Diving into summer

This past weekend marked the traditional start to full-blown summer. Suddenly we are seeking shelter from the heat and craving refreshing foods. Fresh-from-the-garden veggies have a new dazzle to them and something cool to drink must be kept close at hand. I think we can fix you up.

On Tuesday we'll keep it simple by offering our Navajo salad at 50 cents off. I don't think we've ever had it on sale. It is one of our biggest sellers, and I have been told on several occasions they are addictive. You wouldn't believe how many people come in ready to try something new and instead hit the "fallback" button. They almost apologize for not trying something new. That's ok. We're just happy you are here. $6.49

On Wednesday we'll have the Pork Bahn Mi available (it is a bread issue) as well as the Anjou pear salad with toasted walnuts, gorgonzola, Vidalia onions and freshly made raspberry vinaigrette. I did this salad a couple of weeks ago and several folks begged me to do it again. So here we go. I respond well to comments like that. $6.99

Thursday lunch I'll do one of our family's favorites—sour cream and chicken enchiladas (red sauce) served with black bean and corn salad and Spanish rice. The sauce has the sweetness of cloves and sweet onion. The sour cream tones down the bite of the chili-based sauce. $6.99

Friday I'll get to do the ceviche I had planned on last week. With my mother's hand surgery re-scheduled, it interfered with our plan to serve it then. So, this week I'll combine black sea bass, red snapper, shrimp, scallops and salmon with fresh citrus juices and spicy peppers, herbs and garlic to make this festive, summery dish. It'll be served in a Margarita glass with your choice of sides. $7.50

Making good use of the fresh-from-the-garden veggies, we'll include both green beans and summer squashes with the Flavor Journey. I am baking cornish game hens that are seasoned with fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme and oregano and serving them with green beans stir-fried with Vidalia onions and fresh garlic. The squash is a squash casserole made with 2 different cheeses—cheddar and parmesan and topped with toasted bread crumbs. Doesn't everyone love squash casserole? Served with a side salad, of course. $10.99

The seafood this time is crab cakes. I believe in crab cakes that are mostly crab. In investigating the various types available I learned that back-fin is considered the most tender and flavorful of the blue crab. That is what I have ordered. We'll serve 2 cakes per order. They'll come atop a roasted red pepper coulis and served with 2 sauces— our Sea Sauce and a lemony dill sauce. They, too, will come with both green beans and squash casserole as described in the Flavor journey. Served with a side salad at no additional cost. $14.99

Our journey is nothing without the warm friendships we've developed along the way. As both Jon and I had careers that involved mostly working alone with periods of intense public interface, we've really enjoyed the day-to-day opportunity to get to know you and your families. We shine with pride when you bring in your visiting family members and are thrilled when we hear that kids are calling "A La Carte Cafe" their favorite place to eat. We are changing the diet of America, one plate at a time. Thanks for sharing the journey with us.

Much ado about catfish

As we head into the Memorial Day weekend, I wanted to notify you that we will be closed Friday NIGHT. We will be open Friday lunch. We wanted our staff to have time to spend time with their families and last year proved quite quiet. We hope to see you during our other regular hours this week. Our hours next week will return to normal.

I try to keep politics entirely away from our establishment. But the food chain is inextricably tied to political and financial decisions worldwide. Last week it was time to order more catfish for our smoked catfish dip. When I was given current pricing I nearly fell over. What had happened since the last time I had ordered 15 pounds of catfish? First of all, the price was nearly double. Why? Well, it seems that catfish farmers in the South are plowing their ponds under because the corn market for biofuels is higher and more profitable. Add to that, many fish farmers in Asia are buying their fingerlings (small hatched catfish) from the US, shipping them to Asia and raising them and selling them back to us—again shipping. However, the conditions of the fish farms in Asia are considerably different than they are here. I've heard several times (but have yet to see it in print) that often poultry farms are set ABOVE fish farms so the droppings feed the fish. Ugh. The water conditions are not monitored the same way either. So I made a firm stand and opted to pay higher for all US raised catfish. Ours are hatched and raised in Mississippi. Each choice we make regarding our food chain has a lasting effect on our local economy. I also learned that with the higher prices, many, many places serving catfish are opting for the less expensive imported options. Just thought you should know. If you eat a lot of catfish, I suggest you ask for proof that they are being raised in the US. Here's an image of the outside of our box.

I have wood-fired tuna salad sandwiches for as long as they last this week. You may have read in the news that in April there was a voluntary recall of most frozen tuna. This has affected our source of both sashimi grade and yellow-fin tuna. I still have a few of the sashimi grade tuna steaks which we use in our tuna-topped spinach salad and tuna Roman. But we have wood-fired all the yellowfin and I have chopped the remainder for the tuna salad sandwiches. There is no word on when tuna will be available again. I am expecting it within the month, but... get it now before we run out! The smokey flavor does stand out and is a noticeable difference from the usual canned tuna with which most prepare their tuna salad sandwiches.

We are bringing back the Pork Bahn Mi sandwich. My plan is to have them on our menu each week from Wednesday through Friday. I have not yet figured out how to have the fresh baguettes ready for Tuesday mornings. When that happens we'll have them daily. Let me remind you of how they are created. The Bahn Mi is a fusion dish of French and Vietnamese. I'll take thinly sliced pork loin and marinate it in various Vietnamese spices including 5-spice powder, Thai fish sauce, honey, toasted sesame oil, fresh garlic, cilantro, jalapeno and cayenne. Then we'll grill it and slice it. It goes on a grilled French baguette (which we make in-house) that has a Sriracha mayonnaise dressing. This is topped with freshly pickled cucumber slices, freshly pickled carrot shavings and finished with sprouts and cilantro. It can be a bit messy to eat...but yummy! Plenty of people have reminded me of how much they enjoyed them the first week we served them.

Thursday at lunch I am bringing out the grouper cheeks. They made a pretty tasty sandwich when we debuted them a few weeks ago. Grouper cheeks are literally the cheek of a grouper fish. There is no waste, no bones and no skin to deal with— just tenderness and flavor. I'll serve it on the French baguettes with our Sea Sauce, lettuce and tomato. At $9.95 I know they are pricey, but what a treat. Normally, the cheeks never make it out of Florida as the locals grab them for themselves.

As we grow we are looking for ways to consolidate our gains. I have several small packages of frozen seafood I'll combine to make a luxurious ceviche (pronounced say-vee'-chay) on Friday for lunch. We'll have bits of red snapper, black sea bass, coho salmon, scallops and shrimp all combined with fresh lemon and lime juice, cilantro, garlic, cayenne and Vidalia onions to make this fresh tasting dish. What a perfect way to start the summer!

And speaking of things that run out— it seems our local supply of elk is about to end. This saddens me no end. Last time we served it I made an Asian meatloaf that was exceedingly well received. I'll do it again this week as our nightly "Flavor Journey." Again, the need for profitability raises it ugly head. It seems that the only way one can be profitable in these parts is to sell all parts of the elk—from the meat to the antlers to the hide. Unlike cattle, where one can be profitable just selling the meat, elk is a tougher sell. Our source has decided to go out of the business rather than chase down the profits. We'll miss them but understand.

My seafood this week is Jon's absolute favorite way to eat shrimp. I'll do shrimp pasta. Lots of decent-sized shrimp, garlic, green onions, parsley, parmesan and cream make up the sauce, which is piled over linguine. When you see that smile on Jon's face this week, it just might be because he got to eat his favorite! We became addicted to this dish while living in Florida, and I am delighted to bring it to you.

The line up~
Tuesday~ Wood-fired tuna salad sandwich plus side $6.99
Wednesday~Pork Bahn Mi sandwiches with side $6.99
Thursday~Grouper cheek sandwiches with side $9.99
Friday~Ceviche with side $7.50

Dinners~
Seafood~Shrimp pasta with side salad $10.99
Flavor Journey~ Elk meatloaf done in an Asian style with garlic mashed potatoes and green beans plus side salad. $10.99

Thank you for being a part of our adventure. Each week we are delighted to meet your friends and family. We hope you get to spend precious time with them this weekend.

My warmest wishes~
Susan

The Vidalias are IN!

It is always a thrill for me when the Vidalias show up in big bags at the grocer. I can't help myself. I always buy at least five pounds. Sometimes ten. I like onions in most forms anyway, but the Vidalias are pretty special. They are grown only in a twenty county region of Georgia. The soil in which they are grown has a very low sulphur content resulting in a very sweet root. As with most produce that has a short season, the vidalias are quite tender and don't have a long shelf life. Each layer of the onion can be as thick as half an inch, indicating mucho moisture. I love them sautéed with a bit of garlic and thyme and maybe a mustard seed or two. Yum. I am using another variation to accompany dinners this week. I am making marinated and roasted Vidalia onions, whereby the onions are first marinated in balsamic vinegar, olive oil, thyme and other seasonings. Then they are oven-roasted to bring out their sweetest content and sprinkled with Parmesan cheese. I hope you enjoy this once-a-year treat.

After a long wait and several false starts, we will finally have mussels this week. I am getting in only 10 pounds of them—so I expect they will disappear really quickly. These are real PEI fresh mussles. PEI means Prince Edward Island- where they grow. They won't be here until Thursday. I'll saute and steam them in white wine, garlic, shallots and a bit of parsley. They'll come with a side salad, green bean and toasted Israeli cous-cous salad with pickled onion and the roasted Vidalia onions . $16.99 I HIGHLY suggest you call in a reservation and order so that they are there when you want them. If this goes well, I'll order a larger quantity later.

The black sea bass was absolutely gorgeous and everyone who had it raved. It was more of a challenge than I expected—arriving just as they came out of the water. I was expecting 1-2 pound fish and most were 2.5-4. Yikes! Thankfully, Steve Smith was around with his scaling and filleting skills. He did a nice job filleting with little waste. We still lost quite a bit of money, though. Between netting only 2 8-10 oz fillets per fish and a highly distracted customer base, we had some left over. I have frozen the remaining fillets and hope to bring them back soon.

We are bumping our lunch prices a bit to align more with current food costs and local fare. Each time we eat out we are shocked to discover how much higher most places' prices are. We only went up 50 cents. Add in the Lunch Bunch card and we still have some of the lowest prices around. Yes, there are a few places with lower prices but they are mostly using canned ingredients and get most of their sauces and dressings ready-made. We make our salad dressings and most breads from scratch—assuring that we don't use MSG, hydrogenated oils or excess gluten in places it isn't needed. We wood-fire almost all of our chicken, tilapia and corn. This is a labor-intensive activity that can't be done during regular business hours.  And we experiment a lot. This translates to an ever-changing menu that will keep your tongue and tastebuds happy. By utilizing the most timely ingredients, I am able to keep the menu seasonally-driven and fresh and most-of-all LOCAL.

Please be a part of our growth~ share us with a friend.

Tuesday~ Pulled pork with Cajun home-fries $6.75
Wednesday~Italian Shrimp Salad- lots of shrimp mixed with rice and parsley in a mustard/lemon/ olive oil dressing. A classic. $7
Thursday~Chicken in green sauce with pumpkin seeds; served with corn pudding $7
Friday~Anjou pear salad with spinach, gorgonzola, toasted walnuts, Vidalia onions and raspberry balsamic vinaigrette. $7.50; add grilled shrimp $3; add wood-fired chicken $2.5

Seafood~ Tuesday and Wednesday~ Pan seared Rainbow Trout served with jasmine rice and marinated and roasted Vidalia onion; side salad $14.99
Thursday and Friday only this week~ garlic and wine steamed Mussels served with green bean and toasted Israeli cous-cous salad with pickled onion; roasted Vidalias $16.99
Flavor journey~Stir-fried chili beef with bell peppers and snow peas; served with salad and jasmine rice plus roasted Vidalia onions.$13.99





 

Merry-go-round at warp speed!

This time of year it is hard to hold on. There are a zillion distractions. The weather invites us out to play. The quality and quantity of produce are suddenly in abundance. Families have lots of activities. Next Sunday is Mother's Day. Which way do I look. Where do I focus? Yikes!

I'll try to narrow things down a bit. First of all, the FRESH seafood this week is coming from Point Judith, RI. I have ordered 27 lbs of whole black sea bass. The vessel they come from, "Hope & Sydney," is bringing in specimens in the 1.5-2 lb average size. My plan is to fillet the larger ones and stuff and serve whole the smaller ones. Therefore, my menu has 2 seafood options this week. Both are sea bass but served in different manners. I had planned on mussels this week but that became not-so-available.

Regarding Mother's Day—No. We won't be open. But we do have gift certificates. It is always fun to watch folks bring in gift certificates they have received because they are usually very pleasantly surprised by the food we serve. They always mention when it was a gift and how much that person means to them. So it is a good thing. We can write gift certificates for any amount you choose.

We've got strawberries coming out our ears! We'll plan at least 2 strawberry pies, a layered strawberry and chamomile cream parfait plus whatever else we can make happen.  Prepare to meet thy strawberry!

Now that we have the other side open, we are now able to host any smaller meetings you may want to have. I am setting up a calendar so that the space can be reserved. Further down the road we'll also be hosting artist receptions when we get the gallery space ready for artwork. Do you have responsibility for any small gatherings? When I say small gatherings I mean 15-45 people. We can close the door and give you privacy for a board meeting, even a darkish space for projector presentations. If you want the space without a meal, we can simply rent it to you. If you want a meal served we can build it in. Flexibility is the key. We've got it.

Last week one of our customers brought in garlic scapes. At first I didn't know what to do with them. It seems that they are the flower stem parts of soft-stemmed garlic. Since all the garlic I have growing at home is the hard-stemmed variety, my garlic wasn't producing anything like that.  I have now learned they are great in stir-fries. I'm including them, as long as we have them. This is the serendipity part of the business I love. Many, many times customers, vendors and employees bring in items and either ask "What can we do with this?" or "How about we use this to do ...?" I love the collaboration when suppliers, cooks, artists, and creative people get together. There is a wonderful energy that is synergistic— bigger than the sum of its parts.

Friday night music this week will be the Renee Wood Trio. The trio will start playing about 6:45 and play 2 sets. The kitchen closes at 8:00 but will still serve desserts and beverages until the end of the 2nd set. Renee plays saxophone, Tom plays guitar and David plays drums. Their jazz is great dinner entertainment.

I better get on with telling you about this week's menu—

Tuesday~ Pulled pork is featured. We serve it on a whole-wheat ciabatta bun and team it with Cajun home fries and pickled red onion. $6.49
Wednesday~Seafood lettuce wraps. These wraps feature shrimp and scallops with a tangy sweet sauce mixed with red and green pepper, green onions and rice. They are served wrapped in leaf lettuce leaves. $6.75
Thursday~ Sorry, no tamales this week. Instead we'll fall back to the creamy chicken enchiladas, served with black bean & corn salad. $6.75
Friday~Curried chicken with Israeli couscous salad. $6.75

Seafood~ As mentioned earlier in this post, I am bringing in Black Sea Bass from Rhode Island. It'll arrive Wednesday after lunch and we'll begin serving it at Wednesday dinner. I'll plan on 2 versions, I think. My final decision will be made upon actually receiving the fish. My expectation is that I'll take the smaller-sized whole fish and simply stuff them with spinach, shallots, garlic, and mushrooms. Then I'll bake them until just cooked. It'll be accompanied by rice pilaf and stir-fried fresh veggies. This week I have zucchini, onions, garlic scapes, tatsoi and Napa cabbage in the stir-fry. That can change as my ingredients come and go. The second version is a piece of skin-on fillet that will get the royal treatment as Sake-Steamed Sea Bass with Ginger and Green onion. The whole fish version will be $18.99. The skin-on fillet will be $14.99. I think you could enjoy either.

With so much going on I am opting to keep things a bit simpler this week. The announced "Flavor Journey" is taking a week off. I expect I'll evolve something during the week. But right now I am pooling my resources and sitting back. I'll surprise you.

And isn't it time you scheduled your next Girls' Night Out? You've told us how much you've enjoyed them. We've been doing a few special things for Thursday nights. Among them are special appetizers and beverages designed to appeal especially to a feminine palate. We usually start Thursday night guests with an "amuse bouche." Are you familiar with this term? It is used to name a free morsel presented to diners before they even order. The name means to amuse the mouth. So it is a tasty tidbit meant to get you excited about what might be coming next.

Have a lovely week. Don't forget your Mother!!!!

~~Susan