Mark Valenza has been a rock band drummer, an author and even ran the mail room at Jim Henson’s Muppet Mansion for 12 years.
That’s what his resume was like in 1999, when, at the age of 43, he attended the French Culinary Institute in New York City, to learn the techniques that would help him make a career of his lifelong passion of cooking.
Anyone who would like to taste the result of all that experience and training can head to Za restaurant at 147 West Delaware Ave. in Pennington, where Valenza serves his unique brand of “cross-cultural comfort food.”
Valenza, now a resident of Hopewell Borough, opened the restaurant 2006 in Pennington so he could work close to home. Together with brother and co-owner Chaz, they named it after the last syllable of their last name because he wanted to put their family stamp on the place without anyone thinking “Valenza” ran an Italian restaurant.
Not that there isn’t any Italian-inspired food to be had on Za’s eclectic menu, but it is quite different from what might be found at a typical Italian restaurant.
At Za, Italian influence might be found on a dish like Wienerschnitzel. The “cross-cultural comfort cuisine” version of the dish has Japanese breadcrumbs and prosciutto di parma instead of German sausage, thus rendering it a cross-cultural entree. It is similar in form to the original dish, but with a twist that makes it interesting.
That’s also what separates it from the similarly culture-blending ideas of New American cuisine, which Valenza said flat-out combines two dishes or even stacks them on top of one another. His own take on culture fusion is to substitute new ingredients into tried-and-true recipes.
“Basically, you take classic dishes and you play with them,” Valenza said.
There is a very heavy French influence in Valenza’s dishes, as would be expected from someone who studied classical French techniques at the FCA. The current special is Sole Bonne Femme Imperial, which is sole with crab meat poached in shallot, crimini mushroom and Riesling wine cream fumet served over saffron rice and broiled.
Another French item on the menu is the chateaubriand, beef filet, char-grilled medium rare, served with haricots verts, garlic roasted red bliss potatoes and caramelized onion sauce. The chateaubriand can be had for $19 on Sundays or as a $33 item that serves two the rest of the week.
Though Valenza has never traveled to the countries whose cuisine he remixes, he’s lived most of his life in New York City — a good place to pick up influences from any style of cooking in the world.
“What I’m doing here is a natural extension of being an American and living in New York City,” he said.
Valenza lived more of an interesting life in New York City than most people do.
He drummed for the British band “The The,” played at the famous CBGB punk rock club and even opened for Sting. His career as a writer consisted of writing a book in 1994 called “Baseball & Benevolence,” which is on sale at the front of the restaurant.
At 22, he got a day job at the mail room of Henson Productions and worked at the “Muppet Mansion” to support himself. But after 12 years, he grew tired of the rock and roll lifestyle.
“You hit 30 and you go, ‘all right, I’ve had enough of this,’” Valenza said.
For Valenza, it was natural to look to cooking as a second career. Other family members operated restaurants, and he was already a good cook. After graduating at the top of his class from the French Culinary Institute, Valenza was a chef at Nodo, the Frenchtown Inn and the Triumph Brewing Company.
Valenza said he opened his restaurant during a tough time for business, but strong local support has helped Za succeed. He said most of his customers come from within a 15-mile radius, including many residents of Princeton and Newtown, Pa.
Za seats 40 indoors and up to 88 in good weather with the outside seats.
The restaurant has roots now in the Pennington community. Za changes its menu four times a year to incorporate locally grown ingredients. Za has also contributed to community events like the chili cookoff, the March of Dimes and the Epicurean Palette at the Grounds for Sculpture.
So, what’s next for Valenza? He said he has something big planned for the Hopewell area, but isn’t saying what it is just yet.
Za is located at 147 West Delaware Ave. in Pennington and serves brunch/lunch 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., dinner 5 to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and supper 2 to 7 p.m. on Sundays. For more information, call (609) 737-4400.
Valenza,
