Wednesday, January 07, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

CELEBRATING CONDIMENTS: Mr. Mustard

Barry Levenson's Mustard Museum's catalog features a Las Vegas theme

PHOTOS COURTESY MOUNT HOREB MUSTARD MUSEUM Barry Levenson dons a Vegas lounge comedian's guise in his mustard museum catalog. Barry Levenson, founder and curator of the Mount Horeb Mustard Museum, poses as Caesar, above, on the covers of the museum's catalogs. Barry Levenson does an Elvis impersonation. Levenson's wife, Patti, does similar duty as the Queen of Mustard on a playing card. Barry Levenson spoofs exercise ads to promote mustard.

Barry Levenson likes Las Vegas.

Barry Levenson likes mustard.

Barry Levenson has a decidedly offbeat sense of humor.

It's amazing how such diverse character traits can combine to synergistically create something that's greater than each trait alone.

But combine they do, in the form of both the Mount Horeb, Wis., Mustard Museum, of which Levenson is founder and curator, and the museum's current mail-order catalog, which features Levenson's parody of Las Vegas' entertainment universe.

There's Levenson dressed like Caesar standing in front of "Mustards Palace" where "Wayne Mustard" and "Saline Dijon" are appearing. There's a jumpsuited Levenson in full-Elvis mode. There's Levenson as a lounge comedian telling corny Vegas-type, mustard-themed jokes.

It's all merely the latest incarnation of Levenson's continuing love affair with one of America's favorite condiments.

Levenson explained during a recent telephone interview that his work as the museum's chief mustard officer actually is the product of bitter disappointment.

Levenson, 55, is a former assistant attorney general for the state of Wisconsin. More to the point, he's an avid baseball fan -- his book about World Series games that have gone the distance will be available in March -- with a lifelong devotion to the Boston Red Sox.

Remember how the Red Sox were holding a two-run, two-out lead in the 10th inning of what could have been the final game of the 1986 World Series? So does Levenson.

"I popped open a bottle of champagne and started celebrating," Levenson recalled. "And civilization as we knew it ended with Bill Buckner."

A fielding error by the Red Sox first baseman set up a seventh World Series game that the Red Sox ultimately lost.

After that loss, "I couldn't sleep," Levenson recalled. "I was so despondent."

Seeking to kill time, Levenson said, "I went to an all-night grocery in Madison, Wis., and I was walking up and down the aisles. I said, `This is crazy. It's 2:30 in the morning, I've got to go to work in the morning, and I can't sleep. I'm depressed. Why don't I just get a hobby collecting something?' "

As fate would have it -- Levenson swears this is all true -- Levenson happened to be walking down the condiment aisle. And, he said, "it hit me: I should collect jars of mustard. A voice said, `If you collect us, they will come.' "

And he did.

"I stayed on at the attorney general's office for five more years, because mustard was just a hobby," said Levenson, who once argued a case before the U.S. Supreme Court with a bottle of mustard from a Hyatt hotel in his pocket. "I knew, though, that things were going to take a different direction."

And they did. In 1991, Levenson left his job and opened the Mount Horeb Mustard Museum, which not only offers an extensive selection of exotic mustards by mail but houses displays of mustards and mustard-related accessories for visitors to enjoy.

Levenson, who grew up in Boston, said he actually is a lifelong fan of mustard.

"I used to go to Fenway and have my Fenway Frank loaded with mustard," he said, acknowledging that nostalgia is part of mustard's appeal.

"I think there's just something about going to a baseball game and holding up a hot dog with a big squiggle of mustard, looking at the green grass and the blue sky," he said. "It brings out almost a primordial sensation in you: This is the way it's supposed to be."

But, Levenson continued, "there are so many different flavors of mustard, too. If you dig into it, you find a lot of great things. So I've just been on kind of a quest to learn more and more (about mustard) and get people to like it.

"A lot of people say, `I don't like mustard.' Well, what have you had besides original yellow mustard? When people taste it and discover all the things you can do with mustard, it's far more than just putting it on a hot dog, far more than just dunking pretzels."

Mustard is "a great base for dressing," Levenson said. "I love it in sauces. It's good as a glaze in grilling, to bring out a lot of flavors. And there's virtually no calories and no fat, so it's a freebie in the diet."

Levenson said the museum's collection includes about 4,000 mustards from around the world and about 130 old mustard tins.

"People really are surprised," he said. "There are some great old pieces. We've got an exhibit on mustard and medicine, with a lot of old mustard plaster containers. We've got several showcases of antique mustard pots."

Museum visitors can learn about mustard, mustard folklore and mustard's role in popular culture. They can participate in mustard tastings, too.

"A lot of people are very surprised when they start to taste some mustards," Levenson said. "They'll say, `What do you do with it?' and they get hooked on it."

The museum also is the home of Poupon U., Levenson's tongue-in-cheek poke at academia. (Official cheer: "Who needs Harvard, who needs Yale? At Poupon U. you'll never fail! Stanford, Princeton, big mistake! Poupon U.'s a piece of cake!")

Visitors can purchase Poupon U. degrees -- including "Juris Dufus" and "Doctor of Diddley Squat" -- T-shirts, mugs and even a toilet seat bearing the whimsical university's yellow seal. Sometimes, Levenson added, "we'll get people to sing the Poupon U. fight song, and people have a great time with that."

How did Las Vegas come to be the theme of a mustard catalog? It is, Levenson said, nothing less than a tribute to a city he has come to enjoy.

Actually, he said, "I'd never been to Las Vegas until about five years ago."

Levenson and his wife had just gotten married, "and we had very little time because it was the busy mail-order season," he said. "She said, `Let's go to Las Vegas for a honeymoon.'

"I wasn't thrilled. I had a preconceived notion about it. But we had such a wonderful time there. The food was sensational. I'm a foodie, and, boy, some of the food we had there was some of the best food we've ever had."

Thus his tribute, which also includes variations of the city's famous welcome sign and photos of Levenson and his wife -- Mrs. Mustard, to museum regulars -- as face cards on a 21 deck.

Levenson obviously is having a great time as the guy who surely must be America's leading mustard advocate.

Mail-order business notwithstanding, "I don't even think of myself as a marketer," he said. "I just love this."

The gourmet food business "tends to be stuffy, and I don't like that," Levenson said. "I want what is called `gourmet food' to be accessible to people.

"When you come to the mustard museum, sure, you can taste expensive mustards and love it, but you're going to have a good time. If people don't want to buy anything, fine, but they'll have a great time."

Here are a few of the different ways in which mustard can be used, courtesy of "The Culinary Mustard: Favorite Recipes from the Mount Horeb Mustard Museum."

The cookbook, as well as the mustards used in the recipes, are available through the Mount Horeb Mustard Museum's Web site (www.mustardmuseum.com) or by calling 1-800-438-6878.

However, feel free to substitute similar mustards from other producers.

CHOCOLATE MUSTARD BROWNIES

2 tablespoons Noyo Reserve Merlot 'n Chocolate mustard

2 teaspoons instant espresso powder

1/2 pound butter or margarine

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate

2 cups brown sugar, packed

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

4 eggs

2 tablespoons vanilla

1 cup chocolate chips

Sifted powdered sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Dissolve espresso powder in the mustard and set aside.

Melt butter with chocolate. Cool slightly. Add brown sugar to chocolate mixture and blend well. Add flour and mix well. Add eggs and mix until blended.

Stir in vanilla. Add mustard/coffee mixture and mix well until blended. Fold in chocolate chips.

Spread in greased 9-by-13-inch pan. Bake 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Cool and cut into 32 squares. Dust with sifted powdered sugar.

Makes 32 squares.

Note: Noyo Reserve Chocolate Fudge Mustard or Orange Espresso Mustard can be substituted.

MUSTARD PASTA

4 tablespoons Laurent de Clos Whole Grain Dijon

2 tablespoons Laurent du Clos Dijon Mustard

1 egg yolk

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 cups semolina flour

1 teaspoon salt

7 tablespoons water

Combine all ingredients except water in a mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Add water slowly until the dough comes together, then keep mixing until the dough is smooth and shiny.

Allow dough to rest at least 45 minutes before rolling out and cutting. Cook as you would any other homemade pasta, in salted, boiling water, for a few minutes.

Makes 1 pound of dough.

Note: A bold sauce is suggested for the pasta.

PEPPERED STEAK WITH

TWO MUSTARD CREAM SAUCE

2 boneless strip steaks, about 10 ounces each

3 tablespoons Slimm & Nunne Maple Peppercorn Mustard

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon dry white wine or dry vermouth

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon Delouis Fils Grainy Dijon Mustard

Trim the steaks and spread 2 tablespoons of the Maple Peppercorn Dijon mustard onto each steak, covering both sides of the steaks. (If desired, the steaks can rest, covered in the refrigerator, for up to four hours.)

Heat a saute pan and add the oil. Sear the steaks on both sides and cook to desired degree of doneness. Remove steaks to a warm platter.

Pour off any excess oil or fat from the saute pan. Over high heat, add the wine or vermouth, scraping the pan. Add the heavy cream and boil vigorously, scraping the pan continuously, until the cream is reduced by about half. (The cream should be thick enough to coat the spoon.)

Remove from heat and stir in the rest of the Maple Peppercorn Dijon and the Delouis Grainy Dijon mustards. Spoon the sauce over the steaks and serve immediately.

Makes 2 servings.