Calm before the storm...

Wow! Last week was really something! It started off with Bruce calling in sick for the first time in a year. Then Jon's back went haywire. We had events scheduled all week and in spite of all the craziness, things went well. In fact we had our strongest week ever. Thank you!

We love getting the calls from the doctors' offices requesting we cater their tech meetings. To our delight, several have begun requesting our food, telling us it provides about the healthiest and tastiest options in town. Yeah, us! I really have tried to keep the dining options ones that make you feel good about your meal decisions. Too many times, I, myself have ordered something at a restaurant and thought, oh what have I done? Later, my body is trying to handle the results of too much fried foods. Tasty food is easy to order. We want to make healthy food just as tasty and easy to choose.

Friday night last week was a hoot! Rick Mize and Dustin Collins took us to the Emerald Isle with rollicking Irish folktunes. Thank you for joining us. We had a blast! You'll be seeing more of Rick as he is helping us out in the cafe both at lunch and dinner. His experience should help expedite getting your meals on the table faster and keeping your glasses full.

I continue to be delighted with the fresh fish we have been able to serve Wednesday through Friday evenings. This week we will have FRESH mahi-mahi. Since there are no commercial fish farms raising mahi-mahi we can be sure it is wild-caught. This brilliantly colored fish swims close to the surface eating shrimp and small fish in warm tropical waters. You may have heard it called dolphin or dorado. It is not the porpoise, a mammal we often call dolphin—like Flipper. This light flavored, pink meated fish has some of the sweetest meat in the fish world. We are thinking tropical here in our treatment. Macadamia Nut Crusted Mahi Mahi is first par-baked then finished with a slathering of coconut milk, melted butter, panko bread crumbs and ground macadamia nuts. We'll pair it with rice that has been cooked with coconut milk to give it a soft finish and our stir-fry made with various Asian vegetables. For a first course you will be given a choice of soup or salad. $14.99 FYI~ we usually only have about 10-12 servings available for the week. If you really want it, I encourage you to call in with a reservation and a request that we hold a serving for you.

I've been all over the map (pardon the pun) with regard to this week's Flavor Journey. I finally decided the Flavor Journey this week takes us to France—specifically the Burgundy region. We'll experience the well-known French dish Beef Burgundy or Boeuf Bourguignon. The meat for this dish is a beef rump roast that is cut into bite size pieces and marinated a long time in a good quality red wine. In this case we are using Traver Home Winery's Chambourcin from just up the road in Willow Springs plus a bit of brandy. It may remind you of a good beef stew but the marinating in wine for many hours gives a distinctive flavor to the beef. Cooked in a braise of carrots, onions, beef broth and herbs for several hours, the result is gentle on the tongue. The dish is finished with butter-sautéed mushrooms. We'll pair it with our red-skinned garlic mashed potatoes. You'll get your choice of soup or salad, as well. $11.99 Are you hungry yet?

Here's this week's lunch menus~~
Tuesday~ 50 cents off the Winter Salad. We're running out of time for this yummy salad that begins with your choice of arugula or spinach, red onion, chunks of tomato, feta cheese, avocado and red grapefruit, pomegranate and almonds and served with our honey mustard dressing. Don't miss it or you'll have to wait until next year.
Wednesday~ Empanadas~ at the request of one of our customers (Phil, this is for you!!) we are bringing this dish back for an encore. We are doing the Argentinian version here by wrapping meats and veggies in a blanket of pie crust and baking it. Served with a side salad $6.75
Thursday~Sweet Italian sausage tamales, marinara and rainbow rice. Bruce's melding of cultures is always a delight and his home made tamales are sure to fill you up. $6.75
Friday~Chicken pot pie. We'll make it all from scratch using fresh veggies and our own pie crust. Served with a side salad. $6.75

Update on the license—step 2 is the paperwork to change the sales tax number to the LLC. That should be done by Wednesday and the final package to the state should go out this week. I have spoken to the person on the state level who will be handling our application. She seemed optimistic that we might have it in the timeframe we're hoping for— St. Patrick's Day. Fingers crossed!

Have you noticed the bright yellow mums on the tables? I love how they brighten the place. Spring is so close I can taste it!

As always—we are here because you are letting us know that what we are doing, while unusual in these parts, is what you are looking for. We thank you for sharing your love and energy with us. Your feedback, input and ideas mean the world to us and we look forward to what you have to tell us. When we get it right, we love to hear about it. When we miss—we need to hear about it, too.

Have a warm early spring week!~~

Susan

EEWWWWWW! The smell of spring is in the air!

As one who is a transplant to the Ozarks from the lower South, I am keenly aware of the building excitement that precedes the bursting forth of Spring. To me the first harbinger of Spring is the smell of skunks in the air. Getting into West Plains presents a virtual black and white slalom. But the scent of skunks is the trigger that tells me that Spring is really approaching quickly. So I am already getting excited. As happens each pre-spring, I am thinking ahead to what I might successfully plant. I think I'll stick to mostly herbs this year and a few flowers, since I only get to use the containers. I think this will be their best use. I am not a terrific plant Mommy. Survival of the fittest marks success in my garden. For the first time, my rosemary has actually survived the winter. I am hoping my lemon grass has as well. We use lots of mint, oregano, rosemary, parsley and marjoram around here; so they will get my first priorities and biggest pots. I'll also do lots of jalapeno peppers and nasturtiums. They make pretty container plantings and produce lots of usable fruit.

Our new dinner service is going fairly well. For me it has been a real skill expander. Learning to cook items to order and have the timing of several different meals come out at the same time has been my biggest hurdle. I'm MUCH better at it now than I was 3 weeks ago. Bruce was already a master of the sauté pan. He's been teaching me. On Friday nights he mans the stove top while I handle the other end of things.

This week the fresh seafood is fillet of sole. The sole is a flat fish that skims along the bottom of warm seas. Bruce will be stuffing the fillets with crab and shrimp, a bit of cheese and bread crumbs. This fish has a very delicate texture and equally delicate taste. They will be baked to order, so they are a nice low-fat option. Available Wednesday—Friday, it is served with a choice of soup or salad and accompanied by stir-fried bok-choy and aromatic veggies (garlic and onions), plus a bit of white rice. $14.99

The Flavor Journey for dinner this week takes us to Indonesia and the Philippines. Adobo is the acknowledged national dish of the Philippines. While we may associate adobo as that sauce that is in the can of chipotles, the Filipino version is quite different. The word adobo is Spanish for sauce. In this case the basics are soy sauce, cider vinegar, garlic cloves, bay leaves and pepper. This version also uses coconut milk in the braising liquid.  I am using skin-on chicken thighs as they are most flavorful and the skin, after being crisped, is craggy enough to hold onto the sauce. It will be served with  choice of soup or side salad and accompanied by my stir-fried bok-choy medley and white rice. $9.99

A new option for the dinner menu is the Coleman Natural grilled chicken breast. These chickens are raised totally without growth hormones or antibiotics on small farms and allowed much more space than most commercially-raised chickens. I am delighted to have this option available for you. We'll have 2 versions. The first is a simple grilled breast topped with olive oil and herbs. The second, we'll call Chicken A La Carte, is topped with goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and a basil lemon butter sauce. Both will come with a choice of soup or side salad. The simple grilled version comes with garlic mashed potatoes and the daily stir-fry (10.99 for a single breast, add a second for $3 more). The "A La Carte" version will come with pesto linguine (12.99 for a single breast; add a second for $3 more).

The soups this week~ We'll start out with the roasted root vegetable soup. By Wednesday we'll also have French onion.

Now onto the lunch menu for the week~
Tuesday~Celebrate Mardi Gras! We'll have red beans and rice cooked with andouille and boudin sausage. Laissez les bons temps rouler (Pronounced:(Lay say lay bohn tohn roo lay)~ Let the good times roll! A big bowl for $6.75.
Wednesday~Lemon chicken pasta salad served over a bed of arugula. $6.75
Thursday~Chicken gumbo tamales with buttered orzo $6.75
Friday~Arugula, mushroom and tomato quiche served with a side salad $6.75

The music this Friday night is the duo of Rick Mize and Dustin Collins aka Chief Wahoo and the Electric Tonic. The sound is Irish Folk and it is fun and bouncy. We had lots of great feedback when they joined us last time.

Regarding the "Tavern License", the city council will review our application this Tuesday. We expect to receive approval on Wednesday. Then we have to submit our packet to the state. We have most every particle for that submission ready to go. Our target is to be ready to serve beer and wine by St. Patrick's Day. Not sure we'll make that target, but that is what we are shooting for.

Thank you for sharing this journey with us. Every day we are learning something new. Our relationship with our customers and our suppliers is as important to us as the food we prepare. We welcome your feedback and input. I have been especially appreciative of the warmth with which our new dinner menu has been received.  Remember~ the "Buy one-Get one" dinner special is only available until the end of the month. Pick up your coupon when you are in for lunch.

Have a lovely near-spring week~~

Susan

Getting the swing of things

The last two weeks have been pretty exciting. By adding dinner three more nights per week and closing on Mondays we've really shaken things up. Now dinner orders are prepared to order rather than in the batches I was doing previously on Friday nights. You have an entire menu from which you may choose.

With the fresh fish available Wednesday through Friday we are in uncharted territory for most of West Plains. One customer last week told me she had never ordered fresh fish in West Plains. It just hasn't been available. Usually, I'll concentrate on fishes that are highly sustainable. This week, due to confusions with my new supplier we'll have Mako shark. While highly desirable for its flavor, shark is generally considered one of the fishes to avoid if one's focus is on sustainability. But this week we'll have it. The dense meat has a texture more like beef or chicken than what one normally thinks of as fish. The flavor profile is quite mild, most often being compared to swordfish. It stands up well to broiling, pan sautéeing or baking. This week we'll pan cook it and top it with grilled pineapple salsa. I have some lovely tatsoi to sauté and serve along side with some rice. It'll be served with a choice of soup or salad. $14.99  Wednesday through Friday nights.

The steelhead salmon was truly spectacular last week. Since we had 2 large fillets left on Friday night Jon went ahead and wood-fired them. They will be featured as the Flavor Journey this week. Frankly, I don't know where geographically this recipe originated except it has been in my repertoire for about a decade. I had this dish at a lovely resort in Florida in the 90s. It is pasta with roasted red pepper sauce, topped with wood-fired salmon and chopped fresh Romas. Try it out. I'll serve it with a choice of soup or salad. Available Tuesday - Friday at dinner for $9.99.

We have a new addition to our daily lunch menu— pulled pork on ciabatti. Served with Cajun home fries and pickled onion. $6.49. The ciabatti roll is quite sizable and the portion of pork is, too.

This week's dishes~~
Tuesday~ Pulled pork on ciabatti. A new everyday lunch dish. $6.49

Dinner~ You may order off our menu or take advantage of this special dinner:

 our St. Valentine's menu has for $35/ couple you get
amuse bouche

Fig and Olive Tapenade with whipped cream cheese and tortilla crisps

appetizer

choice of shrimp bisque or spinach salad

entrée

Pepper-crusted tuna mignon with potato cranberry corn galette and portabella mushroom braise

dessert

Crépe cup filled with vanilla ice cream and Bananas Foster

Wednesday~Lunch~ Black olive and oven roasted turkey curry crépes with side salad and garlic mashed potatoes. $6.75
Dinner~ Flavor Journey~pasta with roasted red pepper sauce, wood-fired steelhead salmon and diced roma tomatoes. $9.99; Fresh fish~Mako shark with grilled pineapple salsa; soup or salad plus stir-fried tatsoi and rice. $14.99

Thursday~Lunch~Wood-fired chicken and black bean tamales with salsa verde/ avocado sauce plus fried rice. $6.75 

Friday~Lunch~Lemon Fusilli (pasta) with arugula pesto and wood-fired chicken. Served with side salad $7.00

Regarding the tavern permit~ we are in the "wait-and-see" stage for the city. Assuming it all comes back as expected we can then move onto the State's stage of the process. Hoops!

This week we'll be handing out "Buy one/get one" coupons at lunch. They will be good for dinner Tuesday (except St. V's Day) through Thursday anytime in the month of February. We are about to launch a new marketing campaign that will give us more visibility in the area. Please let us know when you have seen these new marketing efforts so we know it is working. A new lighted sign is also in the works. It is because of your loyal support that we are able to make these expansions. You give us the faith we need to make these leaps. Thank you.

~~Susan

With a whole lotta help from our friends!

One of the aspects of creating our café that continues to give me hope and gratification is the degree to which our customers are vested in this operation. On numerous occasions we've received offers of help, ideas and physical strength. Last weekend was a prime example. As you probably already know, we have been working toward the tavern permit which will allow us to serve you beer and wine with your meals. But we have needed a large capacity cooler in which to store the beer and wine. FYI—we have now gone from 5 iced coolers to 6 refrigerated devices in the year plus since we opened in the trailer.

Every Saturday morning for several weeks I have searched on Craigslist for possible 3-door glass-fronted coolers. I have missed out on a couple of them because we didn't moved fast enough. So when I saw one bright and early Saturday morning I jumped on it. It was in St. Louis. We have been fortunate to have access to a 5 x 10 ft. flat trailer from our neighbor in Thayer. So we high-tailed it to St. Louis. Turns out the cooler was in a warehouse with a 4 ft. dock. Our trailer is about 18" off the ground. The seller was able to get in a few guys to help, but not before we had to call Jon's brother to help move that sucker. Did I mention it is big? 7 ft tall, 7 ft wide and 30" deep. That also translates to HEAVY. Despite a light drizzle we were able to get it loaded and headed back to West Plains. At 8:30, while on US 60 between Cabool and Willow Springs one of the tires blew out on the trailer. Hmm. Now what? No spare for the trailer tire. We tried to see if our car spare might work. The lug wrench wouldn't even fit the trailer tire. Fortunately, we were able to call Sergio and he came out with a 4-way lug wrench and one of the tires from his trailer that looked just like the one we had plus a nice fast floor jack. Despite trying 3 different spare tires, none of them would fit the trailer hub.  ARGH!!!! We wound up driving on the rim for about half a mile to the weigh station parking lot. There, we removed the wheel and left the whole shebang parked overnight. Fortunately, Wal-mart has a crew that can put a new tire on a wheel at 9 am Sunday morning.  Everything went wonderfully smoothly to get the tire replaced and on the trailer. Then we arrived at the cafe to unload this behemoth. Again, our friends and vested customers showed up to help us unload. Included in that lot was a very talented stranger who just happened to be driving by. He quickly backed the trailer and skillfully directed the unloading of the cooler. Our known friends who pitched in were Sergio, Gene, Greg, and Marcos. Thank you, thank you!!! The mystery man remains a mystery. We hope he comes in to cash the filled-up punch card we issued him.

Last week went fairly well in introducing our new schedule and night-time menu. I am still tweaking the details of the menu. We were delighted to see how many of you gave us a try. I must admit that Friday night caught me a bit flat-footed and I was scrambling. We had gotten in 4 lovely haddock fillets and they went really quickly. I am thrilled to have access to fresh seafood each week. This week we have Steelhead Salmon. Sometimes you'll see it as Steelhead Trout. Either name brings visions of  really sweet red-meated fish fresh from the bays in Washington state. I'll treat them with a minimum of flavoring as the meat itself has such a luscious flavor. We'll simply top with slices of fresh lemon and a compound butter that contains fresh dill and garlic. I'll bake them just long enough to firm up the flesh. I have a "seafood sauce" I serve with it. We need a name for this sauce.  The hibachi restaurants call it "yum-yum sauce". Way too cute for me. It has mayo, soy sauce, lemon juice, cayenne and horseradish. Put on your thinking caps, Kids and help me out.  We'll have the Steelhead available as of Wednesday at dinner. $15.

My flavor journey this week takes us to Madagascar. That is an island the size of Texas about 200 miles off the southeast coast of Africa. The dish will be available all week at night. I am borrowing the description of the dish from a blog that explores different cuisines—
One of the most unusual things about the food of Madagascar is how much it pulls from different traditions. In today’s chicken dish, we see traces of mainland Africa, Asia and Polynesia. The coconut oil gives the chicken just a hint of Polynesian tradition, while the garlic, and ginger play into Asian flavors. Finally, the lemon rind gives a fresh, yet slightly bitter flavor, reminiscent of north African cooking. The dish is Madagascar Chicken—Akoho sy Sakamalao which is made with whole chicken legs. It has a dry rub of garlic, fresh ginger, lemon zest that are absorbed overnight. Then it is cooked with sweet red peppers and onions in a small amount of coconut oil until it is falling off the bone. I'll serve it with rice and a side of stir-fried broccoli/onions/snow peas. Available starting on Tuesday night. $9.99

We have Valentine's Day (Tuesday, February 14th in case you have forgotten)coming up really quickly. In addition to our usual night-time menu we will have a special dinner that is priced to make everyone happy while being quite elegant. Also, we have teamed up with Renée Wood and her After Hours Big Band to give you a discount to attend her Sweetheart Dance at the Barn. Instead of $10 you get in for $7/person.
Now about that dinner...for $35/ couple you get

amuse bouche

Fig and Olive Tapenade with whipped cream cheese and tortilla crisps

appetizer

choice of shrimp bisque or spinach salad

entrée

Pepper-crusted tuna mignon with potato cranberry corn galette and shitake mushroom braise

dessert

Crépe cup filled with vanilla ice cream and Bananas Foster

Please note that reservations for Valentines Day will be necessary.

Now for this week's lunch menu. Please note that Tamales are now on Thursday!—

Soups~ start with white chicken chili and then a mushroom/brie bisque later in the week.

Tuesday~Creamy chicken mushroom and spinach noodle casserole with side salad. $6.75

Wednesday~Ham and asparagus crépes with hollandaise and Cajun home fries $6.75

Thursday~Caribbean pork tamales with pineapple salsa and mango/pineapple purée and fried rice $6.75

Friday~Pesto pizza with chicken sausage, artichoke hearts and shitakes. With side salad $7.

We hope you'll join us this week. I think we have a pretty exciting menu.