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“It takes about three years of living in Rochester to hit your groove. At some point around that point it hits you – this is an amazing city.” At about five years into his most recent stint living in Rochester, Stephen Rees certainly appears to have hit his groove.

I met Stephen for a cappuccino at Joe Bean on a sunny Tuesday a few weeks ago. We hadn’t seen each other in a few months, so I welcomed this opportunity to catch up with him while interviewing him for this blog post.

Stephen and I worked together over the winter of 2011/2012 at a local nonprofit. Every Tuesday I’d eagerly await the moment that I would see my tall, lanky, handsome friend skipping down the long hallway ready to divert us from our tasks for a solid hour of banter, gossip and occasionally an office dance party. I love spending time with Stephen for many reasons, but his ability to make even the dullest of situations fun is easily one of his best qualities.

As early as 8 years old Stephen started “playing restaurant” at home and he has never stopped. He loves everything about the restaurant business: the food, the environment and especially the customers. One day he plans to own his own restaurant and I plan on being his most regular customer.

To know Stephen, is to know his passion for food. He started cooking at age 15, and during his senior year of high school at Wheatland-Chili he took a baking class at BOCES, that led him into the competition baking circuit. He made it all the way to the national competition, where he won and earned a scholarship to attend the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) after high school. His culinary career has taken him through the Berkshires, New York City and Colorado before landing him back home in Rochester, where he worked as the General Manager at Lento for three years, and now as a server at both Good Luck and Lovin’ Cup (where he even has a drink named after him – the Stephen Wonder). Stephen has called The Neighborhood of the Arts his home for the past five years, but he will be moving downtown in a few weeks to live with his partner Blair.

When Stephen isn’t busy serving customers at two of Rochester’s busiest restaurants, he is busy exploring Rochester neighborhoods, eateries, and parks. He thinks that they key to taking full advantage of city living is to create a daily routine that features all of your favorite things. One of his favorite routines is to get up in the morning, ride his bike to the conservatory and lay in the grass reading a book, before heading to Starry Nights for coffee.

Now that late summer is upon us, Stephen is in full “hoarding” mode as he calls it. He tries to maximize the short growing season of local produce that our area farms provide, and preserves dozens of fruits and vegetables to enjoy over the long Rochester winter. He is a regular Saturday morning Public Market-goer and has his market plan down to a science. Right now he is freezing berries; canning apricots, peaches, carrots and zucchini; pickling cucumbers, okra and even a cow’s tongue! He describes this ambitious feat as a full 10 day process that includes, slicing, massaging, boiling and pickling steps-but assures me that the final product is well-worth the efforts creating a tender, delicious meat, akin to a lean beef brisket. That might be a little ambitious for most people to attempt, but with Stephen, this an average weekly project.

So where does a professionally trained chef who works at one of Rochester’s top restaurants go to eat, drink and unwind after a long night at work? Stephen was more than happy to share his hidden spots.

A typical after hours for some of Rochester’s finest chefs, bartenders and servers often starts with enjoying a late night cocktail at their home bar. For Stephen this is usually a Tom Collins at Good Luck during the summer or anything with Whiskey as the weather turns colder. Next he likes to meet up with friends at Cure, Revelry or Skylark and make his way towards either Tap & Mallet or Lux for last call.

Stephen’s Favorites:

Parks: The Eastman House for strolling, napping and late night wine picnics; Highland Park for all of its seemingly endless secret hideaways.

Downtown Walk: Walk from Broad Street to High Falls and look back at the beautiful cityscape.

Beer Bar: Tap & Mallet

Dive Bar: Marshall Street Bar & Grill

Wine Bar: Veritas

Best Place for a Quiet Evening: Sitting out on the patio of Tap & Table with a glass or Rose or a Pernot and pretending to be a little old French man overlooking the Seine.

Meal: Dim Sum at the New Cantonese House. This hidden gem can be found on W. Henrietta Road and Commerce Drive and has some of the best Dim Sum he has ever eaten. Make sure to get the dish with the big claw and the ball shaped dumpling-but slow down, it’s going to be HOT.

Dive Eatery: Itacate, the taco place located within the Arrowmart gas station on Buffalo Road in North Chili. Seriously. They also now have a sit-down restaurant in Penfield as well.

As usual, Stephen has inspired me to take advantage of the daily city life, create a daily routine that incorporates all of my favorite things and love each moment. If you see Stephen strolling, biking or even skipping through the city, keep an eye on where he is heading. You can be assured its a place worth visiting too.

[Featured photo credit: Gerry Szymanski.]
Read other featured People in Our Neighborhoods:
Week One: Alyssa of North Winton Village
Week Two: Frank of Monroe Village