Dining at East Village Place

Dining at East Village Place isn’t what you’d expect from an assisted living community.

In fact, we think you’ll be amazed. Do you expect your meals to be prepared by a skilled Chef in whites? Graciously served by friendly staff with impeccable attention to detail? How about cooking demonstrations and a place where “fresh and delicious” are always on the menu? This isn’t a dining room in a retirement community, this is an evening spent at one of your favorite restaurants!

Whether you prefer fine dining or quick and casual, one bite and you’ll notice the difference. But don’t take our word for it, tasting is believing. Join us for lunch or one of our monthly themed dinners and let Chef Ross show off his culinary skills.

Meet Chef Ross

From the humble beginnings as a dishwasher and busboy for an IHOP at the tender age of 13, Jeffrey Ross came up quickly through the ranks, serving as a cook and a trainer, and completely mastered the art of cooking breakfast! He took these skills to the Marriott Hotel as a Line Cook, where he got his first taste of making cuisine from scratch. From there he learned production and planning and became Lead Chef for two restaurants. From there he led the charge at Theodore’s, a fantastic private restaurant where he created the Italian Sausage Soup recipe shared with you here on this website! He then transitioned to a Radisson Hotel where he rose through the ranks from Sous Chef to Executive Chef and finally, Food & Beverage Director.

Whew! That’s a lot of cooking and fast-paced success! But after two years at East Village Place, he’s never looked back. In fact, he came here for the same reason our residents do – to improve his quality of life. According to Chef Ross, “Doing my best and serving great meals to our residents that they so look forward to and enjoy is the most fulfilling part of my job.” And we’re extremely glad to have him here at East Village Place.

Sweet Italian Sausage Soup

Yield: 5 quarts
Ingredients: Amounts:
Olive Oil: 2 Tablespoons
Chopped Garlic: 1 Teaspoon
Diced Onion: 8 Ounces
Diced Green Peppers: 6 Ounces
Diced Red Peppers: 6 Ounces
Bulk Italian Sweet Sausage: 2.5 Pounds
Elbow Macaroni: 12 Ounce Raw Weight
Beef Stock: 3.5 Quarts
Rinsed 74/40 Tomato Fillets: One Pound
Fresh Chopped Oregano: 1 Tablespoon
Fresh Chopped Basil: 1 Tablespoon
Fresh Chopped Italian Parsley: 1 Tablespoon
Fresh Rosemary: 1 Teaspoon
White Pepper: 1 Tablespoon

Method: Heat oil and add garlic, onion, & peppers. Sauté for 2-3 minutes and add Sausage meat. Sauté until sausage is cooked and then strain off excess fat and meat is finely broken up (I use a wire whip to break sausage into fine pieces like cooked ground beef). Return mix to heat and add the fresh spices and tomato fillets. (you can substitute dried spices but I prefer fresh) and mix well and sauté for 5 minutes. Add beef stock and white pepper to taste. Meanwhile boil off macaroni for 8 to 10 minutes in a separate pot and run under cold water to cool off when cooked. The soup should have a very hearty texture.

Add cooked macaroni to hot soup at time of service in small batches so the macaroni doesn’t get too soft and soak up the broth. Enjoy!