©2006 The Chestnut Hill Local

Ex-personal chef to Eagles’ owner cooking for us
by LEN LEAR

KC’s Alley is across the street from the Ambler Train Station. (Photos by Michael Bedford)

Tony Vara, 37, executive chef at KC’s Alley, 10 West Butler Pike in Ambler, grew up in Holland, Bucks County, but he was inspired by his grandfather, Frank Vara, Sr., who owned a restaurant in South Philly called Café Roma. Tragically, when Tony was just eight years old in 1977, his beloved grandfather was killed by a drunk driver.

Following in his granddad’s footsteps, Tony jumped ‘feat first’ into the restaurant business. At the age of 14, he was already a dishwasher in the kitchen at the George School, later working at three area country clubs.

Tony eventually graduated from Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island, one of the nation’s top culinary schools. At one point he was executive chef for a food services corporation, and for four years (2001-2005) he worked for Peachtree & Ward, one of the area’s most prestigious catering firms. Thanks to a fin-tastic recommendation from a previous employer, Tony was also hired by Philadelphia Eagles’ owner, Jeffrey Laurie, to be his personal chef, a job he held from 1998 to 2000.

Tony Vara used to cook for the rich and famous, but now he cooks for ordinary, middle-class folks.

You might say the job was crumbelievable. “I was given a season ticket to the Eagles’ games,” he said. “I had to feed Georges Perrier because he is Jeffrey’s friend. I was so nervous before cooking for Georges the first time because of his reputation, but he said he loved the food.”

Tony was definitely as busy as Kirstie Alley’s pizza delivery man. Jeffrey Laurie would throw parties for as many as 300 people at his Main Line mansion, next to the Merion Cricket Club. While at Peachtree and Ward, “We had a staff of 30 people,” said Vara, “and you might serve as many as 40 racks of lamb. One party cost $60,000, and you might have 30 parties in one weekend. We (several other chefs and Tony) did one party for 600 people at the 30th Street Train Station.

“I might get a $200 tip from one person, but on the other hand, the money was inconsistent. We catered parties for people like Mr. Kimmel, the man the Kimmel Center was named for, and for the Philadelphia Orchestra. I enjoyed every minute of it, but the hours were just too much, up to 16 hours a day. That’s what finally made me leave.”

For two years Vara was also executive chef at Rosemont College, but two years ago he took over as top toque at KC’s Alley, which was opened in 1999 by Kevin Clib, 41, a native of Cheltenham. Kevin ran the kitchen at KC’s, offering mostly salads and sandwiches until Vara took over. Today the menu offers vastly more variety, from snack foods to a New York strip steak, seasoned and grilled and plated with a crabcake.

“Sales have doubled in the past year, thanks to Tony,” said the owner. “We would normally put out three plates in the kitchen window before, and now we often have nine or 10 plates in the ‘hot’ window, and we have a ‘cold’ window also. We used to sell six racks of ribs a week, and now we sell an average of 17 full racks a week. Our check average was $8 or $9, and now it is $14”

(In addition to being a restaurateur, Clib is a “Deadhead.” He has seen 167 Grateful Dead concerts in person. At one time he and his wife followed the Grateful Dead tour from city to city. He even named one of his four children Matthew Garcia Clib in honor of Jerry Garcia, the late lead singer of the Grateful Dead.)

KC’s offers a half-dozen hot sandwiches, like the chunky chicken cheesesteak, from $6.95 to $8.95; five cold sandwiches from $7.25 to $7.50; a children’s menu; a half-dozen burgers, from $6.95 to $7.95; 11 appetizers and snacks like nachos, wings and chili, from $4.75 to $11.95; at least a dozen salads, from $4.25 to $12; 10 wraps from $6.75 to $8.95. Beverage-wise, there are two dozen bottled beers, six draft beers; just eight mass-marketed wines; and lots of house cocktails and specialty martinis.

There is a Happy Hour Monday through Friday, 5 to 7 p.m., and Saturday, 4 to 6 p.m., with imported beers for $3 and domestics for $2. Every day there are drink specials, such as the $2 domestic bottled beers on Mondays, 9 to 11 p.m.; $5 martinis on Fridays, 7 p.m. to midnight; and $2 domestic drafts all day Sunday. Every day there are also food specials, such as the half-price burgers on Mondays, the $5 meals on Tuesdays and the “Kids Eat Free” breakfast on Sundays.

On Wednesdays, “Mexican Fiesta Day,” one excellent buy is the huge plate of Cajun chicken with roasted corn salsa and a subtle tequila/lime vinaigrette for $8.95. KC’s also has one of the best barbecue rib entrees in the area. They are not the meatiest you’ve ever had, but the barbecue sauce is divine. A full rack is $14.95, and it’s served with onion rings and cole slaw. (If you can finish the entire rack, you may be placed under arrest by the cholesterol police.)

Desserts are not made on the premises, but the two we tasted were ridiculolusly decadent and a real ‘slurprise’: the “Dark Side of the Moon,” a rich fudge cake soaked with coffee liqueur and filled with chocolate mousse and covered with pure dark chocolate ($3.95); and “Jim Beam Banana Supreme,” layers of fudge and banana-nut cake soaked with Jim Beam bourbon and filled with banana and chocolate mousse ($3.95).

The first floor at KC’s has nine TVs, which are tuned in to sporting events. The second floor, for dining only, is much more quiet and is non-smoking. For more information, call 215-628-3300 or visit www.kc-alley.com.