THE SUMMIT DRIVE-IN - A True Burger Joint

 

THE SUMMIT DRIVE-IN

A True Burger Joint

Dave Cagnacci, a/k/a Private Chef Dave, was trained at the Scottsdale Culinary Institute and for twenty plus years, give or take a year or two, worked in restaurants and catered parties, large and small.   But, like screenwriters who really want to direct… it was Chef Dave’s long-held desire to own a burger joint.

Before McDonald’s, et al, over-populated the planet, burger diners, dives, drive-ins, shacks and stands a/k/a “burger joints” dotted the American landscape.  I was seven when I first fell in love with such a joint.  Vacationing in Massachusetts, my father drove our family to a popular outdoor burger stand for dinner. We all loved burgers, so I was shocked when I heard him order cheeseburgers.  “What’s a cheeseburger?” I asked my mom (remember, this was before the McDonald’s blitzkrieg). Cheese on ground beef?  But, when I took that first glorious bite of that burger stuffed into a white bread bun, smothered with American cheese melting over its edges, a chorus of cheese-elujahs sang in my head. That moment was only enhanced as the sun set over the burger shack, as lightning bugs lit up the sky.  

Over the years, I’ve often wondered what genius first melted a slice of cheese on a burger.  He or she should be in the culinary history books!  I even went to the big public libraries in Boston and New York, but was never able to find that answer.  Finally, Google came to my rescue… to paraphrase:

As the legend goes, in 1926, sixteen-year-old Lionel Sternberger (Really! What better name!) was flipping burgers at his father’s restaurant, the Rite Spot in Pasadena, California.  Bored, Lionel decided to slap a slice of American cheese onto a sizzling burger frying on the grill.  After a bite, his dad most likely heard the same heavenly chorus I did, as the “cheese hamburger” was soon on the menu.  Others have laid claim to discovering this food phenom, but it was a bored sixteen-year-old boy (aren’t all teenagers bored?!) who deserves the honor. To paraphrase a famous quote from the classic movie western, “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance”… “if you have to choose between fact or legend, print the legend.”

Dave Cagnacci was probably not thinking of history at all in 2016, when he, along with his wife Rachel, finally realized his dream and became the proud owners of The Summit Drive-In, one of the last standing burger stands in Southern California.  Over the years, I’ve recreated my seven-year-old summer experience when I could, but mom and pop outdoor burger joints have been slowly dying, so when I was introduced to Ojai’s iconic burger drive-in (which was never actually a drive-in, more a drive-up), I would become that seven-year-old every time I ate there, devouring one of The Summit’s beef or veggie cheeseburger choices.  Feeling patriotic?  Bite into the Red, White & Blue burger with grilled onions, blue cheese, lettuce, tomato & secret sauce. Or go “white meat” with one of its chicken sandwiches, such as the crispy western chicken sandwich with onion rings, cheddar cheese, bacon and the Summit’s homemade BBQ sauce.  Rachel, The Summit’s general manager, oversees it all.  

Some other favorites on the “of the era” menu: tuna and burger melts, BLTs, and a pulled pork sandwich with coleslaw and pepper cheese. Naturally, French fries and onion rings are among the sides, but check out the mac&cheese bites.  Of course, all of its seasonings, rubs and secret sauces are made “in house.” Kids even have their own special menu, including corn dogs and chicken tenders, and drinks range from shakes and floats to sodas. Top off your meal with the stand’s ice cream sundae.  For early birds, try a breakfast burrito or sandwich with your coffee.  The restaurant also offers corn burritos, rated at the top of the charts by the “I Love Corn Burritos Group” which critiques corn burritos around the area on its Facebook page.  And, give The Summit a call to find out when its famous summer and fall weekend offering of special BBQ tri-tip is happening… that alone is worth the drive-up.    

 

But Private Chef Dave, now via The Summit Drive-In, hasn’t stopped catering.  In the valley, his food has graced wedding receptions, local Air BnBs, bed & breakfast inns, even private poker games, and special events at places around town, such as Boccali’s, Thacher School, and Monica Ros School.  Recently, he catered the Rotary Club of Ojai’s 75^th Anniversary party for 150 people. 

The Summit, originally known as Fay’s Place, was built on the crest of the dividing line of Upper Ojai and Santa Paula in 1961, and has ever since been a burger stand and watering hole for Ojai residents, hikers and bikers, tourists, or travelers just out to enjoy the scenery.

A bit of Summit lore:  Family and friends’ happy moments and memories are nurtured there.  One story Dave likes to tell is, back in the day when The Summit was Fay’s Place, a reform school was across the street.  One dedicated teacher would often take one of her students to Fay’s Place for lunch where they would bond over burgers and fries.  The reform school has since closed and Fay’s Place became The Summit Drive-In, but over those years, the teacher and her student stayed connected, and not long ago recreated their lunch experience at The Summit, sharing moments and memories.

 

The Cagnacci family are 4^th generation residents of Ojai and Ventura with roots in the food business going back to the early 1900s.  The Summit Drive-In, run by “a team of family and friends who love to run a restaurant and cater to folks who like to entertain,” has survived the Thomas Fire that started nearby and which devastated the neighboring landscape. Firetrucks parked in the restaurant’s lot allowed firefighters to keep an eye on its survival.  Then the pandemic hit.  But this iconic burger joint was kept alive with the help of a steady stream of longtime customers.

On a personal note, The Summit Drive-In brings back so many joyful memories of my first burger shack/stand experience with its outdoor picnic-esque atmosphere.  I love trying this joint’s new cheeseburgers and crispy chicken sandwiches… so much so, I’ve been known to order one of each when I’m there (a dietary habit that keeps me going to the gym).  Drive out and drive up to the drive-in with family or friends.  No doubt, you will create your own memorable moments and joyful memories.

Summit Drive-In is available for private parties and catering: (805) 798-7742

Located at 12689 Santa Paula Ojai Road (Hwy150) Santa Paula, California 93060

www.summitdrivein.com

www.facebook.comSummitDriveIn/

The Summit Drive-In is also on Instagram

PIZZA - SOMETHING IN THE AIR

 

PIZZA: SOMETHING IN THE AIR

 

As a New York transplant, I’m a pizza snob.  Most NYers are, though Chicagoans give us a run for our pizza money.  NY thin crust style vs. deep dish - that is the question.  Well, not for NYers who are loyal to their pizza to a fault.  We challenge you to go to any pizza joint in NYC, buy a slice on the run or sit down at a table (or stand at the counter), take a bite and NOT savor pizza nirvana.

Sharing a whole pie with family or friends is a perfect, inexpensive dinner out (or “take-in”), but grabbing a slice is an “on-the-run” gourmet experience in Manhattan.  You want to shop during your lunch break but you’re starving?  Grab a slice.  You only have a few minutes to eat before curtain-up at the theater, but you need to stop your growling stomach from adding to the sound effects during the play?  Grab a slice.  It’s late and you’re finally leaving work, you’re hungry, but you don’t want to cook?  Grab a slice to go… maybe two… or three you can heat in the oven when you get home.  Meatball, pepperoni, mushroom slices and more, at your lip-tips for a few bucks.  Culinary satisfaction worth a million.

This joyous food experience (can you tell I love pizza) has arrived in Ojai.  Slices of NY style pies to take out or to stay-in are ready for you in Tere Karabatos and wife, Kristen McGuiness’s AIR Pizza “parlor.”  The restaurant’s hand-tossed pies include all the classic NY-styles: cheese with house-made sauce, mozzarella and Grana Padano cheeses and toppings such as sausage, pepperoni, or wild mushrooms or other veggies if you have a craving, plus some inventions of its own such as the “punk rock” pizza, dubbed Meat Puppet, a shout-out to the rock group of the same name, topped with a variety of meats and grilled chicken, 

 

and the Mira Monte pie with wild mushrooms, yellow peppers, Kalamata olives, ricotta, garlic, basil and Grana Pandano cheese. Kvell over the sourdough thin crust (or gluten-free crust, also available).  How this gem of a joint ended up in the magical valley of Ojai is a tale of recovery and discovery. 

 

 A life-long athlete, Tere is a southern California boy, mostly from Arcadia.  His father, a restaurateur, owned a slew of coffee shops, truck stops, diners and the like (not at the same time).  His dad was also a chain-smoking alcoholic who spent most of his days and nights at whatever restaurant he owned at the time.  To be closer to his father, Tere began to work in ‘whatever’ restaurant dad owned, chopping food, busing tables, cleaning the kitchen. ‘Whatever’ manual labor a kid could do, he did.

Though born in America, Tere’s first language was Greek, because of his Greek heritage.  His mother, who suffered from bi-polar disorder and often unable to be a guiding parent for Tere and his brother, taught English to herself and to Tere.  She also encouraged him to expend his hyper, high-strung energy playing sports, beginning with Little League.  Baseball became a passion, and like many talented young boys before him, Tere dreamed of playing in the majors, but soon realized that, as good as he was, he wasn’t talented enough to make the show.  But he never lost his love of playing sports and turned to soccer, skateboarding and surfing.  It was sports, especially surfing, that taught him a steely determination as he practiced and practiced ‘til he mastered it.  

Unfortunately, his childhood freedom from lack of parental supervision led him to start drinking at age twelve.  His “gateway drink” to many years of alcohol abuse was his father’s stash of Budweiser.  At fifteen, cannabis became Tere’s “gateway drug” to battling years of drug addiction.  He dropped out of high school and paid for his booze and drugs by working various jobs.  He dabbled in construction, found gigs in restaurants and sold sports equipment.  When he was able, he’d skateboard or catch a wave.

One evening while drinking and smoking with his father, Tere had a sad moment of self-realization…he was becoming his father, and this was not the man he wanted to be.  He needed help.  His brother brought Tere to Alcoholics Anonymous and “Hollywood Late Night” AA gatherings which he describes as a “Rocky Horror Picture Show” experience… one in which he felt at home.  He related to those in attendance, from the famous to the infamous, and he understood how AA’s 12-Step program could help him.  It was in AA that he met Kristen.

Connecticut born and Texas raised, Kristen was parented and guided by her mother who worked for a corporate lawyer.  Her father, a major drug smuggler who believed marijuana should be legal and accessible to everyone, was in and out of jail most of her life.  Kristen left Texas when she entered Hamilton College in New York, then worked for years in the city in the book publishing business at St. Martin’s Press, Simon & Schuster and Harper Collins. Traumatized by 9/11, Kristen left NY and moved to LA, only to return to NYC in 2006 to work with Judith Regan at Regan Books. When Regan Books relocated to LA, Kristen went, too.  During her years in LA, she also worked in the feature film business and as an assistant to a top-Hollywood agent.  While Kristen’s career appeared fulfilling and glamorous, she developed a serious drinking problem over the years. 

Settled in Los Angeles, she became a fundraiser for an LA-based non-profit serving low-income families.  She went to AA, picked up a pen (keyboard) and began writing. Her first screenplay, “The Betty” was optioned and her first book (non-fiction), “5150: The Magical Adventures of a Single Life” was released.  Living a single life in LA, entering her thirties and newly sober, she began her social experiment… 51 dates in 50 weeks and discovered that finding love was a harder struggle than finding sobriety. Today Kristen is in the process of developing her own publishing imprint for fiction and non-fiction books, and is working on her first novel, “Live Through This,” which is scheduled to be published by Rise Books in August.

When Tere and Kristen first met they were involved in other relationships and initially became good friends.  When those separate relationships ended, they spent more time together, fell in love and later married.  They lived in Paris for a year, “which was actually the first time we talked about opening a pizza shop. AIR Pizza Paris?  Who knows?” she says.  They’ve now been together a dozen years, married for ten and have two children – a seven-year old daughter and a four-year old son.

Now sober, Tere was mentored in LA by Salman Agah, the founder of Pizzanista pizzerias that specialize in NY-style thin-crust pizzas.  While Tere was perfecting his pizza-making craft, Kristen had an unexplained revelation while watching the Taylor Sheridan movie “Wind River” and told Tere they had to leave LA and move to Ojai to raise their family. Tammy and Stefanos Bernardi, owners of Ojai’s popular Osteria Monte Grappa restaurant, took them under their wings and helped them bring AIR Pizza to fruition.  Tere, a UCLA trained alcohol and drug counsellor who ran a Sober Living program in LA, wanted to continue helping others struggling with addictions and named the new restaurant AIR Pizza – Athletes In Recovery – in honor of Tere’s athletic background and his respect for athletes.  He has opened the restaurant’s doors to all in need for meetings on Monday mornings where they follow a basic twelve-step program which includes finding a new freedom and happiness, discarding self-pity and exploring ways to help others through past experiences. 

Pizza in Ojai – Tere and Kristen have got you covered, and if need be, recovered.