Chef Joseph Jacobsen’s big inspiration? The reuben sandwich.
To less refined foodies with insensitive palates, this may sound silly. But to a seasoned pro, the reuben sandwich poses a big problem — a culinary hazard, if you will. Finding a decent one in this town is a challenge, Jacobsen says.
“Everywhere I’ve gone, I haven’t gotten one I really like,” the 31-year-old head chef at Maumee’s Degage Cafe says. With the opening of Degage Express, a new, high-end version of a cafeteria-style lunch spot next door to Maumee’s fine dining Degage Cafe, Jacobsen intends to apply his perfectionism to the creation of a good reuben, and a host of other creative sandwich concoctions. He is a stickler for quality, he says, no matter how many extra hours in the kitchen he puts in because of it. “A lot of the things we do are a lot more work, but I think it’s worth the effort.”
And that hard work is paying off. Jacobsen’s Degage Reuben meets all of his criteria: corned beef made in-house, sauerkraut from The Fremont Company in Fremont, Ohio, a slice of Swiss cheese and their secret recipe thousand island sauce on toasted marble rye from Wixey Bakery. It’s a delicious contender for the title of best reuben in Toledo.
Jacobsen is a passionate advocate of buying local, hence his emphasis on a farm-to-table concept at Degage Express, sourcing as many ingredients as he can from regional farms and food companies. That’s not to say going local has made Jacobsen subtle — “I think people’s palates have been dulled by eating at chain restaurants,” he says. He counters that trend by being a generous cook, creating food that is big, hearty, spicy — loud, in the best way. Take, for example, one of the creations that seems inspired by his late-night creative epiphanies (he keeps a notepad by his bed to jot them down): the It’s Not So Izzy Being So Cheesy Weezy sandwich. Its ingredients are as indulgent as its title: caramelized onions, local apples, applewood smoked bacon, and three kinds of cheese (cheddar, American and muenster) on toasted sourdough bread.
Bacon appears frequently on the menu — “I do have a thing for it,” Jacobsen confesses — in everything from his own bacon jam to the maple bacon gelato made especially for the restaurant by Ann Arbor’s Zingerman’s Creamery. The Skyler’s Butternut Squash soup, named for sous chef Skyler Stanton, has a satisfying eastern Indian flavor, and Jacobsen’s Bird, Apples and Pears salad is loaded with chicken, blue cheese and candied pecans atop a bed of lettuce.
All Jacobsen’s energies are focused on bringing real food back into people’s lunch breaks. “There are so many chain restaurants in the area,” Jacobsen says. “I think we’re losing touch with how things used to be.”
Degage Express, 301 River Rd., Maumee. 419-794-8205. Facebook page: Degage Express: Soups, Sandwiches and Such. Open Monday thru Saturday, 11am-7pm.
