Koko’s chef, ex-newspaper delivery boy share recipe
When then-casino moguls Donald Trump and Don Barden opened adjacent gaming properties in Gary along Buffington Harbor in June 1996, the two agreed to connect their entertainment spaces by a common pavilion and celebrity branded dining.
In addition to The Harbor Steakhouse, which became a favorite gathering place of luminaries, ranging from Trump and Barden’s celebrity friends to the contestants of the Miss USA Pageant, there was also Koko Taylor’s Blues Café. Named for and endorsed by the blues music icon, who died in 2009, it featured Southern cuisine including Memphis-style ribs, beef filets (including the Koko Queen Cut and the B.B. King Cut), Southern fried or blackened catfish, crab cakes, gumbo, lobster and more.
By 2005, the steakhouse was expanded to swallow-up the Koko space and the steakhouse name was changed in honor of Taylor. Later, the fine dining destination eventually carried a new marquee in 2007 as Don B.’s Steakhouse, after Trump sold his boat, hotel and his side of the shared dining pavilion to Barden, who died in 2011.
Executive chef Tim Bellamy remembers it all well, since he spent years serving Barden and Koko and her friends, as well as the gaming guests in Buffington Harbor in the top chef spot at Majestic Star Casino.
Now Bellamy is bringing his signature Southern BBQ and delectable sides to all via a portable kitchen on wheels helmed by Chicago restaurant force Daniel Krause. Open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays and similar weekend hours, once the breakfast crowds have moved through, it’s Bellamy’s Blacktop BBQ menu that serves appetites the rest of the day.
The idea to partner Bellamy and Krause for a new food truck concept was dreamed up by Northwest Indiana brothers-turned-entrepreneurs Scott and Paul Yonover. The new business venture is called 5th Avenue Food Stop, based at 5th Avenue and Georgia Street, and the official ribbon cutting was Wednesday. Eric Reaves, who heads redevelopment projects for the city of Gary, joined the ribbon cutting honors.
Though the Yonover brothers now live in Chicago, they grew up in Gary in the Miller section, and Reaves, at age 11, was their family’s newspaper delivery carrier for the Post-Tribune.
The custom menu under the Bellamy’s “Blacktop BBQ” branding showcases a half pound of BBQ rib tips or a generous mound of tender pulled pork, each $11 served as an entree with two side choices as well as a beef brisket sandwich, served with fries, for $9.50. The sumptuous sides, which start at $2.50, include island coleslaw and collard greens as well as steamed cabbage, barbecued baked beans and creamy macaroni and cheese.
“I feel like everything comes full circle,” Scott said. “This is an idea that Gary has welcomed and supported, and we are keeping everything local for the community. We are also listening to the customers. We started only accepting credit and debit cards at first, but now, we are also taking cash payments.”
Bellamy said he is excited to be serving up a menu of delicious recipes which have not only been enjoyed by famous folks, but also his own family for generations.
“I always say great barbecue and grilling recipes start with not just great cuts of meat, but also a fantastic barbecue rub and end with the finale of an amazing sauce,” Bellamy said.