March 3, 2010 - 684 words
Middle Eastern fare comes to the Square
MIKE NEUMANN - The Woodstock Independent
 |
Mike Neumann Leslie Cook prepares a foule plate at her vegetarian eatery, Expressly Leslie. Cook opened the location at 110 S. Johnson St. on Halloween after serving her specialties out of a trailer during the Woodstock Farmers Market the past two seasons. | Leslie Cook has traded in her restaurant on wheels and an Algonquin location for a permanent space in the Woodstock Square Mall, where she has operated Expressly Leslie for the past four months.
When she first started the business several years ago, Cook served up her Middle Eastern specialties right out of a trailer she parked at festivals, farmers markets and fairs.
"The Woodstock Farmers Market was my favorite (location to sell)," said Cook, an Algonquin resident. "I would be parked across the street and just think, 'That would be the perfect location.'"
As luck would have it, the former sandwich shop located in the space at 110 S. Johnson St. was closing right around the same time she began looking for a permanent space on the Square. On Halloween, Expressly Leslie opened its second permanent location, the other having opened at Joe Caputo & Sons Fruit Market in Algonquin about a year prior. Cook said the success of the Woodstock location was immediate, and that staffing the Algonquin location and the trailer became impossible, leading her to close both to focus on Woodstock.
"I just kind of sensed that Woodstock was receptive to the kind of foods I do," Cook said, noting, however, that even she was a bit surprised at how quickly business has taken off.
Expressly Leslie serves up an array of vegetarian foods, including but not limited to hummus, three soups daily, salads, pita pockets and sampler platters. She is particularly proud of her foule -- pronounced "fool" -- which is an Egyptian street food favorite consisting of a mixture of fava beans seasoned with garlic, lemon and cumin. It is eaten for breakfast or lunch and can be served hot or cold.
Cook said she recently perfected her foule recipe almost by necessity. When she opened Expressly Leslie, she did so without the ability to fry falafel, due to the cost for the proper frying equipment. Cook said she recently sold her trailer and will be purchasing the equipment in the near future.
"'Challenge' is a really good word for it," Cook said when asked if it was difficult opening a Middle Eastern eatery without one of the more popular dishes on the menu. While challenging, she said customers have been more than willing to try new foods, which is usually all it takes, she said.
"Usually once people try it, they really, really like it," Cook said.
While she understands the demand for falafel, Cook said she would be just as happy to serve more foule, as it accomplishes one of her greatest goals of offering healthy dining options.
"I really love it," she said, laughing. "I'd just as soon not do the frying."
Following the theme of healthy eating, Cook serves smoothies made with no added sugars or sweeteners. Instead, she uses fruits or carrots to balance out the flavors. Seeing customers enjoy and discover the healthy dishes is "incredibly gratifying," said Cook.
While the first few months were spent feeling out the customer base and testing the waters, Cook noted that she has several plans for the future, notably ideas to help speed up the ordering process. She hired two employees, Lisa Jacobsen and Betty Keepin, to expedite customer wait times. A salad bar approach, which she hopes to institute in the near future, will allow customers to build their own sandwiches and pitas and should help keep the line moving, Cook said.
In addition to falafel, Expressly Leslie will begin serving pita pizzas in the near future. Even with the new offerings, foule will remain a specialty on the menu, and an "April Foule Day" promotion is being planned for sometime next month. Cook plans to dress up the dining area, located in the mall, to encourage people to eat their dishes at the location. Seating also will be available outside as the weather warms up, she said.
"I can do a lot more here," Cook said of the permanent location. Even so, the focus continues to be placed on the food, she said. "It's beautiful, it's healthy, it's delicious, it's well-seasoned and it's vegetarian friendly."
|
Advertisement:
|
|
