One Great Chef: Erik
Camacho
The title of this blog should be “Defying
Expectations.” I went for lunch with my
publisher the other day and we went to Pinstripes
in Prairiefire. I am not going to talk
that much about our lunch, though we got four different items including a very
unusual version of carrot cake sitting in a pool of caramel that was
tantalizing and acorn squash with burrata that was a true unique treat, but we
also met their executive chef. There are
eight Pinstripes, mostly in the Midwest, and their head chefs’ titles are
Bistro Chef. Whatever. They’ve clearly found a gem in Erik.
Chef Erik’s background is a little bit unusual. He was in the army for 11 years, working on
tanks. When he came home to California,
he really didn’t know what he wanted to do.
But he’d been cooking for his large family for years and thought, “Well,
I love to cook, why not culinary school?”
So that’s what he did. He worked
in some restaurants out there and then packed up his daughter and came to Lee’s
Summit to chef in his sister’s bar. That
led eventually to stints as Gordon Biersch and as head chef for RA Sushi. Since then, he’s opened up several restaurants
for Pinstripes, including this Overland Park location three years ago,
remarried, had two more children (for a total of five), and learned even more.
His joy in his work and colleagues shines through. “I like the challenges and I love the
creativity here. When we do large
events, and we do all kinds with all kinds of food, it makes me so satisfied
that people love the food. I like
contributing to a cool time when everyone is so happy.”
Pinstripes’ tagline is Bistro l Bowling l
Bocce. But Erik and his team have really
made sure the bistro part is what foodies (yes, I used that word) like me need
to remember. You probably didn’t know that this is a 98% scratch kitchen –
including all their pastas. I sure
didn’t. You really should brave Prairiefire and 135th Street and go
there. So happy I did! Pinstripes
13500 Nall Avenue
Overland Park, KS 66223
Ph. 913-681-2255
Overland Park, KS 66223
Ph. 913-681-2255
Comments