WINE STEWARD'S WAYS 'The art of table'

Angus O'Hara's job is not easily defined, but his goal is to make each diner's experience unique.
By LAURA S. MEYN
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
ANGUS O'HARA DOESN'T have an official title in his new position at the Avalon Inn and its adjacent restaurant, The Chophouse, but the property's owner, John Kouvas, calls O'Hara "a part of the family ... here to help with a little of this and a little of that." Says O'Hara, "That is exactly what I do and why I am here." Perhaps it's so difficult to narrowly define O'Hara's role because he brings an unusual range of talents to his new job. O'Hara moved to the area only a month ago from Chicago, where he worked at times as a sommelier (wine steward), as a chef, and even as a professional opera singer.
In his managerial role at The Chophouse (formerly Opus 21), O'Hara draws from his colorful background to help create what he calls "the art of table."
"We don't have it in this day and age," he says. "We eat in our cars, over the sink, on the go." But when you go to The Chophouse or Ristorante Allora (located inside the Avalon Inn), O'Hara points out, "your table is uniquely your own ... my goal is to make it the very best that it can be." Guests can draw from his food and wine expertise, or on a very special occasion, perhaps even be audience to a song.
"My singing has surprised a lot of people. I do not wish it to be my calling card nor something that is expected of me when people come to the Avalon Inn," says O'Hara. "If the situation is right, and I am able, then we will see what will happen."
Varied background
It would indeed be a treat to be there on such a night. O'Hara's singing background includes six years with the Chicago Lyric Opera, an experience he calls "amazing, profitable and exhausting." His most memorable role was that of Canio in Leoncavallo's "I Pagliacci," sung for the Chicago Park district and the mayor's office at the Theater on the Lake in Chicago.
And O'Hara's background in the restaurant industry, particularly as a sommelier, is impressive, too. "I was fortunate enough to take the position of house sommelier at Symphony Center," says O'Hara. "I also had the distinct honor to be the house sommelier for the First Family of Wine Consortium in Chicago."
But it was the pull of family that prompted O'Hara to take his new position at the Avalon Inn. His wife, originally from Hubbard, missed home.
And the couple wanted their 2-year-old son to know his grandparents.
Though he admits that on occasion he misses the convenience of big city life, O'Hara says it's the people who make a place special, adding: "I am very happy to be here in this area."
He's there to help
O'Hara's down-to-earth attitude toward his work is something patrons of The Chophouse will appreciate. "A sommelier (or 'cork dork,' as my wife calls me) needs to remember one thing," he says. "It is not what he or she knows that is important, but how they can help the patron augment their experience."
And what about the food? O'Hara characterizes The Chophouse offerings as "simplified and strengthened" since its days as Opus 21, noting the menu's focus on steak. "Angus beef is featured with a boldness and simplicity that rivals anything that I have ever experienced," he says.
XFor reservations call (330) 856-2121.