New dinner will celebrate the best of Dayton’s dining heritage
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A special seven-course themed tribute dinner — ICONS: A Tribute to Dayton’s Dining Heritage — will honor Dayton’s rich dining heritage. Each course at the ICONS dinner will present a dish fondly remembered from beloved, classic Dayton-area restaurants that are no longer open. Maria Walusis, chef and owner of Watermark, has been working to secure original recipes and instructions in order to present these plates as faithfully as possible. The Dayton restaurants being honored for this year’s event are: The Peerless Mill, The Barnsider, King Cole, L’Auberge, Peasant Stock and Neil’s Heritage House.
The final course will be created by Watermark, as its way of humbly continuing the great tradition of Dayton dining.
Tickets can be purchased online or by calling the restaurant. Tickets will be all-inclusive and will be available by pre-sale only for $125 per person.
“Reminiscing about the wonderful restaurants we can no longer enjoy is a common discussion among foodies and industry professionals alike. During one such conversation recently, my husband, Eric, who is the general manager at Watermark, and I mused: ‘Wouldn’t it be great if we could taste some of those dishes one more time?’ Our next thought was how wonderful it would be to give that experience to Dayton diners who also fondly recall these local legends. This is why we chose the name ICONS,” said Walusis.
Because they are looking to do a celebration of food as opposed to a wine dinner there will not be paired wines with each course, but rather a predinner drink and two full glasses of wine — one red, one white — to accompany the meal.
The full list of planned courses sounds delicious:
Starter: Stuffed Mushrooms au Gratin — Peerless Mill
Salad: Artisan Garden Salad with Heritage French Dressing — King Cole
Soup: French Onion Soup au Gratin — The Barnsider
Seafood: Filet of Sole — L’Auberge
Beef: Filet au Poivre with Brandy Cream Sauce — Peasant Stock
Cheese: Baked Brie with Charred Pear — Neil’s Heritage House
Dessert: Paris-Brest with Crème Mousseline Praliné — Watermark
“The plates and flavors at this dinner will represent classic dishes, ingredients, and preparations. As I am fond of saying: ‘they are classics for a reason.’ As with any good tasting menu, we are creating a journey of flavors and experiences that will hopefully create a memorable wow moment for each guest,” said Walusis. “Fortunately, there are still many people around who cooked at these restaurants, and first-hand access to the information is still possible. As an example, our sous chef, Aaron Kemp, worked at The Barnsider for many years, and has made their French Onion Soup countless times. Chef Dominique Fortin, who made his bones at L’Auberge, and Chef David Glynn, who helmed Peasant Stock, also helped re-construct the plates.” What: ICONS dinner at Watermark
When: 5 p.m. Oct. 28 Where: 20 S. 1st Street, Miamisburg
Cost: $125 per person. Tickets are all-inclusive and will be only sold in advance by calling Watermark or by visiting https://squareup.com/ store/watermark-store WATERMARK AT A GLANCE
More information: Reservations are required and can be made by calling 937-802-0891. To learn more about Watermark visit https:// eatdrinkwatermark.com Hours: At the end of July, Watermark announced they will be closed on Mondays. Watermark is open 4-10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 4 p.m.-midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.
New on the menu: Shrimp Cakes ($11.95) with smoked onion remoulade and slowbraised Osso Buco ($31.95) has returned to the fall menu served over rosemary polenta with duck fat-roasted carrots and gremolata.
Most event dinners are oriented around a particular winery, or type of cuisine. The concept of making history the focus — , paying tribute to the dining legends of Dayton’s past — is a different twist to create a really interesting mix of courses, flavors and ingredients.
Walusis weighed in on why she believes each of these restaurants is an icon and why she chose to faithfully recreate them for this special dinner.
The Peerless Mill: “First, its history goes back nearly two hundred years, and it was a local favorite as a restaurant for almost eighty years. In addition, since we love being a part of the vibrant and growing scene in downtown Miamisburg, it seemed a natural to include them in our first group.”
The Barnsider: “Great restaurants have been located all over the greater Dayton area, and on the north end, The Barnsider was a staple for decades. Many of us, myself included, still remember dates there for high school dances or prom, and it was a common destination for large groups celebrating special occasions. Every time we serve our own recipe French Onion soup at Watermark, guests are bound to reminisce about the soup at The Barnsider.”
King Cole: “Where do I start? If you were dining out in the ’50s, ’60s, or ’70s, King Cole was the place for fine dining. From its Comisar Family roots (owners of the famed Maisonette), to the colorful and memorable lighted sign that graced both the Second Street location as well as the newer Kettering Tower lobby digs, everyone knew King Cole. My father-in-law still raves about their escargot!”
L’Auberge: “One of the most beloved and missed institutions of the Dayton dining scene over the last forty years. It was also the location for my first ‘stage’ as I began training to be a chef, and will forever hold a special place in my heart. Founder Josef Reif created magic with his own hands, as he often presented and finished dishes tableside for wideeyed diners. A parade of top chefs including Dominique Fortin helmed the kitchen over the years, most of whom went on to run their own celebrated restaurants. The prestigious Mobil Travel guide conferred its Four-Star status by saying: ‘it is luxurious, creatively decorated, superbly maintained.’”
Peasant Stock: “Along with L’Auberge, perhaps no other restaurant dominated the Dayton dining scene in the late-’90s more than Peasant Stock. Known for its fairly rustic platings and flavorful preparations of everything from soups to salads to entrees, Peasant Stock was a perennial favorite. It is often mentioned on lists of most missed restaurants, and was one of our first selections.”
Neil’s Heritage House: “That familiar building — with the name on the side — right on the corner of Patterson Boulevard and Schantz Avenue is imprinted on the memories of anyone who traveled the area. And with it, memories of business lunches, dinner dates, and well-prepared food. A fixture of the supper club scene in the sixties, Neil’s was especially a favorite for large groups and parties.”
“(The) selection of the first group of restaurants was a challenge. We wanted each to be the kind of place that strikes an immediate chord with many Daytonians. Restaurants that are often mentioned in the press, by restaurant staff, and by diners. We also wanted this group of names to span the decades, including some that have been gone for quite some time as well as more recent closings. Lastly, we wanted to choose restaurants that were widely known for some specific dishes, plates that people still salivate over years later,” said Walusis. “In order to finalize the selection, we did research with local diners, chefs, other industry professionals, and searches in the press. We read old reviews by Dayton legend Ann Heller, we chatted with some of our customers who have been ‘making the circuit’ around town for many years, and we made phone calls to some of the chefs and cooks who worked in these wellknown establishments.”
This will be a celebration of Dayton’s dining past, Dayton’s dining present and Dayton’s dining future. Walusis believes this will be the best special event they have done to date inspiring nostalgia, conversation, and excitement throughout the Dayton dining community with guests from some of the honored restaurants in attendance.