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