MAY IT PLEASE THE PALATE: Music and food

When I cook, I love to listen to music. Greek music is a must for Greek dishes.

Last night, it was Indian Raga, as I tried my hand at Desi Chicken Curry. And if I’m barbequing, I’m apt to be blasting rock and roll.

I struggle more for the actual dining soundtrack. Sometimes I put on a “smooth jazz” playlist softly in the background, or something neo-classical. I don’t give a lot of thought to it.

This is something restaurants struggle with as well. At one restaurant I worked, we had live harp music (it was lovely). At another, it was the same recorded two-hour loop.

While diners might depart before hearing repeats, employees had the privilege of hearing, for example, Matthew Wilder’s “Ain’t Nothin’ Gonna Break-A My Stride” four times a shift.

Enter SonoGrub (SonoGrub.com). It is the brainchild of local musicians Aaron and Afa Dworkin, though calling them “musicians” hardly does them justice.

Aaron, a 2005 MacArthur Fellowship recipient, founded the Sphinx Organization. He describes it as a “multimillion-dollar award-winning non-profit that transforms lives through the power of diversity in the arts.” A former dean of the University of Michigan Music School, he remains as a tenured professor.

Afa became involved with Sphinx from the early days, eventually running the organization for the past five years as its president and artistic director. 

She also lectures on diversity, equity and inclusion and arts leadership at Roosevelt University in Chicago and UM.

While Aaron and Afa are both classically-trained violinists, Sonogrub celebrates not only their own unique diverse personal backgrounds, but their shared love of music and food of all types.

As they write: “We think of ways that music from the 60s pairs with vegan food, while Afro-Cuban jazz brings out the best in the Caribbean flavors we serve.  From Bach to Tupac, Peter, Paul and Mary, Italian Sanremo of the 80s and Etta James, our delicious life has always contained the best soundtracks.”

Sonogrub’s recent entry on “Moroccan Pebbles: A Fried Couscous” was paired with Simon Shaheen’s exotic and lively “Dance Mediterrania” and will no doubt transport you in your ears, stomach and, most importantly, your imagination.

2 cups bulk whole grain couscous
1 chopped red onion (medium)
6 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 T salt
3T smoked Spanish paprika
Ground pepper to taste
3 oz fresh basil (opal, if possible)
2 eggs, beaten
3 T spicy harissa
1 t cayenne or Aleppo pepper, ground
4 medium tomatoes
1 C cashews
½ C olive oil
Olive oil spray

1. Gently caramelize the onions and garlic in a deeper pan, until golden and beyond translucent, using about 50% of the allotted olive oil.

2. In a separate pan, cook the tomatoes with the harissa and all of the spices, using the remaining olive oil. Set both aside.

3. Make the couscous, using the 1×2 ratio with cold water (only boiling it for about 5 minutes, then set aside).  Most of the water should be gone and the couscous should be al dente.

4. Scramble the 2 eggs, adding the cashews, using the olive oil spray.

5. Heat the first mixture and add the tomato/harissa mix, the eggs, the couscous in one, giving everything generous turns and “frying” the mixture and making sure the flavors and ingredients are well mixed.

6. Garnish with the basil and serve hot

 Thank you, Aaron and Afa, for transforming the way we think about music and food — reminding us that it’s not just about the flavors, but the total experience.
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Nick Roumel is a principal with Nacht & Roumel PC, a firm in Ann Arbor specializing in employment and civil rights litigation. He has many years of varied restaurant and catering experience, has taught Greek cooking classes, and wrote a food/restaurant column for “Current” magazine in Ann Arbor. Follow him at Twitter or Facebook @nickroumel, or Instagram @nroumel. He is also a candidate for Washtenaw County Circuit Court Judge (nickforjudge.com).