WORDS: Brent Rosen
In 1952, Hank Williams was staying in a cabin on Lake Martin when he wrote a song about a stubborn Indian named Kaw-Liga whose unrequited love for an Indian maid turned him into wood. That song gave its name to Kowaliga Restaurant on Lake Martin, where for years a wooden Indian stood guard over the doors. Over time, Kowaliga lost its identity to a string of other restaurants and its wooden Indian to theft. This summer, Russell Lands is bringing back the old Kowaliga, Indian and all.
First, the food. When Rob McDaniel, executive chef at SpringHouse, and Russ Bodner, Chef at Kowaliga, created the menu, they wanted to take what had been served at the location before and make it their own. Don’t expect drastic change: the menu keeps things lake-classic, with fried catfish, cheeseburgers, and seafood. Bodner told me the biggest change for the food at Kowliga will be an emphasis on freshness. The shellfish come from the Gulf, the vegetables are farm fresh, the catfish is raised in Mississippi and never frozen before it’s served. While the restaurant is focused on freshness, longtime customers should not expect major price increases (aside from the crab claws, which used to come frozen from Indonesia but are now sourced from the Gulf, where market price dictates an appetizer order will cost about $20). An exciting addition to the menu will be Po’Boys – fried shrimp, oyster, and house smoked beef brisket – served on the world’s best French bread shipped direct from New Orleans’ Leidenheimer Bakery.
Next, the atmosphere. Russell Lands didn’t pick up and move Kowaliga, so it still has the best view on Lake Martin. New covered deck space has been added to create more outdoor seating for customers to enjoy that view. The restaurant wants to become more kid friendly, and a beach with picnic tables was added on the shore of Lake martin so that children can play in the sand while their parents enjoy their lunch. A dedicated gaming area was created to make the restaurant experience more interactive, so step up to the corn-hole and washers area and gamble with strangers on what would otherwise be meaningless games. In the next few years Kowaliga may go further and add a miniature putt-putt golf course, another winking throwback to the Kowaliga of old.
Finally, the Indian. For decades, no trip to Lake Martin was complete until you had your picture made with Kowaliga the Indian. That tradition continues now that Corey Worden has carved a new Kowaliga. Worden, a Titus, Alabama based woodworker and artisan, used a chainsaw to carve the eight-and-half-foot wooden Indian out of a single knotty pine tree found in Elmore County. To prevent the Indian-napping of this Kowaliga, he will be kept inside the restaurant.
P.S. Don’t worry about Chef Bodner ruining your favorite haunt on the lake. Bodner has long-time Lake Martin bona fides. His mother is from Tallassee and his family has had a Russell Cabin on the lake since the 1950’s. He worked at Sinclair’s on the lake before attending culinary school in New York City, and has been back on Lake Martin working at SpringHouse since leaving New York three years ago. Bodner is the right chef to revive Kowaliga (the restaurant, not the wooden Indian. MADE does not advocate the creation of zombie wooden Indians).