Time to Celebrate!!!!

It is hard to believe that last year at this time Jon and I were quaking in our boots. We had this little dream we hoped would solve our financial challenges and the tiniest bit of courage leftover from our days of cavalier youth. To that end we purchased a food trailer and decided to try out our concept. To our delight, you embraced it; thus giving us the larger level of courage needed to tackle the next level. We wound up celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary painting the interior of our current cafe location. Some people celebrate anniversaries by renewing their marriage vows. We just signed a lease and committed to going to the next step in our dream— a manner of celebration that demanded courage and determination. You have made it worthwhile and we thank you.  Cue the fireworks!

During this last year I found that getting local produce is not always very simple. Thankfully, Mary and Skip Badiny have always had SOMETHING available. They carried us through our first hot summer/ fall with wonderful tomatoes and peppers. Do you remember that wonderful bowl of fresh peppers we had sitting on the wheel housing of the trailer? We thought we'd be able to produce much of our own herbs and we've been able to produce SOME of it. As I am sure you have noticed, I am not the world's finest gardener/ plant Mommy. But we usually have enough fresh herbs to incorporate them into our foods. A few of you have listened and actually brought me your bounties and I appreciate that more than you'll ever know. Believe it or not, we actually have ENOUGH cucumbers and basil. I'm almost afraid to say that in case you don't bring me other things I do want right now.  I was very nearly embarassed in June when I had to go all the way to Jonesboro to their farmers' market in order to get fresh, relatively local veggies for a banquet where I had committed to serving fresh local produce.

I really hope that the concept of a farmers' market here can go beyond baked goods and jellies and more folks will support it. From the feedback I've gotten, people are willing to buy at the farmers' market if there was anything fresh to buy. My visits have almost always resulted in my walking away wanting. I grew up in Dallas and that farmers' market is superb. In recent years the four huge pavillions there have been refurbished and it is standard procedure for Dallas' chefs to make the rounds. I am sure St. Louis's market has similar support. West Plains is sadly lacking. Considering how many good gardeners there are locally, I hope many will make the decision to take their goods to the market so the rest of us can enjoy the fruits (and vegetables) of their labors. Like artists and musicians locally, most farmers have to take their goods to bigger markets to make the effort worthwhile. How sad.

One of the options I have connected with is "Sea to Table," a collective of fishermen who provide fresh seafood directly from their docks. There are 4 different locations—Atlantic, Pacific, Gulf and Asian. Each one has a minimum of 25lbs of combined orders from each dock. In the Gulf coast location alone I have access to a vast selection of fresh, usually line-caught or skim (surface) netted items. Here is a partial list: Amberjack, gulf white shrimp, pink snapper, red grouper, red snapper, red swamp crawfish, sheepshead, vermillion snapper and yellowfin tuna.  Why am I telling you this? Because, if we had a stronger following for seafood, I could purchase directly from these fishermen and we'd have the freshest seafood in the region. To that end, let me know if you want any fresh seafood in any quantity. Maybe we can pool our needs and wind up with enough for an order. Each location has quite different varieties available. Each is sustainably harvested and in direct following of guidelines for maintaining sustainable seafood levels. All the quoted prices include shipping. Here is a link. fish@sea2table.com Interested? Email me to let me know or tell me when you are in the cafe. What is your favorite fresh seafood?

Recently, one of our customers commented that she thought the salads would be improved by the addition of a form of bread to accompany the meal. To that end, I have begun including a cornbread muffin with the Navajo salads. I am trying to figure out just the right flavor to add for each type of salad. What would go best with the Oriental sesame chicken salad? The Greek salad would be fine with pita but what about the Fuji chicken salad? I am happily awaiting your feedback and input. So speak up!

It is often a challenge to refine my menu. I try to add new flavors as the ingredients come into season. It would be so easy to jump in several directions. But it is important to have a level of consistency and expectation. I can't do really hot dishes as it would scare most off (including me). Last week, at Jon's urging, I included a chicken taco. It was made with our wood-fired chicken breasts, a chipotle-based sauce, and a slaw with a dijon beginning. The feedback was quite good. As before, with the pizzas, I am not trying to create items you would see at the local Mexican restaurant. This week (Friday) I am making a soft taco with pulled-pork shoulder. I'll use the same sauce and slaw as the chicken. I look forward to your feedback.

I am bringing back the Antipasto salad all week. If it has an Italian connection, it is probably in the salad. On a bed of chopped Romaine I'll have salami, turkey, ham, pasta, tomatoes, bell pepper, roasted red peppers, provolone cheese, parmesan cheese, red onion, black olives, portabellas, fresh basil and oregano. It will come already dressed with a lemon based herb/olive oil mixture and most likely, with some kind of fresh cracker or bread—no decision at press time.

Special for Monday will be a Waldorf chicken salad. It was first presented at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in 1893, this all-American Waldorf salad recipe includes chopped apples, celery, grapes, and walnuts with chicken and mayonnaise. I use some fresh herbs, as well. It will be served on a bed of lettuce.

Tuesday brings Bruce's creative forces in the form of hand-built tamales. This week he is making a

chicken florentine tamale with a parmesan cheese sauce, and a mushroom risotto

Wednesday I'll serve stir-fried pork tenderloin with shitakes, shallots and ichiban eggplant. This will be accompanied by fried rice.

Thursday I'll bring back the pizzas with a pesto-based pizza topped with shitake mushrooms, Juliet tomatoes, fresh basil, red onions and black olives plus mozzarella and brie. It'll be served with an heirloom cucumber salad.

Friday I'll serve those pulled pork tacos I mentioned earlier in the post. The dijon slaw adds a light crisp note.

Now for Friday night—
First of all, the entertainment will be Open Mic. Have you been working on something you want to share with us? So far, we have a couple of folks lined up and expect a few more. This night, although unpredictable, is always entertaining and often raucus. We usually fill up, so don't wait to make your reservation. The food should be pretty awesome. 

The seafood will be trout meuniere.Your meal will start with a melon salad made with watermelon, feta, onion, mint, basil, and jicama.  The pan-seared rainbow trout is finished with a sauce made from white wine, butter, shallots, garlic, lemon and capers. The trout is local from Rockbridge and you know how good that is. How about some garlic parsley potatoes to go with that? $12

The "meat" dish will be chicken pad thai. I'll keep it pretty authentic, but low key on the spice. You can boost the heat, if you wish. This rice pasta based dish features typical Thai ingredients like fish sauce, lime, peanuts, egg, Thai basil and poached chicken. $12

The "vegetarian" dish will be a veggie quiche packed with squashes, onions, mushrooms, spinach, corn and dill plus lots of Monterey jack cheese and fresh local eggs. I'll add a zucchini fritter topped with tzatziki sauce and a Roman roll. $10

We'll have all sorts of things we'll do during the month to celebrate our being around for a year. Next week on the 12th, Jon is the performer and everyone attending will get a free copy of his CD- a $10 value! If you like a mellow, bluesy-jazzy sound, you'll really enjoy his CD!

Thank you for making the trek with us this far. We hope you'll go the whole journey with us.

~~Susan

Things are heating up! But cooler inside....

If this photo looks familiar, then you have been one of our customers for a year now. August 3rd we celebrate being open, working from the food trailer, for a year. During that time we have come a long way. What hasn't changed is our committment to using local fresh produce whenever we can. Although we are now doing enough business to benefit from ordering from food purveyors, they can seldom provide local fresh produce. When they finally can, so can our local suppliers. Guess which one we lean toward.

Some of the lessons learned have been hard for one who had very little access to training of any kind. In the trailer Jon and I were able to handle most things fairly easily. We went home tired but satisfied. A week after opening in our current location, I realized I could not add in daily specials if we limited the workload to the two of us. Enter Bruce Carr. He brings many, many years of experience in the industry and really knows his stuff. Through him I have been able to expand my understanding of menu planning and standard restaurant techniques. Of course, I have to do things my way, so sometimes I am sure he just shakes his head. We value his input and consider him a strong part of what we've become. Thank you, Bruce!

This is my second time to write this post as my computer didn't save it the first time. So I'm shortening things a bit. I'll jump right into entertainment this Friday. We have Emily Higgins joining us. She is a very talented singer/songwriter from Springfield. You may have heard her radio show on NPR Sunday nights—Under the Mulberry Tree. Her lilting voice is perfect for her tunes which range from folk to country to bluegrass. She plays both guitar and mandolin. We are VERY excited to have her perform for us. Hopefully, we'll have a good-sized audience come out to hear her. If we want to be able to bring in talent from out of town we need to make it worthwhile for all. There is no cover, but we hope you'll join us for dinner. See menu choices at end of this post. Reservations ARE filling up so please let us know as soon as possible. If the demand is there early enough to respond, we might be able to use the space next door as well. Emily will be selling her CDs and have a tip jar so you can show her your appreciation.

We know it can get rather warm when the room is filled. We've added 3 fans to keep the air moving and hope that will help keep it cool. We want you comfortable. But feel free to dress casually.

Let's talk about the menu this week—
All week I am serving the Spinach Salad with wood-fired chicken at $1 off. We have great spinach, great red peppers and lots of lovely feta. $4.99 + $1.49
Tamale Tuesday just got more interesting. Bruce is making elk tamales with a pureed pumpkin sauce and wild rice with mixed berries. Yum! $6.25
Wednesday we'll have the Thai chicken pasta salad served over a spinach base. I have served this several times and it always gets pretty rave reviews. It is light but filling. $6.25
Thursday another favorite, Thai chicken lettuce wraps with a ginger sauce and rice. You get two. $6.25
Friday we are doing a rustic chicken taco made with the wood-fired chicken. You get two. $6.25

Right now we have access to terrific fresh produce. Customers are bringing me interesting cucumbers, herbs, squashes and have teased me with beets. I am thrilled to have access to it all.  Soon we'll have berries and peaches and I am really looking forward to that. Last week I finally bought an ice cream maker and have been combining fresh desserts with in-house made ice cream. Last week I did a praline almond ice cream served over an apple pie and topped with my almond praline. In the freezer I have a toasted pinon ice cream I'll serve with a special cookie that is the state cookie for New Mexico. I am planning on also experimenting with freshly made soda drinks. I have a soda siphon and I plan to learn how to use it. At some point I am hoping to make our own ginger ale. Oh— speaking of ginger, my favorite ice cream is ginger. I'll make that to accompany the Thai dishes.

Friday dinners—All are served with a fresh salad that includes heirloom cucumbers
a) Pan-seared rainbow trout with cous-cous and fresh corn fritters $12
b) Herb crusted Cornish hen, corn fritters and fresh local green beans $12
c) Cous-cous stuffed red peppers, zucchini fritters and green beans $10

Plan now to join us—the cafe phone number is 417-505-0302
Next week we'll figure out how we'll celebrate being open for a year. Woohoo!!!!You make us what we are. Thank you.

The energy of Hope

Anyone who has rooted for an underdog team and suddenly witnessed their potential triumph has experienced the visceral energy that hope can generate. The energy is tangible and can continue to build or be swept away in the blink of an eye. Nevertheless, the fact that hope had entered the scene created a ripple in the environment. It can be contagious, too, spreading and raising the spirits of all who witness it.

Jon and I have had the joy of experiencing this energy with A La Carte. We took on the challenge as a solution to our financial tightrope. After months of dismal news regarding sales in the art world, and Jon's having seen his customer base in massage marketing dwindle, we have been overjoyed at the consistency with which we have seen our efforts result in growth here in the cafe. You, our customers, have had a big role in this result and given us many moments of joy as we meet and get to know you.

Recently, news of political gridlock have taken some of the wind from our sails and left us shaking our heads in disgust at the grandstanding on both sides of the aisle. Promises of national prosperity seem empty and politicians seem only interested in the next election. That was my frame of mind when I picked up a book by Daniel Burrus and my viewpoint expanded. I, once again, felt a sense of hope. Burrus is known for his advice as a consultant to major corporations regarding their role in the future economy. He sees the potential outcome of all the technology coming down the pike and even has predicted future needs that will be filled—whether by the companies that seemed poised to provide those services or by others that heed the signs and jump to take themselves to the front of the pack. He not only is able, himself, to see this future, he has provided the tools and insight for others to make the leaps that solve their own challenges. The world needs more Burrus's.

Rather than tearing down, scattering skepticism and hopelessness, he has chosen to find ways to look over the top of the stampeding herds of the desperate struggling through this economy and be a beacon of hope. In my eyes this makes him a hero. I have stopped reading his book just before bed as his ideas get my mind racing and sleep retreats. However, when I find my energy lagging, I pick up his book and feel uplifted. The name of the book is Flash Foresight—How to see the invisible and do the impossible. I picked it up at the Thayer Library. I'll be buying a copy of my own to keep. Usually, I limit my reading to some form of escapism as a gentle sling to drop me into sleep. I picked up this book knowing that the library was going to be closed for a bit while in the process of being remodeled and I just had to be sure I had plenty to read. I am so glad I did. He has given me reason to embrace the technological changes that have become inevitable and see them for their potential instead of signs that the world has passed me by. I thought I had decided that all the new technology was the realm of the young and that I could happily skip the next few technological upgrades. I am still waiting for hearing aids to become reasonably priced so I can hear at a normal level again. Did you know that the decent ones cost over $5,000? He blew that concern out of the water by talking about how the hearing aid industry will now be going after ways to get Baby Boomers expecting "better than normal hearing." I'm game!

So in the vein of hopefulness, I am delighted to tell you that many varieties of local produce we have been awaiting have finally begun to arrive. Just last week a customer brought me a bucket of heirloom cucumbers. They were gorgeous, preciously rare and most tasty. My supply of tomatoes is outstanding and the sandwiches and salads are benefiting from the rich, deep flavor these properly harvested fruits are capable of delivering. We bought a bag of freshly picked, locally raised corn  and served some of it on the cob Friday evening. More will be served this week. The squashes are abundant. The eggplants succulant. What more could you want? Let the celebration of good food begin!

Renee Wood and Tom Rowley will join us Friday night playing saxophone and guitar in a wonderful jazz duet. They always draw a nice crowd and reservations are strongly recommended! We love how their sounds fill our space. I swear we can hear the sound continuing to bounce off the walls while we do our final clean-up. It is a happy sound.

We are trying again to offer an "Early Bird Special." We lived in Florida for six years and learned to appreciate this local fare. We are offering it only from 4:30-6:00pm Friday evening. By eating early, diners are able to eat inexpensively while the eating establishment is able to make better use of an ordinarily down time. When you have plans for the evening elsewhere, the Early Bird is a good solution that gets you fed and onto your next event—like the performances at the Avenue Theater of Willy Wonka or perhaps jamming with the Heart of the Ozarks Bluegrass guys in front of the West Plains Music Store or even a 7pm movie. At 6pm our Friday night menu kicks in and tasty, seasonal, local fare is offered. This is where I get to be more creative and daring and you benefit.

So here is the "flavor journeys" menu for next week. As always, we use as much fresh, local ingredients as we can get our hands on. It is going to get really hot later in the week and I'm working to help cool you down.

Monday~ Pulled pork sandwiches, our own coleslaw and corn on the cob served with melted butter or chili/lime butter. I can cut the kernels off the cob, if you prefer. $6.25
Tuesday~Wood-fired chicken tamales with sun-dried tomato zesto and mozzarella cheese sauce with confetti'd orzo. $6.25
Wednesday~Pimento cheese quesadillas with heirloom cucumber salad. $6.25 Also, panzanella salad. Panzanella salad=lots of fresh tomatoes, fresh basil, onions, Kalamata olives and our own bread to soak up the juices. 

Thursday~ Herbed pizzas with carmelized onions, chipotle and sour cream, wood-fired chicken, mozzarella, fresh roma tomatoes and fresh basil served with heirloom cucumber salad $6.75 Also, spinach salad topped with Caprese salad. Caprese salad = fresh mozzarella, fresh tomatoes and fresh basil with a touch of extra virgin olive oil. $6.25

Friday~Lunch~Chicken and watermelon salad with feta, mint, basil, red onion and cucumber. $6.25

Early Bird Special~ from 4:30-6:00pm~Beef and Sausage Mostaciolli (a fat macaroni)  with salad.

Dinner~A) Cornish game hen with a sweet glaze, fresh corn pudding, and steamed cabbage. Served with Caprese salad $12 B) Seafood Piccata (shrimp, scallops and crab in a lemon sauce over pasta) served with Caprese salad $12 C) Zucchini and summer squash-filled crepes with a lemon parsley sauce, corn pudding and Caprese salad $10 

I love hearing your feedback. Most of all, we are thrilled to get to know so many of you. After years of working alone in either our offices or studio, the interaction with you keeps us jazzed and happy. You are a force of energy and you give us hope! Thanks for being there!

~~Susan 

Grateful for...air conditioning!

I know it takes hot days to get the tomatoes to set. And the peppers need it, too. But I think I could skip the intensity for myself. I am so grateful for folks like Mary and Skip Badiny who get out in that heat every day, just so we can enjoy a delightful lunch. There are many avid gardeners in these parts. Sadly, they mostly seem to produce food for themselves and little gets offered for sale to the rest of us.  We have had lovely customers bring by various herbs and they are most appreciated. I am hoping that those squashes are starting to become available and we'll have a nice crop of organic tomatoes this week. Are there any blueberries available locally? More blackberries? I'm buying!

Monday's lunch will feature organic green beans stir-fried with beef in an Asian inspired dish. We got the most exquisite order of green beans from the Badinys.

Tuesday Bruce is bringing back his Polynesian Tamales by request. They were a big hit last time. It took me by surprise that he was using Spam in his Hawaiin rice. Then he explained that Hawaiins eat a LOT of Spam and it was required in order to be "authentic." Gulp. Okay. The whole dish sure was tasty. He stuffs his tamales with poached chicken and smothers it with a pepper sauce—not a spicy one, just very flavorful.

Also on Tuesday I am making a quinoa based salad. This will be made with green onions, feta, cranberries, basil oil, parsley and fresh tiny tomatoes.

The basil oil we are using this week was made last week with all the nice herbs we've received lately. Bruce made Basil oil, Oregano oil and and a mixed variety that included tarragon, oregano, basil and dill. I am still peeling the 10 pounds of fresh garlic I got to make garlic jelly with. It is lusciously sticky with juice and takes a while to peel. Anticipation......

On Wednesday I am introducing a new item. It is a pimento cheese quesadilla. If you are from the South, you know this ubiquitous dish would grace every family re-union, every funeral and every event where one's reputation as a cook rested heavily on one's own version of Pimento cheese. It goes by various names including PC, and Mento cheese. The extra "i" is typically left out, though the truly authentic version would be Pimiento cheese. If this dish has simply been a scary deli item full of strange colored ingredients, you have missed a taste treat. Good pimento cheese starts with fire roasted red peppers (the pimiento portion), good sharp cheddar cheese grated up, cream cheese and enough good mayonnaise to bind it. Additions could include jalapenos, Worchestershire, slices of tomato, etc. While the traditional way to serve it is on white bread (from which the crusts have been removed, please), I'll be making a quesadilla and serving it with the cheese pretty well melted inside the tortillas. Mine will include a bit of jalapeno and a dash of Worchestershire. This will be its audition to the menu; so feedback is appreciated.

Thursday lunch will be pizza made with fresh pesto, shitakes, carmelized onion, mozzarella, genoa salami and sliced tomatoes. I'll serve it with a side salad. I'm excited that we seem to sell out of them most weeks that I offer them. Just so you know, I have zero interest in trying to compete with the local pizza parlours for their red sauced disks. Mine will always feature local fresh ingedients. If I could easily get fresh local cheeses, they would be included as well. Other parts of the country would have not only fresh local cheeses (cow, goat and sheep!), but also fresh local sausages, and various smoked meats. Sadly, this region has been very slow to go this direction. I'll work with what we can get.

For Friday lunch those lovely herbal oils will be celebrated with a penne pasta tossed with basil oil, fresh tomatoes, olive oil, garlic and fresh basil. Parmesan cheese will accompany the dish. It will be served with a side salad.

In collaboration with the Avenue Theater we'll be offering an early dinner for those attending Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory on Friday night. I expect a few kids so we are doing a kids' menu as well. We'll be serving a pulled pork sandwich with fresh corn on the cob and cole slaw.  The large size will be $8 and the kid size will be $5. You can have plain butter on your corn or my chili/lime butter. This will be offered only until about 6:00pm. Those attending the bluegrass jam session on Friday night at the music store might also enjoy an early dinner before heading down to pick. It will be our EARLY BIRD SPECIAL. After 6:00pm, our Friday night menu kicks in.  This week's dinner entrees are:
a) Almond crusted trout on dirty rice, with praline sweet potatoes and a salad—$12
b) Stuffed chicken breasts made with southern cornbread dressing, squash casserole and green beans and a salad. $12
c) Rolled manicotti made with zucchini, summer squash, ricotta and onion... a salad and sweet potato biscuits. $10

Jon Lumsden, our incredible in-house musician, will play for you this week. Despite a fairly grueling schedule that keeps this place going, Jon plays at home most every night. As the wife of a musician I can tell you that many, many hours go into keeping one's skills honed and sharp. If you like a light jazz sound that is pretty middle-of-the-road and is easy to listen to, Jon has it mastered. His love of show tunes, and classic tunes from the 30's and 40's is apparent in the way he gently lets them roll from his tongue, each individually crafted to pull the beauty from the lyrics and melody. This man LOVES this music and you can tell.  As always, we encourage you to make a reservation and entree choice so we can be assured you get what you most prefer and that we have seating for you. If you have not joined us for Friday night, we think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Bruce and I have been cooking up desserts. With blackberry season in full swing we have a blackberry pie as well as orange infused angelfood cake with mandariancello blackberries. We also have espresso banana bread pudding topped with whipped cream and caramel, and white chocolate cheesecake. So go ahead—indulge!

As always—thanks for being here. You are never taken for granted and we appreciate your every visit.

~~Susan





 

When it is hot— eat cool

I've been digging through my recipes for cool inspirations for salads to assist in keeping the heat out of the kitchen as well as out of your bodies! I LOVE summer salads that feature various cooked meats  chilled and sliced. My arsenal of cookbooks includes FRESH (from the pubishers of Fine Cooking), Chefs at the Market (published to celebrate the Dallas Farmers Market) and upteen zillion years of Southern Living Magazine Cookbooks. I have many more, but these are the ones I dig through on the weekends to inspire the next week's menus. This is the primo time of year for fresh ingredients. We are getting weekly deliveries of tomatoes, fresh berries and fruit, basil and other fresh herbs. Soon peppers  and squash will join the list. This week's menu will feature one major salad plus some interesting options for Friday night. Descriptions will follow deeper into the blog.

I am taking a few moments here to reflect on where we have come in the, now, 7 months we've been open at this location. Overall, the trend is on a nice long growth curve. We've managed to grow without expanding our debt load. Whew! We've even managed to show a modest profit and live off the proceeds. Nobody is getting rich but we are laying a nice solid foundation. People keep telling us that restaurants typically don't show a profit for 5 years. We didn't have that option.

I have been able to keep enough creativity in the menu to keep me satisfied on the creativity front. As an artist, there is no way I could just crank out a fixed menu, week to week and remain interested in what we are doing. Bruce has had his hand in the creative focus, as well. He is a master at taking an ingredient I put in front of him and say, "What can you do with this?" I hope he is having as much fun as I am in that realm. His tamales are always well received and his knowledge of pickles astounds me. He has almost photographic memory when it comes to recipes—subsidized, I am sure, by his innate sense of taste. We are very lucky to have his daily input creatively as well as his broad knowledge of the food industry. He just wishes I'd stop bringing more "stuff" up here that needs storing! Jon does too, but he gave up on that front years ago.

A big part of creatvity is fed by an allowance to fail. If you aren't always editing yourself, scared of failure, you can stretch and grow. As an artist I am keenly aware of that viewpoint. I try to keep that in mind when I try something new or encourage Bruce to do so. We won't always have successful creations. We know when something didn't work. But knowing it is okay to stretch beyond our comfort zone is key to our growth and expansion. It has given us room to try out improvisations using leftovers as well as seeing where a fresh ingredient will take us. The day our actions reflect a fear of failure is the day we start dying. Are we afraid? Sometimes! Does fear stop us? Not yet. When we started this cafe we were already staring at financial challenges. For us, non-action would have sealed that fate. Action, even a wrong one, was better than attempting to stand still. You can float on quick sand as long as you don't stand still. Fortunately, we have been able to build a fairly solid foundation under us while continuing to stretch and create. You have had a major role in this success. You have recognized that what we do isn't like everyone else. You have let us know that you appreciate our creative efforts and have supported them. You have forgiven us our less-than-successful attempts and given us feedback to improve them. You have a vested interest in our success and we can feel your love and support. Corny? So? Thank you for giving us room to fail!

Speaking of progress—we have finally paid off the back property taxes. That has been hurdle numero uno in keeping us from acquiring our beer and wine license. In Missouri, you can't even apply for a permit if you owe any back taxes. The next hurdle is filing our income tax. We don't anticipate that being a financial hurdle just a paperwork one. Being caregiver for Mom plus running this cafe has often taken more energy than we had to offer. Some things simply got put on the back burner. Filing the paperwork that didn't demand our attention was one of them. My target to have all that caught up is the end of August.

The tamales for Tuesday will be a mystery, thus far. Bruce took off for a couple of well-deserved days of visiting with friends and I failed to nail down his plan. Suffice it to say, they will be tasty. This week's menu takes advantage of the plethora of the grilling meats available. On Wednesday I am combining grilled sirloin steak with mint and cilantro to make a Thai Beef Salad. The recipe came from FRESH. I have made it once before and it was very well received. I love the light fresh taste of the combination of ingredients. The freshness of mint and cilantro add a lightness that might be missing with simply a steak salad.

The feedback on my pizzas has been a pleasant surprise. I have often completely sold out. So I am going to try to keep them as a regular item. This week I am combining Bruce's sun-dried tomato Zesto, brie, smoked portabellas and smoked turkey sausage. Sounds pretty yummy to me.

We are getting in a fresh delivery of Rockbridge rainbow trout this week.  Jon will do his usual magic in wood-firing some of them for the Trout Roman and as an add-on for the spinach salad. We'll feature the Trout Roman Friday for lunch by giving you $1 off. If you have not tried them yet—this would be a good time to do so. They come on my Roman bun which has diced onion baked in for flavor. I put a wasabi mayonaise on the bun for a bit of kick. If you are not familiar with wasabi, it is a Japanese horseradish that I mix with mayonnaise for a bit of entertainment for your tongue. It isn't really hot, just kicky. Then I add fresh tomato and spicy sprouts. So we are combining the mild onion flavor of the bun with the smoky goodness of the trout with the kickiness of the wasabi and the lusciousness of fresh local tomato and the final finsh is the freshness of the sprouts. The line starts HERE!

I am also featuring the trout in one of  Friday's  night-time entrees. I am doing a pepper crusted trout with potato cranberry corn galette and a shitake mushroom braise. This recipe orginated in Dallas at the Mercury Restaurant by Chef Chris Ward. I have adapted it to fresh trout and used the local shitakes instead of chanterelles. Galette is a general term used in French to designate various types of flat, round or freeform crusty cakes. The braise will surround the stacked trout, spinach and gallete. I think if will be quite a treat. $12

Another of the featured entrees this Friday night will be Pecan Crusted Chicken Breasts with whipped sweet potatoes and jalapeno pecans. This one also came from Dallas— Chef Helen Duran at the Crescent Club. She has done an exquisite job of incorporating fresh ingredients with staple stand-bys to create a tasty and visually exciting dish that has loads of texture. $12

The vegetarian entree this week will feature stuffed zucchini rolls, baked phyllo with mushrooms and leeks as well as a fresh corn pudding. It doesn't get much fresher than this. The will be no feeling of compromise here for a lack of any meat. $10

You may have heard Sean McCormick play on open mic night last week or with Swiftkick a couple of weeks ago. This week he is the featured artist and will play bluegrass traditionals plus his own tunes.
When we say we strongly encourage you to make reservations, it isn't out of any hoidy-toidy illusions. We have routinely filled to capacity and sold out of the featured entrees. We WANT you to be here and we WANT you to get your preferred entree choices. Simply call 505-0302 and let us know who will be joining you. We'll make sure you are taken care of.

As always, we take great joy in being able to call you by name and make you feel welcome. We know we couldn't be here without your weekly, sometimes multiple weekly visits. Thank you. By the way, the "comeback treats" are back. This time they are rosemary, pistachio, white chocolate cookies. If you have been in more than once during the week, it is ok to remind us you are due one! We do try to remember on our own but your reminder is welcome. I hope you have a terrific week and look forward to seeing your smiling face!

~~Susan