By Oliver B. Pollak
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, California — At the entrance a combo of 60-year-old musicians played 1970s music and younger people sipped their wine and drank their beer. The six of us,
three couples, were ushered to the much quieter and conversation inducing ‘wine cellar,’ a room on the main floor with walls covered with ceiling height wine racks.
Tiffany served us. We ordered the appetizer special Potatoes Papa Gallo, a delicious earthy combination of roast potatoes, marinara and parmesan. Later in the meal I asked the owner Marc where the recipe came from. It was tonight’s special, never before served, he created the recipe.
I ordered sausages & peppers marsala with penne pasta, a habit of eating at restaurants what is not allowed in the house. The three wives going for protein shared grilled lamb chops, Chicken picatta, and vegetables. The other two guys ordered eggplant parmesan and paella, sort of odd for an Italian restaurant without cioppino.
The meal coming to the end, tongues loosened by fruit of the vine I asked the owner Marc, ”I write for a Jewish newspaper, is the anything here that would interest a Jewish audience?” He responded “Me.” Marc Cummings who took over the 11-year old Tannins restaurant 10 months ago is Jewish. The family name was originally Kamiensky. My jaw dropped. I did not expect a story here. I grabbed the doggy bag and took notes.
His father Allan was influential in the establishment of Temple Emanuel in Palm Beach and volunteered at the fire station, an odd, but common Jewish contribution to the community. He made his wealth investing in Sara Lee, Piggly Wiggly, oil companies and radio stations. He was also part of the Chicago Sara Lee bakery dynasty. Cummings’ mother and father were both heavy smokers. His father died of cancer at 58. His mother stopped smoking, remarried twice, Elliot and Stanley, both of whom died of cancer. His mother is still alive at 87.
Cummings was born in 1965 in Chicago. He was a bar mitzvah. His brother and sister live in Jerusalem. Cummings excelled in tennis and golf, and did not graduate from high school, but he did graduate from the Cordon Bleu in Paris. He worked for high end cruise lines, Seabourn and Crystal, for 18 years, coordinated dining on 128 day cruises and has been through the Panama Canal 60 times. What did he learn from his parents? “Being strong on my own two feet and being intuitive and working out his own plan.” His favorite Jewish dish is white fish salad on onion matza, matjes herring with matza and cream cheese, absolutely to die for, but it is not on Tannin’s menu.
His Gentile wife managed the equestrian interests of a Saudi Prince. They have two remarkable children, Drake 4, and Abriella 6, who have taken to the stage and modeling. The family does not celebrate the Jewish holidays, nor much of Christian holidays.
Wine lubricates conversation. My sister contributed Levendi (from the Greek meaning eye pleasing or to be in the presence of a handsome male), a 2004 cabernet sauvignon, from Stagecoach Ranch in Napa Valley. The notes suggested drinking between 2008 and 2013. It was 2018 and it had a most pleasant fruity bouquet. I brought a 2015 Saintsbury Pratt Vineyard Pinot Noir with a 94 Wine Enthusiast rating. I shared the pinot noir with Cummings; he cancelled one corkage fee. The backup 2010 Kenwood Jack London Cabernet Sauvignon went home for another day, or night. We did not finish our plates, two styrofoam boxes in the refrigerator await us. Jews, while few in number, are critically situated in prominent places. Just ask.
A good meal, lovely wine with friends and family, and a few questions reveal the magical diversity of taste and humanity. San Francisco has the recently opened Che Fico with Jewish ownership and five Jewish inspired dishes on the menu. It’s on my “To Jew list.” Perhaps another surprising meal with remarkable results. Much joy is engendered by anticipation and reading menus online.
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Pollak, a professor emeritus of history at the University of Nebraska Omaha, and a lawyer, is a SDJW correspondent now based in Richmond, California. He may be contacted via oliver.pollak@sdjewishworld.com