Let's Eat

Taste of the Southwest comes to South Jersey

August 20, 2008
By SUZANNE MARINO
Staff Writer

SOMERS POINT- Terrance French is from the Midwest where the cows are big and barbecue is serious business.
The classically trained chef studied at the Scottsdale Culinary Institute in Arizona with Austrian and Chinese master chefs and then honed his skills in Chicago, Texas and California before heading east.
"My wife and I came here for a wedding and fell in love with the area," French said. "I love the ocean and love to fish so we decided this would be a perfect place."
He and his wife, Wendy, opened Emma's Rotisserie, named for their daughter, in November 2006 bringing their brand of Southwestern flavor to Somers Point.
French is a stickler for freshness, whether it's a flat of tomatoes just delivered that afternoon from B.F. Mazzeo's he cut for tomato salad, to the onions he picked up at Santori's Market before he opened for the day.
"I like to buy locally," said French. "I buy from the local farms and markets every day. That's the best way. I buy from them; they buy from me; it is a friendly business environment and it makes me feel like I am back home where I always worked with the local farms."
French said the real secret to good barbecue is in the cooking. The sauce will put the finishing touch on a dish, but if it's not cooked slowly and at the proper heat, the meat will be tough.
Before it becomes a delicious pulled pork sandwich, the meat is slow cooked about 12 to 13 hours over a mix of apple and hickory wood.
"In the South that would be cooked over straight hickory wood, but I found that taste to be too strong for folks here, so I use a milder combination that still allows for the smoky flavor, but lets the taste of the meat to be the real flavor," the chef said.
French buys beef, pork, and chicken that is steroid free and uses no preservatives in his food.
"If it has 16 letters, it sure does not belong in the food I serve at Emma's," said French.
He has something else that adds a very special Southwest flavor and that is Poblano peppers instead of green bell peppers.
Built on the site of the former Chubby's Restaurant that was lost in a fire in 2004, Emma's is a popular take-out spot, but the place is set up for inside dining as well.
With a huge marble countertop resting on whisky barrels and plenty of stools around the table, it is perfect for groups. There are small tables around and picnic tables outdoors as well. Colorful artwork and a flat-screen TV with a set of long horns mounted on top add to the Southwestern flavor.
Asked what the customers ask for again and again, French said his wings are really popular, but so are the ribs.
"Our ribs are so tender the meat falls right from the bone," said Wendy French. "Our tacos are the biggest around; I really stuff them and there are no beans in there - it's all meat, all protein," added Terrance French.
The Kiki Burrito is loaded with meat and some cheese, garnished with a little more cheese and chopped Poblano peppers and onions. They sell rotisserie chicken, slow cooked just like the other offerings and French said they go through about 800 to 1,000 chickens a week.
There are no fries on the sidewinder menu at Emma's.
"I think there are probably enough french fries in the world without me adding to them," said French. "I am offering maybe things a little more health conscience. We have mashed potatoes instead of fries and fresh tomato salad, saut�ed squash or cucumber salad."
Emma's Rotisserie also does a big catering business.
"We get all kinds of calls and we can do our menu here or make whatever the customer wants," said French who added that they just did a wedding for 300 people with crab legs among the offerings.
"If someone calls with an order for 25 people it might take me a half hour, but if they call and have 100 guests I can do it, but it would be best to give at least a few days' notice," said the chef. "Whatever our customers want, we can do it."

Customer favorites
Black Canyon Baby Back Ribs ($11.99) half slab, ($21.99) full slab
Barbecue Thunderbird Wings (12 for $6.99, 25 for $12.99, 50 for $24.99, or 100 for $ 49.99). In mild, medium, or XXX burning hot sauce, never frozen, the wings are partially cooked and then flash grilled to order.
Barbecue Beef Brisket Sandwich Platter ($10.99). A generous and delicious tender pulled beef sandwich on a bun with a choice of two side dishes and cornbread.
Quesadilla ($8.99) Flat bread loaded with meat and cheese, topped with more cheese and finished on the grill. It is available in a choice of beef brisket, chicken, or pork and for an additional $3 available in lump crab.
Sauces ($6 pint or $12 quart). Emma's homemade slow-cooked sauces are available to use at home. There is the Original Q, Mesa Mustard, Sticky Whiskey, Sweet Thai Chili, Cranberry Orange and Asian Sesame.

If You Go
581 Ocean Heights Ave., Somers Point,
(at the corner of Ocean Heights and Bethel Road)
Eat in/take out/ delivery/ catering
(609) 601-0069
Cash and credit cards accepted
11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. seven days a week