Wags boasts Midwest favorites

Ross Ribaudo answered the call.

He owns Wags Family Restaurant, 4026 E. Grant Road, and makes a mean pork tenderloin sandwich at his "Iowa style" eatery. (We also got some recommendations for the pork tenderloin sandwich at the Ajo Cafe, 3132 E. Ajo Way.)

Ribaudo bought Wags from original owners Elby and Diana Thompson six years ago. Elby Thompson died about a year-and-a-half ago, and Diana Thompson still works at the restaurant. "She was going to stay two weeks and has now been here six years," Ribaudo said.

Wags features hearty food, especially breakfasts with sausage and gravy and creamed chipped beef on toast. And in keeping with the Iowa undercurrent, pork plays a featured role on the menu, with apple-smoked bacon, ham and, of course, the pork tenderloin sandwich.

Wags captured the public imagination a few years back with the television commercial in which Elby Thompson proclaimed the vastness of Wags' griddle cakes with the catch phrase "Pancakes as big as your head, Godzilla!"

The griddle cakes are, indeed, as big as your head and maybe even bigger, Ribaudo said. He isn't quite sure where the "Godzilla!" part came from, but it stuck.

What other Iowa or Midwest specialties do you offer? "We have what we call a Turbo, which is a loose meat sandwich, like a Maid-Rite, but Maid-Rite is a brand name. It's basically a sloppy Joe without the sauce, but with spices. It's served on a hamburger bun with mustard, pickle and onions. People come from all over for it."

So what's the deal with the pancakes? They're actually griddle cakes and larger and thinner than pancakes. "They're not round, they're kind of squiggly on the edges — they look like a cartoon Rugrat kid's head. Some people roll them up and eat them like a tube; some put eggs in them. The griddle cakes are always the same but never the same size twice. People like when we crisp the edges up nice."

What's your favorite thing in your kitchen? "My stove. I have a 75-year-old stove, a Wolf Junior. It's an undersize restaurant stove. It looks like the old days, and it's fantastic. It has 75 years of seasoning — I can't make my pancakes on a different stove, that's what makes them so unique. Every day you cook more things on it and, the whole flat top, the metal kind of opens its pores when it's heated, and the flavor goes in there like a great old cast-iron pan."

What's in your fridge at home? "I'm 100 percent Italian Sicilian, so there's always sauce in my fridge and some kind of macaroni. Italian-wise, I think I make the best eggplant parmesan in the world. It's why my wife, Susie, married me. Looks fade after a while, but good food remains."

Chef du Jour

Bracciola 

u 1 large flank steak

u 1 tablespoon basil

u 1 tablespoon oregano

u 1 tablespoon parsley

u 1 teaspoon salt

u 1 teaspoon pepper

u 1 teaspoon sugar or Splenda

u 1/2 cup grated romano cheese

u 1 clove garlic, finely chopped

u spaghetti sauce to cover (use your favorite)

Tenderize flank steak with mallet

With steak laid out flat, sprinkle it evenly with all spices and cheese. Start from small end and roll steak as tightly as possible. When rolled, tie with string on each end and middle. Immerse rolled bracciola in your favorite simmering spaghetti sauce, and cover. Simmer at a very low boil for 2 hours minimum, stirring occasionally. The longer it simmers, the more tender it becomes. If sauce thickens too much, add some water or red wine. When the meat is cooked, remove from sauce, cut off strings and slice into 1/2-inch thick rounds.

Cover with sauce and serve with your favorite pasta.

This is an old family recipe provided by Ross Ribaudo.