friday, September 8, 1978
daily nebraskan
page 19
arts and entertainment
Fair food frequently far from palate pleasing delight
By Ben T. Shomshor
The fare at the fair often is less than fair.
Though many of us long have expected this to be the
case, I ventured forth last Tuesday with anticipatory
indigestion and a very hesitant spouse -all in the greater
interest of students who will go forth this weekend to
ply the young ladies on their arms with such indelicacies
as corn dogs and cotton candy.
food review
Since it presumably is impossible for anyone to try all
of the concessions available at this year's Nebraska State
Fair, I was preceded by starving hordes of pre-pubescent
gourmands in the guise of the Baker Street Irregulars;
the cause of their irregularity is now known.
Armed with their recommendations about the "good"
places to eat, and wisely avoiding the same, this writer
began what was surely to be a trek through the Valley
of Death.
Wide variety
Surprisingly, things are not so bad as expected. A wide
variety of food, much of it competently prepared, is
offered to the fair-goer. Those without a sense of adven
ture can find the familiar menus of Kentucky Fried
Chicken and Taco John's. Hungry exhibitors enjoy whole
some dinners at Dumpling's and the Fair Cafe, and public
spirited folks desiring a decent burger will find plenty of
concession booths operated by churches and various ser
vice organizations.
All of the concessionaries I talked with were proud of
the quality of food and service they provided. In the
case of a Midwest Concessions Corn Dog Stand that didn't
mean they actually would eat the product they sold, but
they assured me that they simply did not care for hot
dogs that much. Since that was my first, and hopefully
last, experience with a corndog, I fully agreed. This tra
ditional fair item is edible, but the thick and slightly
greasy batter suffocating a bland hot dog is not one of
America's great contributions to the culinary world.
Volunteer operations
The Harris-Fraley Post 131 of the VFW was character
istic of the small organizational operations with workers
volunteering their time and talents. Invariably, I find
myself more impressed with such stands than I do with
the commercial operations. Apparently many other folks
do also, for John Colborn, the manager of the VFW stand
said the customers return year after year. Open since
1946, this stand, and others like it, have built a state
wide reputation. Try the cheeseburger for 85 cents.
Beer is on sale at the fair this year for the first time.
Budweiser and Falstaff are poured at two locations, the
Fair Cafe and the Grandstand for $1.00 per 16 oz. glass.
For many this seems to be a refreshing way to rest one's
feet, even if they choose to stand through three or four
beers.
There is another aspect of food at the fair which all
should avail themselves of the opportunity to see. As an
agricultural state", Nebraska is important in the produc
tion of food. While we tend to think of food as the
finished product, the state fair offers one the chance to
see and learn about food at a much earlier stage in the
production process.
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Minister, family become closer running pizza business
By Peg SheWrick
Everyone talks about the decaying fam
ily unit, but no one ever does anything
about it.
No one, that is, except Kal Knudson.
"I feel that I neglected my family for
eighteen years," Knudson said. So I de
cided to take a leave of absence from my
profession."
Knudson was a minister in the United
Church of Christ.
"I feel that the family unit is impor
tant in the stability of our country," says
Knudson. To prove it, he undertook a
totally new lifestyle. Knudson and his
family now own and run Pontillo's Pizzeria
'1246 Q St.).
The big change came after years of
Irving the church. He had gone through
college and the seminary (where he earned
his Master of Divinity) and was securely
titled in his position as minister in Center
"e. S.D. But the fall of 1977 found
Knudson and son Kent in Tucson, Ariz.
two and a half months of restaurant
training.
Childhood dream
"Ever since I was a child, I thought
h would be nice to own a restaurant,"
Knudson said. "I'm sort of fulfilling a
childhood dream, and unbeknownst to
me, my oldest son was also thinking
about the restaurant business. So I didn't
have to talk him into anything"
After a brief start in Pocatello, Idaho,
the family found its way to Lincoln, where
Knudson signed on as manager for a local
eatery. Through his brother, the family
became acquainted with a pizza place in
Minneapolis owned by the Pontillos.
Impressed with the restaurant's pro
duct and motif, the Knudsons arranged to
open another pizzeria like it in Lincoln.
It appealed to them for a number of
reasons, not the least of which was that
it was family-owned and family-operated.
It had "family feelings we liked,"
Knudson said.
Family builders
The family orientation influenced not
only the business arrangements but the
carpentry on the building the pizzeria
would occupy. Knudson and his sons, did
the wood work themselves with no
experience. His wife and daughters also
helped with the interior. Converting the
cinderblock of the former Hong Kong
Pizza King to the current wood-encased
exterior and interior was "eye-opening."
Knudson said he takes great pride in his
family's accomplishment.
The restaurant has been open four
months. Has the effort to pull the family
closer worked?
"Definitely," sals Kal. "Hey, it's gotta
be closer when you're working together
almost 24 hours a day."
Work together
The entire family has helped to make a
go of the new way of life. Knudson's wife
Darlene, with degrees in elementary and
secondary education, also took a leave of
absence from her profession. The two
oldest sons, Kent and Kevin, are partners
with their parents in the ownership of
the restaurant and have moved into the
family home.
Knudson said he thinks the result is a
closer relationship, both physically and
emotionally, for the family.
"It's amazing," says Darlene. "We
haven't had one argument ... We do things
together."
Each member of the family (including
high school student Darla and 14-year-old
Kelly has a job in the pizzeria. "It's been
such a beautiful thing to me to watch them
each develop their own expertise,"
Knudson said. His own forte is public re
lations "I open the door for people and carry
out pizzas," he said.
"He likes to sit and talk v. ith the cus
tomers anyway," explains Darlene.
According to Darlene, her husband is
the supervisor, the one everyone asks
when questions come up.
"That's because I have this whole back
log of restaurant experience ... I ate at
them so much when I was goinp (o
school," Knudson said.
He still is working part-time in ihc
ministry, and he expects to return Jo ti ..?
church full-time. But he will contim.-.- at
Pontillo's "on the periphery." The family
will still run the restaurant, and expansion
appears possible.
"It's interesting to me the number of
students who have remarked to me how
important they feel the family operation
is," Knudson said.
Humor best friend
And it's interesting to observe the
number of customers who enjoy chatting
with Kal. "I think humor is man's best
friend, and not his dog," he explains.
"I try to bring a little joy and happiness
into the lives of the people I meet, and
I've received a lot of satisfaction in the
restaurant business just doing that.
There've been a lot of customers who
thought I was crazy. But that don't
matter."
