In his glory and surrounded by a) adoring culinary fans, b) terrific music, and c) spicy 
aromas of garlic, chile and ginger, Joseph Schultz ascended the stage/altar and wok’d and wok’d until no plate was empty.
It was a May Day afternoon devoted to gado gado, Dragon chicken (very mild), Calamari two ways (the djawa was superb, just like the old days), Pad Thai (glorious texture and temperature, invisible flavor), and never-better lashings of Hibiscus Cooler. While Irene Herrmann plus the ubiquitous Rangells filled the courtyard nextdoor to the restaurant-in-waiting with mandolin melodies, the crowd ate its fill.
Astonishingly enough the entire outdoor, makeshift, camp cooking operation went smoothly. Orders came out fresh, hot and fast. Nobody does low-tech cookery like Joseph Schultz.
And nobody can make calamari as buttery tender, either.
So when’s the real restaurant going to open? Start placing bets and stay tuned.
Update: Joseph emailed me to say the city is giving him headaches about trash removal and grease traps – the usual pitfalls of restaurant owning. So let’s not hold our collective breath. Perhaps sacrifice a chicken or two? Couldn’t hurt….
