Beau Jack's News

Beau Jack's is casual and comfortable

Cozy and casual, Beau Jack's is the
kind of place you can take your date,
mother, or best friend. There are lots
of comfortable booths where you can
enjoy a leisurely meal and catch up on
what's new.

In the evening, after seeing a movie at
the nearby Maple Theatre, stop by
for an appetizer and a drink. A pianist
performs on Fridays and Saturdays.

Whether you're in the mood for a
"mess of fried clams," or oven-grilled
pizza, Beau Jack's aims to please. The
appetizer menu features a homemade
rumaki, onion loaf, baked spinach and
artichoke dip. Chilled Jumbo Gulf Shrimp
Cocktail is a new item.

If chili is what you crave, you'll definitely want to visit Beau Jack's soon. On Wednesdays they serve Bob Vargo's famous white chili. An award-winning chili

Chili champ: Bob Vargo, former executive chef and now general manager of Beau Jack's, is a champion chili cook. Vargo's Championship Chili is one of the many items on the menue at Beau Jack's.

cook, Vargo, former executive chef, and now general manager, is a "Chilihead," and proud of it.

"I'm on a roll he said referring to his recent victory in Windsor. Vargo beat 35 other cooks to win the Canadian Championship Chili Cookoff trophy, which qualifies him to cook in the World Chili Cookoff in Reno, Nevada this fall.

Vargo started making chili in 1980 when his boss asked if he wanted to compete in a chili cookoff in Saline. Not knowing what he was getting himself into, but game for an adventure, Vargo set out with his recipe, ingredients, a big pot, camp stove, and TV tray to put it all on. "I just had so much fun," he said laughing at the memory. "I didn't win, but I learned a lot."

If you've ever been to a chili cookoff you know they're big time parties where cooks and fans get into the spirit. There are even prizes for best booth and showmanship.
Undaunted by the experience of being the only cook to show up with a TV tray for a table, Vargo went back the next year and won first place.

"Then I got into it after that," he said. "I qualified for the World." This fall will be Vargo's eighth time competing in the World Cookoff. He has won the Michigan Chili title twice, the Midwest Regional twice, the Canadian title twice, and even been the chili champ of Indiana.

"I cook until I qualify for the World," he said. "I'm on a winning streak now. For five years I didn't qualify. I changed my recipe and messed it up so bad. Now I'm back on a roll."
Vargo's Championship Chili is on the menu at Beau Jack's. "The secret is, I've just got a taste for it," he said. "You have to taste as you go, I don't measure. Sometimes the peppers will be hotter, and you adjust for that."

For 32 years, Beau Jack's has been Vargo's home away from home. He started out as night cook, and then took over the chef's job. For the last 19 years he's managed the restaurant.

Longtime patrons might remember when Beau Jack's was Westerner's Beef Buffet, a cafeteria. The restaurant did well as a cafeteria from 1965 to 1975, but times were starting to change.

"Cafeterias were going downhill," remembers Vargo. "So the owner Mr. Cochran and his son got a liquor license. It was a very scary thing to do, but they did a lot of thinking about it. It worked real well. I think our food is superior to many restaurants, we come up with new ideas daily."

Gary Cochran calls Beau Jack's a restaurant with a liquor license, not a bar with food. "We felt our new format needed a liquor license to enhance the food."
Like Vargo, a lot of the staff have worked at Beau Jack's for a long time. They know their customers, and what they like.

"We have a great staff, and consistent food quality," said Cochran. "The food comes out the same, every day, and it's priced right. We think of our customers as members, and this is their club. You can feel comfortable in a jeans or a suit."

Long hours, weekends and holidays, this is restaurant work, but Vargo enjoys it. "My father, Louis, was one of the top 10 chefs in Michigan He tried to talk me out of it. 'I like it, that's what I want to do,' I said. It's been fun all these years."

Besides chili, Beau Jack's is known for their "Superior" whitefish served Charlevoix-style on a sizzling platter surrounded by homemade duchess potatoes.
Their beef is Certified Black Angus, and there are some heart-healthy, and vegetarian items on the menu too. Be sure to ask about the daily specials.

"Our salads are very popular," said Vargo. In addition to the usual Classic Caesar, grilled chicken, Cobb and Greek, they offer an imported Scottish smoked salmon salad, Chopped Vegetable Garden Salad -- "guaranteed there will be 10 fresh daily vegetables chopped fine with iceberg lettuce, then garnished with tomato wedges, red onions and alfalfa sprouts, and a Canyon Spa Salad. New York Strip Steak is a popular menu item, and fajitas "off the grill," are "great," said Vargo.

All burgers are a full half pound, and you can make it "Gourmet," by adding your choice of toppings. A heart-healthy ground fresh turkey burger is available.
Beau Jack's serves a variety of wines and specialty drinks. Ask to see the "Dirty Dozen Martini List." They also offer an extensive offering of ports and cognac.

What makes good chili?
By Ken Abramczyk
Staff Writer
kabramczyk@oe.homecomm.net

For a good homemade chili, chili cooks have tastes and methods that are as varied as the chili themselves.

Jim Sholar of Canton, winner of the regional chili cookoff in Plymouth, likes a good homemade chicken broth for a base.

"You then use fresh tomatoes and fresh herbs, with oregano being the most important," Sholar said. "Fresh jalapenos are used with the seeds, because the seeds give it heat and add cayenne pepper for a base.

"You add cumin and chili powder at different intervals and different amounts."
For many chiliheads, Gephart's chili powder is a favorite, Sholar said. "That seems to be a hands-on favorite (of competitors)," Sholar said.

Chili is a dish that can be created for the entire family, said Keith Matherly, chili cook and owner of Adventures in Dining and owner of Butcher Block in Livonia.
Matherly likes onions, garlic, chili powder, cumin and tomato paste.

"For the most part, you don't want one item to overpower the other," Matherly said. "You want a nice marriage of everything together. After a while, you get a good feel for things."
Bob Jones of Willis, Mich., uses chili powder and ancho chili powder in his Okie Dokie chili. Jones likes a good "back-bite" or what the taster feels on the back of the palate after swallowing the chili.

"You really need the right meat and the right blend of spices." Jones cooked his chili for three hours that day as did most of the cooks did, but usually 90 minutes is sufficient, Jones said. "And you never use it the first day," Jones said.

Robert Dudas of Manchester, Mich., likes his chili with two different chili powders and a garlic powder, and tried using hickory smoked salt.

Bob Vargo of Commerce Township works at Beau Jack's in Bloomfield Hills. Since 1980 Vargo has won nine chili competitions, six in Michigan, Canada twice and Indiana once.
"I have three or four different types of chili, depending on the competition," Vargo said.
Vargo likes jalapenos and onions in his chili and prefers Mexican or San Antonio chili powder. He grows his own habaneros. "That's probably the hottest pepper you can buy," Vargo said.

"Some are real hot and some are real mild. I do this to taste. Then I'll know it needs something a little sweeter."
Observer/Eccentric