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