comfort by putting their own houses in order. And while we look upon such disquieting times with no small amount of dismay, there are always silver linings. Freed from the laziness of easy money, human creativity soars (isn't it good to have more imagination than money?). In the restaurant game, diminished revenues and increased competition force re-evaluation and re-invention. The customer becomes important again. Workers do a better job, in order to keep their jobs. We strip down and reconnect with essentials; we eschew the vague and the superfluous."There's a new chef at Teller's; it's going to get better".Well, we've heard that before. For the past three years, a few questionable chefs and fly-by-night cooks have tramped through the kitchen, using the Teller's cachet to pad their resumes, leaving a mess in their wakes. Beset by the most bizarre of management problems in both the front and the back of the house, managing owner Brad Nelson and general manager Matt Hyde are no strangers to frustration. Most people would have walked away long ago. But endurance is insurance; even in these stormy times, the dark clouds have broken and [Teller's][1] is filled with a strong new light.Meet Todd Meyer Earnest and laid-back in manner, Todd Meyer is an easy interview. 'I'm a Midwest guy", he says.Born in Topeka, Meyer has been cooking since age fourteen, starting out--as many professional chefs do--in fast food joints (the production experience is invaluable). He attended Washburn University, and then joined on to launch the first Paisano's in Topeka. That experience changed his life in two way--he committed to cooking as a career and fell in love with Italian food. He knocked around different kitchens for a while, as young chefs must, including a pass though the Teller's kitchen five years ago. He made the pilgrimage to Italy. Then it was off to the culinary program at Johnson County Community College, followed by a stint at Johnny Cascone's in Kansas City. Next came a fortuitous association with Culinary Concepts at the Crown Center: he worked under Beard award-winning chefs Debbie Gold and Michael Smith at The American Restaurant before moving onto a run at Milano, where his passion for the foods of Italy found an enthusiastic audience. He came to Teller's in April of this year. Streamlining the menu was Meyer's first challenge. Connecting with and educating the crew was the next priority. Now he's focused on familiarizing his customers with both his cooking style and his menu. Consistency in quality, previously a sore point at Teller's, has been effectively addressed--there's a good buzz on the street.Teller's regulars--about 25 percent of the clientele--have expressed resounding approval of the new menu, and the recently introduced "15 Minute Lunch" menu--pasta, sandwiches, soup and salads--is a hit with time-pressured downtowners (on a recent Friday visit, the main dining room was full by 11.30 a.m., with tables turning quickly).Take a breather, chef? Not yet. Meyer introduced brunch to the service schedule two weekends ago. On the first Saturday, fifty people wandered in. The next day, they ran 175 covers."Straightforward tastes, careful preparation, something for everyone"--Todd Meyer is determined to turn the Teller's kitchen around. And the guy just doesn't quit--Meyer currently works between sixty and seventy hours a week. He's brought on a new sous-chef, Catherine Ehlke; when she's trained and comfortable, Meyer hopes to gain some time to spend on another project--twin daughters, now three months old.Into The Light Teller's is a beautiful place. At night, when the lights are glowing, it's like walking into a glass of champagne.Opened in 1992 after meticulous renovation by Gould Evans Affiliates, the former bank building was immediately acclaimed as a downtown showplace. Painted with the glow of the Tuscan sun, the interior design of Teller's is a triumph of understatement, imbued with an elegance reminiscent of venerable European hotels and enlivened with quirky, modernistic flourishes.Immediately upon entering the restaurant, your eyes are drawn upwards. Dozens of light fixtures hang on long stems from the thirty-foot ceiling, a remarkable collection of mis-matched, milk-white glass shades--commercial fixtures, the kind which, until not too long ago, could still be found in schoolrooms, train stations and old hotel lobbies. The effect is truly spectacular, somewhere between a museum exhibit and an art installation, drenching the entire space with rich, golden light, a light that makes all people look beautiful.The dining area is composed of three levels. The lower level is the main seating area, a smaller mezzanine steps above. The upper level houses a nifty open kitchen, efficiently constructed around a central island and backed by two handsome, wood-fired brick ovens. Looking down on the dining room from this vantage point, on a snowy night with the heat of the kitchen on your back, in the golden lightTeller's is magical, ravishingly romantic.Menu A restaurant's loyal regulars often digest the news of a new chef with a sense of foreboding. Will prices go up? Will quality remain the same? Will favorite dishes be altered, or worse, disappear from the menu?Teller's Mushrooms ($8.95), and the cheese-stuffed Tortellini Arrabbiata ($12.95), have been on the menu for ten years."They're not going anywhere", Meyer avers. "They're good dishes".I've had many an order of those mushrooms--stuffed with spinach (a special request) and set aswim in rich Gruyere cream, with plenty of bread for sopping and a glass of the cava to wash it down--one of my favorite eats in town.Meyer's respect for house traditions also allows a respectful nod to his days in the kitchen at Milano, with offerings of Pollo con Carciofi (Chicken with Artichokes, $14.95), the Sicilian Style Lasagna ($12.95), and Arista maiale (Roast Pork, $16.95)--all recurring staples on the Milano menu. Varying the theme, Meyer's arista is now a grilled, bone-in pork loin, finished with balsamic glaze and accompanied by a "pilaf"of toasted farro (a nutty-tasting, hulled wheat, also known as spelt). All meats taste better when cooked on the bone--my order of pork was moist and tender, the balsamic (and honey?) glaze a nice counterpoint, though slathered on by a slightly over-generous hand.Wood-fired pizzas run around nine dollars. The custom pizza ($9.95) allows you to choose from three sauces, five cheeses (including Taleggio and homemade mozzarella), seven vegetables (asparagus, wild mushrooms), and seven meats (chicken, sausage, pepperoni and shrimp). The Orrechiette ("little ears", $10.95) is a nice Mediterranean hit of tomatoes and garlic sharpened up with broccoli raab (or rapini, a relative of both the cabbage and the turnip), mellowed by a scattering of parmesan. Calamarata ($13.95) are "little rings", hand-twisted pasta tossed with salmon, asparagus, brown butter and lemon cream. Pastas run from $8.95 to $13.95.Entrees range from $14.95 to $34.95 for the Bistecca, one pound of Prime Angus Porterhouse, marinated with garlic and grilled to order. The baked salmon {$15.95) comes from the oven with whiffs of woodsmoke; the Poletto ($16.95), a half-chicken roasted with sweet Madeira wine--accompanied by mushroom risotto and sauted spinach--is Italian soul food.I haven't been for the Brunch buffet yet, but the menu looks good: fritatti--open faced, baked omlettes--scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, pancetta--rolled Italian bacon--sausage, crepes, fresh fruit, cheeses, crostini (including lox and cream cheese), breads, turnovers, salads and pasta--$9.95 per person. French toast and buttermilk pancakes are available a la carte. Sandwiches, salads and lasagna are offered after 11 a.m.Bar Power "It was a mistake to go to an all-Italian wine list", Nolan observes. Nolan Washatka has worked every station in Teller's, and every kitchen position except saut. He's a manager now, but still takes a weekly shift on the bar. Currently, he's charged with re-working the wine list, work he's happy to do."People don't know much about Italian wines," he muses; "our old wine list was confusing."The list of the moment does indeed exhibit evidence of its history--nearly half of the wines are Italian, with an especially strong selection of Italian reds. Some fair deals, too.More than half of the wines on the list are offered by the glass. The remainder of the list is fleshed out with mainstream selections of wines from California, Oregon, Chile and Australia, priced at the higher end of reasonable. The Freixenet cava by the glass is a nice surprise, a fine, toasty (and inexpensive), sparkler from Spain. And, of course, the holy trinity of Lawrence's upscale bars and restaurants stands present: Kendall Jackson Chardonnay, Bogle Merlot and Guenoc Cabernet Sauvignon. Nolan's plan for the upcoming list is to feature twenty wines for twenty dollars; "I want the list to be interesting and accessible."While the dining room may have had its periods of customer ebb and flow, the bar at Teller's has always held strong. It's one of the few nice places in town where older singles feel comfortable. It's a good place for meetings after work. It's a place for conversation, to have a bite to eat and read the paper. The focal point of the bar, a large, four-panel mural by local artist Stan Hurd, inspires endless critiques over mid-evening cocktails. Little things also charm: on the bar, newspapers arranged alongside a carafe of voluptuous, buff-colored English roses; sunlight streaming through clean windows onto polished oak tables. Day and evening, Teller's bar feels clubby--genteel and comfortable.Later in the night, younger beauties drift in, the energy level jumps and glitters, but never to an unpleasant level--the grace of the surroundings inhibits baser human impulses.Shine OnTeller's has always declared itself a "walk-in" restaurant, but with the recent increase in business--particularly on weekend nights--reservations, especially for large parties, are always a good practice. Nolan reports a half-hour wait for Sunday brunch, beginning around 10.30 a.m. Lunch trade is brisk.Will this positive shift in Teller's fortunes prevail? Longtime employee Julia Peterson is confident that it will: "It's the most solid approach I've seen so far", she says.My gut says she's right. [1]: http://calendars.lawrence.com/places/173/