Pasta night and private parties

Lately we've been looking at ways to grow our business without having to add more work for ourselves. A challenge! Two areas that were worth a look were a) figuring out how to make slower dinner service nights stronger and b) private catering and parties. In the evening the "other side" is seldom required except for Friday nights. It is therefore easily available for a private dining experience or party/meeting. I am delighted that we booked 5 events in the last week that will begin to fill out the private party/catering side of things.

Last week we initiated Family Pasta Night on Tuesday evenings. Our intention there is to provide a simple weekday meal solution for you and your family. We'll have the food ready to go by 5:00pm. So if you have school events or meetings to get to we can get you fed and on your way lickety split. Just tell us when you come in if you have somewhere you need to be and when. We'll fix you up! This week I am making my summer meat sauce to go over angel hair. The sauce begins with a simple ground beef sautéed with fresh onions, garlic, tomatoes, dill and basil. It isn't complicated so all the elements get a chance to shine. We'll serve the pasta with a side salad and garlic toast. $8.99 and $4.99

On Tuesday we'll have both the Bahn Mi sandwiches—pork and chicken available. These are quickly becoming customer favorites. With a decidedly Asian flavor profile, we are the only ones to offer this flavor option within 100 miles, maybe more. The meats are marinated in ginger, garlic, cilantro, fish sauce,  and green onions. The bread is a French baguette we have made to our specs. It is light and crunchy. We toast it and slather it with a spicy  mayo. The veggies are freshly pickled cucumbers and carrots, fresh sprouts and sprigs of cilantro. If you have not yet tried this little delight, you should plan on it soon. We have both most every day. Usually $6.99. Tuesday it will be discounted 50 cents to $6.49.

Wednesday Rick gets to shine again. This week he is sharing his new pulled turkey sandwich. Slow cooked and very juicy, it'll be served on the French bread.  We'll serve a vinegar slaw with it and provide au jus to dip it in. YUM!!!! $6.99

I am loving having Rick take the reins one day per week. It lightens my workload and gives him a chance to stretch his gastronomic muscles. Rick already is quite skilled as a cook and innovator. He is utterly comfortable in the kitchen and a joy to work with.

Thursday we're having chicken mole tacos. The chicken is slow cooked for tenderness and mixed up with a traditional mole sauce. This mole sauce has a tomato base, dried chilies, pumpkin seeds and a wee bit of chocolate. This is a taste treat that you seldom see in Tex-Mex restaurants as it is quite authentically Mexican. We'll serve it on your choice of corn or flour tortillas. It'll come with a choice of sides, including black bean/corn salad. $6.99

Friday I am making chicken Pad Thai. It is one of my favorite Thai dishes. Rice noodles, sprouts, egg, chicken, peanuts, cilantro, lime...   You'll love it if you like Thai at all. $6.99

The Flavor Journey this week will be a lemon chicken pasta. We'll pound the chicken breasts flat and sauté them; make a lemon oil; serve with capers, parsley, butter, garlic and noodles. I know there is more to it, but I'm going by what I remember as I write this. $ 10.99 Normally I would have it available from Tuesday night on. But this week I'll wait until Wednesday as I have a small private party to cater Tuesday night in addition to the Family Pasta Night.  We don't want to wear out the cook.

The seafood will be Trout en papillote. That means our Rockbridge rainbow trout will be cooked in parchment along with the various seasonings and vegetables. This time of year we'll include squash, eggplant, tomatoes, lemon, fresh dill and thyme. I'll serve it with a baked potato. It'll be available Wednesday through Friday. $14.99

The Renee Wood Trio will join us on Friday night for this week's entertainment. Playing the great jazz classics, Renee is on saxophone; Tom Rowley on guitar and David Moore on drums. It's a nice accompaniment to a good meal.  

We thank you for sharing your favorite local musicians with us. Since we seldom seem to "get out" we are reliant on your good taste and recommendations. Please let us know who you would like to see and hear.

I hope you have a glorious week. I expect to.
~~~Susan