DIGS, Lake Worth, Fla

Nation's Restaurant News, March 8, 2004 by Dina Berta

Restaurant business partners Karl Alterman and John Belleme have broken new ground in old digs.

The GulfStream Hotel opened in 1925 in Lake Worth, Fla., a diverse community between the high-end resort towns of Palm Beach and Boca Raton. With property values on the rise along with household income in nearby Delray Beach, Lake Worth is poised to become the next tourist destination along South Florida's coastline, Alterman says.

With that thought in mind, the Stefanoah Hospitality Group, owners of the GulfStream, renovated the historic property last summer into a boutique hotel. They leased the restaurant and foodservice operation to Alterman, a Boca Raton resident who for a decade has managed restaurants in Florida, including GiGi's, Prezzo and Max's Grille.

"Five years ago this would have been a suicide mission," Alterman says. "We're starting to see more interest with people taking more trips into Lake Worth. This town is untapped, uncharted waters."

To help steer the way, Alterman brought in Belleme as executive chef. Belleme, a graduate of The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY, most recently had been chef and a partner at Zemi in Boca Raton. The two had worked together at Max's Grille in the 1990s.

"We thought it might be good to work together again and enjoy the success and great rapport we had in those years," Alterman says.

Belleme was equally complimentary. "I was looking to do something, to be in a new situation," he says. "Together we were able to achieve great things. That's what attracted me to this project."

The project had a number of challenges, the first of which was what they should call the restaurant. The hotel had a newer, chic design. Alterman knew he didn't want to reopen the restaurant under its old name: Daniel's Lake Avenue Grill.

"I saw it as nice new digs, off the lobby of a big building downtown," Alterman says. "It's below the lobby level, kind of dug in. The last thing that came to mind was that 'DIGS' also could be an acronym for Dining in the Gulf Stream."

DIGS opened Nov. 18. Belleme calls the cuisine comfort food with a contemporary edge.

"A lot more things are comfort food than 10 years ago," Belleme says. "Goat cheese is more common now. When you talk about comfort food, you think of chicken pot pie, which was something people are growing up. To give it a contemporary edge, we add some shiitake mushrooms to it and give it a herb crust. It's about combining the best of the new ingredients and techniques with something people had grown up with."

Continuing with that theme, the menu includes thick-cut pork chops with whipped potatoes, garlic spinach, chunky applesauce and grainy-mustard jus. Another dish pairs roasted chicken with tamarind, chile glaze and steamed basmati rice.

Some dishes are more contemporary than comfort. Examples are ahi tuna summer rolls, a blackened fresh fish sandwich and miso-roasted salmon.

Another challenge comes from revising a restaurant in an 80-year-old hotel: That means introducing the changes to longtime customers and keeping them. In recent years the hotel restaurant had been known for discounts and early dinners, Alterman says.

"We knew there would be some resistance," he explains. "We had to show that value is a two-sided equation; it's quality and price, not just price. I think people are pleased with the value. They are pleased with the way they feel when they walk out. They're treated well. They have an excellent experience."

Opened: Nov. 18, 2003

Cuisine: contemporary comfort food

Location: GulfStream Hotel. 1 Lake Ave.

Seats: 100

Daily covers: 259

Check average: lunch, 315; dinner, $25

Food cost: 32 percent

Labor cost: 33 percent

Best-selling entree: miso-roasted salmon

Slowest seller: tamale corn cake

Menu maker: chef John Belleme

APPETIZERS

Happy Pancake
Savory coconut crepe, roast chicken, gulf shrimp & bacon, nuac
  cham                                                                6
Tamale Corn Cake
Salsa verde, avocado, creme Latino and cilantro                       8

STARTER SALADS

DIG Ceasar
Romaine hearts, focaccia croutons, roasted garlic, creamy ceasar
  dressing and Grana Padano                                           7
Tri-Color Salad
Belgian endive, radicchio & arugula with Asian pears, spicy
  walnuts, blue cheese, bacon and red-wine vinaigrette                9

ENTREE SALADS

Asian Chicken Salad
Mixed lettuces, napa cabbage, mango, cine-ripe tomato, julienne
  vegetables, honey-roasted cashews, cilantro & lemon grass          12
Southwestern Cobb Salad
Blackened chicken, mixed lettuces, roasted corn, bacon, vine-ripe
  tomato, avocado, farmhouse cheddar & chipotle-lime vinaigrette     14

PASTA

House-Made Five-Cheese Ravioli
With fresh tomato pan sauce and basil                                13
Vegetable Lo Mein
Oriental vegetables, Chinese noodles & Far Eastern   flavors         12

SPECIALTIES & GRILLE

Chicken Pot Pie
With mushrooms, peas, pearl onions, flaky herb crust                 14
Cedar Plank Miso-Roasted Scottish Salmon
With streamed basmati rice and vegetable stir fry                    22

DESSERTS

Maple Mascarpone Cheesecake
With walnut tile cookie
White Chocolate Banana Cream Pie
'Nilla wafer crust & fresh whipped cream                              7