Faces Lounge
March 23rd, 2010
Big hearts and flavors prove that great things do come in small packages. Faces Lounge defies the idea that size matters
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There are very few places that are so tiny, but as good as Faces Lounge. The southern hospitality and smells of cajun catfish make this bar feel like a home.
In fact, if you call ahead, owner Ernest Hughes is happy to serve you anything you want, family style, even though they don't have a dinner menu. He calls it "Party of 5" because you'll probably need that many people to finish one of his wife's pecan pies. "I love to cook and I love to impress people by providing them with food they normally couldn't find," said Ernest.
Ernest definitely loves a challenge. A cooking friend of his once mentioned how good his mother's lasagna was. Never one to back down, Ernest challenged his friend's mother to a cooking contest even though he had never made or eaten lasagna. This may have been his strength because he substituted ingredients he was familiar with for things he had never used, like ricotta cheese, and ended up winning the tasting contest.
His knack for blending cultures and ingredients in his food reflects his upbringing. The Hughes family is from South Carolina but Ernest spent his teen years in Philadelphia before settling down in Salt Lake City with his wife of 41 years, Gloria. He started cooking when he was 8 years old to help take care of his younger siblings because both of his parents worked. To this day he is still expected to make pancakes from scratch when he visits family members.
So it's no surprise that in addition to the catfish and traditional southern BBQ on the lunch menu there's also a Philly cheese steak sandwich and a "pancake' sandwich filled with bacon or sausage and an egg. Ernest cooks what he thinks tastes good and his passion for food is fueled by his love of experimenting. "I like to make dishes I see taste better," said Ernest, "and I make a pretty good drink too."
Faces Lounge has been around the Marmalade district for 17 years and seen the neighborhood change a lot. Located on 300 west and 659 north, Faces has been a part of cleaning up the neighborhood and has gradually been accepted by the neighbors as part of the solution even though they are a bar. Ernest is heavily involved in his church and has used his establishment in the past to serve Thanksgiving dinners to the homeless and hold holiday parties for the neighborhood children. But it's been tough for a place that has always been perceived as a 'black club' by both the neighborhood and the city.
His plans for expansion have been thwarted in the past by the city zoning codes so Faces Lounge only seats 30 people and they sometimes have to turn customers away. But Ernest doesn't mind staying small. "I like doing this because I like meeting people. I would never want a place so big that I couldn't come and talk to my customers about how they liked the food," said Ernest.
Always the southern gentleman, Ernest can talk about just about anything and he's never one to complain. "I've had a rich life- I support my wife, I have 3 degree's, I'm a general contractor, I was baptized in a war (Vietnam), I have a PhD in street smarts, I like to do things for my church, I'm a pretty good writer, I enjoy poetry, and I like Karaoke singing."
Do yourself a favor and take a break from fast-food and the rat race someday for lunch and stop by Faces Lounge to enjoy the food and company of Ernest Hughes and his family. Just make sure you have plenty of time to get into a conversation if you ask about the food.
