By Victoria Hurley-Schubert, Staff Writer
Even though the food was from one of Princeton’s finest restaurants, it wasn’t the star of the show on Friday night at the inaugural One Table Café at Trinity Church.
The volunteers, who freely gave up Friday night tips at restaurants, swim practices and family time to serve 160 meals were the stars of the night, helping marry the many subtle flavors of the Princeton area and beyond.
”When we break bread together at a table, we begin to build community,” said the Rev. Paul Jeanes, rector at Trinity, as he addressed the crowd to introduce Dr. Cornel West, the speaker for the evening. “Walls break down.”
”I like the idea of bringing people together and it’s a great opportunity to do something for the community,” said Montgomery resident and Trinity parishioner Liz Hamilton.
A couple of servers at Mediterra volunteered their time, finding serving the community outweighed their Friday night tips.
”I usually work Friday night, but this is so much more rewarding and means so much more.” said Melissa Loupos, a server at Mediterra where Friday night is a huge tip night for her; instead she was taking care of three tables in the church hall. “The chef is just as stressed out as he would be in the restaurant, he wants everything to be perfect for everyone.”
The “stressed-out” chef whipped up a four-course dinner that consisted of three kinds of dip and bruschetta, salad, a salmon entrée, cookies and an apple tartine for dessert, all with a smile on his face. As many local ingredients as possible were used, including greens from Terhune Orchards in Princeton and cheese from Cherry Grove Farms in Lawrenceville.
Many, many clean plates went back to the kitchen as servers bussed tables.
Several area youth also pitched in to make the night a success and learned how rewarding community service can be. “I genuinely like to interact with people,” said 16-year-old Phoebe Unetic, a parishioner and sophomore at Lawrence High School. “When it doubles as serving the community it’s more of a plus.”
The outreach committee of the church had been planning the dinner series for more than a year. “It’s a great idea; the community can get together and it’s a model from Red Bank,” said Martha Lashbrook, a parishioner from Hopewell Township who was helping serve.
”In April 2010 we went to Red Bank and met with Dorothea Bon Jovi, wife of John Bon Jovi and head of the Soul Foundation. They had started a venue called Soul Kitchen in Red Bank that is currently in operation,” said Meg Novins Hanington, a member of the outreach committee who helped organize the dinner. “They inspired us to keep going and flesh out how this could work in Princeton.”
With a pay-what-you-can philosophy, empty envelopes were passed out at the end of the evening. Organizers declined to say how much was raised by the dinner, but the amount “greatly exceeded their expectations.”
The youngest server of the night came on his own after reading about the event in the Jan. 14 edition of The Packet.
”I read about this in the paper and my dad was talking about this event and I thought it would be fun to serve,” said 11-year-old Anthony Momo, son of Carlo Momo, who donated all the food for the dinner from his restaurant Mediterra and bakery, the Witherspoon Bread Company. The best part of the night from Anthony’s perspective — “everyone liking the desert and Dr. West’s speech was really funny.”
For others, helping was a great way to start the new year.
”In 2011, I’m going to give back,” said Debbie Paternoster, a Hightstown resident who has worked at Meditera for 14 years. “This is a great way to start, it’s what the whole evening was about.”
The Momo’s cuisine and Dr. West was an attraction for many.
”We love Mediterra and the Momo family, they do a lot for the community,” said Edwina Hawes, of Princeton Township, who was in attendance with her family.
Urban Promise, a charter school in Camden, brought 10 members of its senior class to hear Dr. West.
”This is a motivational time for our students, most of them have fallen through the cracks and to have them sit at a community roundtable was really motivating for them and will be an experience they will not forget,” said Alison Marlowe, of Urban Promise.
Dr. West is Class of 1943 University Professor in the Center for African American Studies at Princeton University, has published 21 books, including his latest, “Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud” and appeared as himself in the first “Matrix” movie.
”It was tremendously rewarding for our kids to speak with someone of his caliber,” said Julie Kring-Schrefels, an art teacher at Urban Promise. “They felt they were heard,” being able to ask questions of Dr. West.
After his speech Dr. West was mobbed like a celebrity by the kids asking questions, getting autographs and photos.
”How many black intellectuals are mobbed by high school kids?” asked Jeff Schreifels, a Philadelphia resident who was attending with his wife, Julie, who teaches at Urban Promise. “It’s great to see an intellectual, he’s not a sports star.
”Perhaps it will motivate them for college,” added Michael Lavagio, a youth minister at Trinity Church who works at Urban Promise.
Others hope Dr. West’s message of brotherly love resonates throughout the community.
”It’s always inspiring to hear Dr. West and I hope there’s a way his words can find their way outside these walls,” said Jim Floyd, former borough mayor. “This was a place in Princeton for all, not just an isle; tomorrow let’s take the message of love and community somewhere else. A seventh-day message was delivered on a Friday night.”
”It was very nice, a good time and beautiful idea that brought many people together from all walks of life,” said Lance Liverman, township committeeman. “The main theme was love and I feel this is what Princeton needs.”
Additional community dinners will be held on Feb. 18 and March 18, reservations are required and can be made by calling (609) 613-6950.

