w/e April 27th Sprung! Full tilt boogie

This is the aggressive week of spring where anything that had held back up until now lets go and roars into full bloom. That is what is behind my quilt "Sprung!" —everything happening at once. You can see this quilt in the back area of the Annex.While we watch our neighbors along the major rivers bracing for flooding we are able to sit back and be thankful it isn't us. I know life is about to get more complicated as your dear ones begin to engage in spring sports and school or church happenings. We have all come out of hibernation at the same time. Which way to turn first?

Here at the cafe, I am anxious to get the beds going out back. I have seeds started at home and look forward to getting them in the ground. We are using exclusively non-gmo varieties.

This is the time of year for me to put out my plea for fresh morels. If you have some on your property I'd love to buy them from you. I'll pay $8/pound for them. It may be a bit early yet, but not too early to start looking. Key locations to look might be around the base of a dead elm, on the sunny side of a creek bed, or amongst the leaves at the base of trees. As they are most distinctive, you shouldn't have trouble distinguishing them from other inedible varieties. I only want the freshest ones—certainly not dried out or wilted. Call ahead to make sure I am still needing them. If we get inundated (I wish!) I may have to limit my purchases. Let me know what else you might be foraging for. Did you know that Arkansas has a truffle that rivals the French ones?

One of the ideas we are investigating—lunch-sized desserts.  I know that most of you skip dessert at lunch, but if you had a smaller, less dastardly option would you include it in your lunch? An example might be a scone or a muffin or a couple of cookies. They would be priced at less than $2. I haven't started on this yet but am inviting your feedback. Let me know what suits your fancy. That is what we are here for.

Music this week will be Jon Lumsden. He'll be playing one set of his laidback jazz starting about 6:45. If you prefer no live music there is plenty of time to get in and back out. If you like a bit of a background sound he'll add a nice touch to your evening. As always, tips are appreciated.

If you like game—specifically elk or duck, this is YOUR week. The very last of my elk patties is going into elk burgers on Friday. We wood-fired them yesterday to give them a nice smoky warmth. The flavor is so pure and very low fat. We'll serve them Friday at lunch as burgers with oven roasted sweet-potato fries. $8.50 There are only 16 burgers so if you want one with your name on it, call and reserve.

We have bought a case of pekin duck. That is 6 whole ducks which we are butchering into breasts and the rest as pieces of meat that will be cooked in its own duck fat at a low temp for several hours. This makes duck confit (pronounced con-fee). They make the most miraculous tacos. My plan is to have them available on Thursday at lunch. The breasts will be available at dinner until gone. As there are only 12 servings, you can bet they will go fast. So again—get your name on them if you want any. Amy has chosen to serve them with a cranberry orange sauce over shitakes and portabellas, with a purée of parsnips and cauliflower. I think they will be lovely.

For the Seafood entrée I am doing a traditional Spanish Paella. This is slightly different from the paella we served at the Filipino dinner but will have some similar ingredients—the gi-normous shrimp, fresh mussels, octopus, calamari, clams, and various ocean fish. It is a rice-based dish seasoned with saffron and lots of tomatoes. It'll be available Tuesday through Friday. I am not expecting to run out but calling in your reservation is a smart idea and is a kindness to us.

Amy and the boys are having a blast creating vegetarian dishes on Mondays. This week is an Indian stew called korma made with potatoes, tomatoes, peas, carrots, onions, ginger root, cashews, curry, cream and cilantro served over rice. When I checked the online history I discovered the name korma usually refers to a curried dish that has the ingredients braised in a cream sauce or nut paste. There are many versions and this one is vegetarian. $6.99. Served over rice.

There are a couple of dishes that will be served all week as specials—

First, the sandwich of the week is the Roman. It is served on a bun we make that is flavored with fresh onion. Filled with Genoa salami, hard salami, Black forest ham, sliced tomatoes, onion, lettuce, cheddar cheese, black olives, and mustard. These are heated in the toaster oven and served warm. Served with a side for $7.99

The Equinox Salad—This is our seasonal salad aka Spring salad. I start with spinach or arugula (both, if I have them) add red onion, strawberries, feta, almonds, peas or snow peas, and avocado slices plus wood-fired chicken. We recommend the Balsamic Vinaigrette as the dressing.  Usually this salad is $7.59. This week it is $7.25.

New Sweet Chili Thai Salad— I've been wanting to introduce a salad like this for a while and finally have a dressing I feel is perfect for it. The base is a combination of Romaine and shredded cabbage plus slivers of sweet red peppers, carrot strips, cucumbers, rice noodles, sprouts, cilantro, and cashews. The dressing has a bit of a kick and you can ask us to spice things up by adding red pepper flakes. Served without meat for $6.29. Add wood-fired chicken for $2.49 or wood-fired salmon for $3.99 or even grilled shrimp for $3.99. Assuming this is a popular item, it will remain on the menu. If not? It is outta here! This is your chance to vote with your tummy.

Also—all week you can ask me to add fresh red grapefruit chunks to any salad FREE. We have a case of red grapefruit that needs to be used up.

Thursday lunch only—Duck confit tacos! Oh my. The flavor is truly something special. Served on soft tortillas with a fresh rice vinegar/cilantro slaw and chipotle sour cream and topped with avocado slices. Comes with crispy tortilla chips and salsa. $8.99 You are worth it!!!

Friday lunch only—Elk burgers. The VERY last of our elk has been slow wood-fired and has a lovely smoky flavor. We'll serve it on a grilled ciabatta bun with caramelized onions, gruyere cheese and lettuce. Accompanied by oven-roasted sweet potato fries. $8.50

In addition to the above specials we'll have fresh mussels available as an appetizer at dinner in the form of  Mussels Fra Diavolo. They will be steamed for a short period in the fra diavolo sauce which is a spicy tomato-based sauce and served juicy with lots of bread for sopping up. $10.99

Flavor journey—Orange Cranberry Glazed Duck Breast served with portabellas and shitakes over a purée of parsnips and cauliflower. Served with a side salad $18.99

Seafood Entrée—Spanish Paella; a large bowl overflowing with giant gulf shrimp, fresh mussels, calamari, octopus, ocean fish and clams in a rich tomato/ saffron-based sauce and rice. Served with a side salad. $15.99

That's the scoop for this week. Thanks, as always, for your continued support. Have a great week!

~~Susan

Simple plans for a busy week w/e December 8th

This is going to be an insane week! We have three catering gigs this week and another 3 next week. We are thrilled to be doing them, but they are demanding an extraordinary level of organization. Fortunately, I was able to learn a few things from last year's experience thus making the learning curve a bit smaller. One of the aspects I learned was to keep other things going on to a simple level.  With that lesson in mind, I am not going to complicate matters by adding a bunch of new foods this week. In fact, I am simply going to discount our usual menu items and treat them as our daily specials. It might not be as exciting on your end, but I am confident we'll still be ble to warm your belly and make you happy.

As the holidays get under way, I would be amiss if I didn't mention that we have gift certificates. What better way to get your friends and employees off to a healthy new year than to give them an opportunity to dine with us? Just to remind you of some of the gems that make us special—our breads are mostly made in house or to our specs by a local baker; we make all our own dressings; you can get a good variety of salads...even at dinner; we use real ingredients, not fake and no hydrogenated fats; we source locally and organically, when possible; we are locally owned; our staff really cares about your experience and we are a happy bunch that are quite pleased you have joined us. In other words...you matter! We can make out gift certificates for any amount while you wait.

I keep watching for the vultures to return to Thayer. They are late this year. I was just looking up last year's blog and for the Nov. 27th post I was remarking how over 500 of them had come in to roost. Hmmm. Perhaps the drought altered things. I'll keep you posted on this natural event! I know you are waiting with baited breath.

Another of our staff I'd like to introduce is Paula Mize. This little bundle of energy just keeps astounding me with her immense heart and warm friendliness. You are most likely to see her when she is refilling your glasses of beverages. When not hiding out behind the counter, she is jumping in on prepping or helping to catch up a mountain of dishes. She is also quite talented in other ways. She is, herself, a fabulous cook and she has tons of experience in floral design. Now when we handle a cater we can also do the flowers and tablescapes. I think of her as Serendipity! She is Rick's mom and came along when we needed someone to fill in for an ailing staff member. She has been here ever since, and we are delighted.

We have not had any live music lately. Part of the reason is that 2 of our most talented musicians work here and we have been so busy we can't easily let them off to play. Jon plays jazz guitar and Rick along with his musical partner Dustin Collins, plays lots of Celtic music on his guitar. We are missing the live music and hope to go into the new year with a lineup. We enjoyed Vinny Ray and his violin with Thom Hoglen on guitar. But it seems he has hit the road and he isn't available. If you know of quality musical talent, please have them check in with Jon for an audition.

Soups this week— Tuesday and Wednesday, Paula's Minestrone; Thursday and Friday, Tomato and Pancetta Soup. Pancetta is an Italian form of rolled ham.

Lunches~~
Tuesday~ Fish tacos with a side; usually $7.25/ only $6.75
Wednesday~ Carnitas with guacamole, salsa, sour cream and torillas chips; usually $7.75/ only $7.25
Thursday~ Equinox Salad; usually $6.99/ only $6.49
Friday~ Spinach salad with wood-fired salmon; usually $5.49 + $3.99/ only $5.49 + $3.49

Dinners~~
Featured Flavor Journey~ Chicken veggie pasta; lots of stir-fried winter vegetables plus chicken in a light creamy pesto sauce on linguine plus soup/salad $13.99
Featured seafood Wood-fired salmon with shallots, white wine, roasted red pepper sauce on penne pasta plus soup/salad $14.99

Note: these items are now regular items on our dinner menu.

As always, we thank you for your ongoing support. You have given us the opportunity to bring you foods we think you deserve—healthy, wholesome and made from scratch with real ingredients. As the crazy pace of the holiday season sweeps you along, we appreciate the moments you take to enjoy a lunch or dinner with friends and family at our cafe. Thank you for letting us be a part of that joy.

~~Susan

Tween Times

It is that strange period of the year where the time machine begins to go haywire and the occasional reboot becomes necessary more often. This year we are pleased to be in preparation for several nice catering opportunities. We've gained much more experience this year and have learned to begin those preparations early. Ever the learning curve!

I am enjoying the gentle momentum we have going and hope we can keep it up through December 21st when we take a week off. We still have one date open for catering on the 22nd if you have any last- minute party plans. Originally we had planned to be enroute to Florida on that date. But plans have changed, and the date is now open. We can do off-site delivery, on-site private party, party staffing, floral arrangements and even music. Tell me what you need and we'll plan a custom cater just for you.

During the week we are pleased to make sure you get some healthy eating to go with all the dangerous goodies your friends and colleagues are bringing to work. If you have not tried the Equinox salad, I invite you to do so.  It begins with a bed of spinach and/or arugula, feta, red onion, pomegranate seeds, fresh apple, fresh pear, wood-fired chicken and bacon. We suggest topping it with our hot bacon dressing. $6.99 Yum!!! This salad will disappear after the New Year. So, get it now.

We have added 2 new dishes to the night-time menu. The first you may have had last week, which is  wood-fired salmon pasta with a light, red pepper cream sauce plus soup/salad for $14.99. The second is another pasta dish but made with chicken, stir-fried winter veggies, penne pasta, and a light cream sauce plus soup/salad for $13.99. I make my cream sauce a bit lighter than a traditional al fredo sauce. Except for there being no flour (therefore no gluten), it is made the same way. I do use heavy cream instead of milk to give it a thickened richness. Both of these dishes will be available nightly for the foreseeable future.

Soup~Start of week~ Chicken Posole; Thursday and Friday~ New England Clam Chowder

Tuesday~ Carnitas (2 crispy pork tacos on soft corn tortillas) $7.25; usually $7.75
Wednesday~ Spinach lasagna, side salad  $7.50
Thursday~ Meatloaf, garlic mashed potatoes and oven roasted root veggies  $7.99
Friday~ White chicken chili with side salad  $7.50

Flavor journey~All week—Lemony chicken pasta plus soup/ salad  $13.99
Seafood~ Wed.—Fri. Mixed seafood crepes (shrimp, clams, squid, octopus and real crab) in a cream sauce, winter veggie stir-fry; soup/ salad  $14.99

Time to kick life into high gear. Come replenish your body and your senses with regular visits to A La Carte Cafe. We'll keep the good food coming and try to keep the hassles at bay. Have a glorious week!

~~Susan

Duck Season!

I am not a hunter. Well, not an animal hunter. But I do love a nice walk in the woods. Sadly, this time of year, just as the ticks are disappearing, the hunters take over the woods in large numbers. I don't begrudge them their opportunity to display their place on the food chain. I just wish it wouldn't mean it wasn't safe for non-hunters to stroll amongst the bracken.

Last week I was thrilled to be able to serve the coral mushrooms. I had never had them before and only twice had eaten wild harvested mushrooms of any kind. Those others were chanterelles and morels. For a girl who has lived in many places but never one where we foraged from the woods, this was thrilling. I can't wait to see what else we might find via foraging.  I was even able to add some sumac seeds for seasoning. I have driven by tons of sumac for years with the intention of stopping to grab a cluster or two and try it out. Sumac is a spice that is used in many middle-eastern recipes. It has a somewhat citrus-y edge to it. I just let the seeds dry out on the shelf above my stove, separated the seeds from the stems and crushed them with a mortal and pestle. I used them in the mushrooms we topped the tilapia with last week. BTW—I have heard that there are no poisonous sumacs in Missouri. They have a totally different shape to the flower head than the ones we see here, roadside.

Two weeks ago I told you I had bought a case of duck. That amounts to 6 whole Peking ducks. Fortunately they came minus heads and feet. I'll never forget walking the streets of Toronto and San Francisco and seeing the smoked Peking ducks hanging in the shop windows—with heads and feet. Over the weekend I butchered the ducks, separating out the wings; legs and thighs; breasts, backs and necks; and giblets.  I took any skin that was unconnected to other parts and rendered it down. That means I cooked it in a pan until the fat melted away from the skin. This left cracklings—crispy skins, that I lightly salted and quickly devoured after sharing a bit with Rick. The rendered duck fat is considered one of the delicacies of the food world. While extremely tasty, it is considered a healthy fat. It is used to cook duck confit—pronounced cohn fee'. Duck confit is a dish where duck is cooked at a very low temperature (180 F degrees) in its own fat for several hours. The meat is slowly brought up to a cooked temperature and the resulting cooked meat simply melts in your mouth. We'll use it to make duck tacos at lunch on Wednesday. Served with shredded red cabbage, chipotle cherry salsa and crumbled goat cheese.

The breasts are cooked entirely differently. It is unusual in that it has a red meat—like beef. They, too, have a fat-laden skin that crisps up nicely in the pan. Unlike other parts of the duck, the breast is quite tender and is usually only cooked to a medium rare. It'll be accompanied by L'orange sauce, whipped sweet potatoes and steamed broccoli. We only have 12 breasts to go the whole week. I'll begin serving them on Tuesday evening and they are only available by reservation, dinner only. If you want me to save you a portion, you'll need to call in and have me put your name on it. They will go for $18 each.

I usually only serve one seafood entrée during the week as a special for dinner, but I am changing it up a bit this week. Tuesday and Wednesday I'll serve a crawfish gumbo over rice. I'll use a traditional gumbo recipe that begins with a slow roux—flour and oil cooked together and stirred over a low flame until it gets to a caramel color. This can take half an hour in itself. We'll add in some sausage, okra, garlic and the Cajun holy trinity—onions, celery and bell peppers. It'll be kicky without being overwhelmingly spicy. If you like creole or cajun you'll be in gumbo heaven. Served with a side salad and fried okra. $10.99

Thursday and Friday nights I have fresh Prince Edward Island mussels. I love steaming them in a garlic-infused wine broth and serving them in a bowl with rice and their own juices. I have 10 pounds coming in. Again—calling in a reservation to save you a portion would be brilliant. As with most meals we serve at dinner, you'll get a soup or salad plus a side of stir-fried late season veggies. $17

If you were looking for the sashimi tuna this week, I put it off until next week, probably. Several people had asked me not to have both the duck and the tuna the same week. I listened.

Music this week—Vinnie Ray  and Thom Hoglen will be playing jazz violin and guitar this week. They are a really nicely tight group that play superb jazz. You may have heard them a couple of weeks ago. The music is loud enough to get your attention but not overwhelming. If you wish to have private conversations during the music, ask to sit in Annex. The main dining room is by reservation. If you miss them this week, catch them next week, as well.

Now onto that lunch menu—

Tuesday~ keeping it simple. The new Equinox salad will be featured and the price chopped 50 cents. This new salad will be around until late December. I begin with a bed of spinach and arugula. Then I add in feta, apple, pear, pomegranate, red onion, almonds, wood-fired chicken and bacon. The dressing is a hot bacon dressing. Usually $6.99; Tuesday $6.49

Wednesday~ Duck confit tacos. You'll get 2 wrapped in either mandarin pancakes or flour tortillas. We'll add a touch of  chipotle cherry salsa/sauce, shredded red cabbage and crumbled goat cheese. Served with choice of side. $8.00

Thursday~ Coral mushroom and poached chicken crepes. I love the very delicate flavor of the coral mushrooms. I don't wish to overwhelm the flavor of the mushrooms with a smoked chicken, so I am going with poached to keep it mild. We'll use fresh thyme, tarragon and parsley and oregano from the garden. As mushrooms have a slightly woody undertone in their flavor, I am composing the herbs to solidify that base then adding a touch of dill as a topnote. This is done much the same way as perfumes are made. You may not have noticed but layering of flavors is one of the skills of a good cook. It is the nuances of flavor and scent that tantalize the palate. I'll serve this with a side of fresh butternut squash sauteed with garlic and sage. $7.50

Friday~ Seafood chowder. I have some lovely red snapper, mixed shellfish, and clams that we can combine to make a hearty stew. We'll serve this with a crusty bread and side salad. $8.00

Soups this week~

I'll start out with a classic chicken noodle we make from scratch. Lots of garlic, cooked down onions, celery, egg noodles. Yum. Simple. It'll help to clear your head from the allergies rampant right now. Later in the week we'll switch to a roasted root veggie soup—made with sweet potatoes, parsnips, turnips, onions, garlic, winter squash, rutabaga, beets. Man, I am loving this cooler weather!

That's it for now. I hope you have a lovely week and that we get to see you more than once.

~~Susan

Arrrgh! Time for some frivolity

As we move into the week, we'll be noting that we are approaching the equinox—one of 2 days a year where the days and nights are the same length. While driving to West Plains from Thayer, the sun comes up in the middle of the road on the equinox right in front of the racetrack. The road there has become the measuring device that gives me a chance to step back from the nuances of the days changing length and enables me to see just where we are in the scheme of things solar. Now the sun will be coming up more to the south of the road. When you are in route to work on Friday, note the location of the sunrise.  It will be just one day off of the equinox. Noting the sunset will also give you a similar indicator of where we are in our astral traversing.

Last week many of you asked me about the flowers we had on the tables. Those were "rain lilies." They popped up overnight after the nice long rain we got a week ago. They have no leaves I have been able to find—now or in the spring when the surprise lilies get their leaves. I always forget they are there until a good late summer rain. Then—a pleasant morning surprise. They are my harbinger of autumn just as the skunks are my harbinger of spring. Changes are afoot just after.

Wednesday brings us "Talk Like a Pirate Day." That is just the level of foolishness we are in need of. You'll see us sporting pirate motifs and talking funny all day. We might even have a few pirate jokes for you. One silly change you can make for a day or two, mostly to entertain yourself, is to change your facebook language to Pirate English. At the very bottom of your facebook page is the language button. Select English. Then, within the English options,  select Pirate. It is silly, fun, and easy to switch back.

After 2 weeks of trying it out, I am pleased to announce that the changes we made on Friday nights in the kitchen are working. I was afraid we had maxxed out the number of folks I could serve in a timely manner on Friday nights. We have streamlined a thing or two, put major components within easy reach, reduced the foot traffic in the pit, moved all salad and dessert operations to the back, kept the beverage service in easy reach of servers and worked out a better system for plating. These were all simply logistical efforts that have enabled me to focus on getting the entrées out hot and with a shorter wait by the customer. No shortcuts on quality have been taken and no additional staff needed. We did, however, add smiling Paula to Friday nights to help with hostessing, keeping glasses full, taking empty plates off tables and expediting food going out. Our small kitchen has limits of delivery and trying to find ways to max it out is a challenge. After this, though, we may have to get more defined in the reservations we make, with definite times staggered more evenly. Right now everyone can arrive at the same time and it makes it tough to get a smooth flow. Just another one of the learning curve items that we are discovering as we go along. I must be getting soooo smart. There sure seems to be a lot to absorb and work out.

We had planned on opening for Monday lunches. We still plan to, but there has been a delay. Rick is the main person who will be in charge of the prep and delivery on Mondays at lunch. He has been suffering recently from a non-ending level of pain in his neck and shoulders. While this is going on, we are not going to over-burden him with this higher work load. Please bear with us and know we have listened to you and know you want a Monday lunch option. Jon and I are physically at the maximum we can handle, currently. With the exception of a few caters, any expansion will have to involve those young kids we hire. So we await a healing.

Soup season is now in full swing. We'll strive to keep it available at all times. The varieties will flucuate. This week we'll start out with "caldo con queso y pollo." In English, this translates to "soup with cheese and chicken." I'll be taking garlic, onions, and fire-roasted Hatch peppers and sautéing them until soft and juicy. Then we'll add in chicken broth, poached chicken and cream, adjust the seasoning and add Monterey jack cheese to finish. Later in the week we'll start some onions for a French onion soup. Those get caramelized for half a day. This fall we are separating out our chilies from the soups. The cost of ingredients is usually quite a bit higher on the chilies and we need to charge for them as entrées instead of soups or add-ons.

An example of this is that the white chicken chili we'll serve on Wednesday (Arrrrgh), we'll make as an entrée and offer with a side salad or other side option. About that chili, we start the night before with white navy beans soaking overnight. The Hatch peppers (mild) will have a prominant role in the flavor profile. We use our wood-fired chicken in this recipe which gives it a full smokey essence. I'll serve it with cornbread or roll.

Whenever I take on a cuisine that is often created in other restaurants, I want to do something fairly unique. I have no interest in competing with what other local restaurants are serving in a head-to-head match-up of dishes. Therefore, I most often will take a more authentic, home-based version of a dish and go from there. This week were are serving beef fajitas as one of our dinner choices—the Flavor Journey, in fact. So what is going to make mine differ from the local Mexican restaurant's version? Well, first of all, we are wood-firing dry-rubbed flank steak to give it a smokey essence. The veggies we'll serve it with are freshly grilled onions, red and green bell peppers, Hatch peppers, local yellow squash and fresh jalapenos. It won't be terribly hot but it will be flavorful. We are now using a whole-grain tortilla for our quesadillas and may try to use them for this, as well. You'll get all the side fixin's like guacamole, sour cream, pico de gallo, cilantro, lettuce and sprouts, plus lime as well as our own seasoned black beans. We can even serve it with a cold beer or a glass of sangria. Available Tuesday- Friday.

The seafood entrée this week is our crab cakes. I take a special pride in making these. They are held together with as little binding as possible and are quite flavorful. There is no such thing as fresh crab unless you are cooking live crab, as most of the boats cook the crab while still at sea and package it before landing. We recently did a head-to-head tasting comparing the various crab options locally available. By far and away the back-fin crab we got from our purveyor was better tasting than the lump or claw available through the grocery stores. Even though "lump" is considered the best tasting universally, the local option had a chemically aftertaste that was distracting and made it not worth using. Each serving is 2 cakes. They will be accompanied by a fresh butternut squash ravioli. Yep. I'll be making fresh sage pasta and stuffing it with butternut squash. Also I'll serve it with fresh, creamy garlic spinach. You can't get much more autumn-y than that. They will be available from Wednesday until Friday nights. As always, it'll have a salad, or this time of year, you may choose soup.

I am retiring the Solstice Salad this week. It has had a nice run. The new Equinox Salad will take its place. As with my all my seasonal salads, it takes its cue from what are seasonally special ingredients. The arugula and spinach return as a base. I love the spicy, peppery flavor the cool-weather arugula gives. To that base we'll add apples and pears, crispy bacon, feta, red onion, roasted red bell pepper, wood-fired chicken and a hot bacon dressing. It'll make its debut on Thursday. After Thursday, it'll be available all week until the next solstice in late December.

Friday's lunch brings back one of the crowd favorites—creamy chicken enchiladas. This recipe uses fresh spinach, mild Hatch peppers, lots of chicken, corn tortillas and Monterey jack cheese—gluten free! You'll get 2, plus black beans, Spanish rice and a whole lotta love. I expect to have 12 servings. Call in your order to reserve.

Now let's address desserts. You've embraced the grilled poundcake with grilled fresh fruits and our in-house vanilla ice cream. I have pavlovas, which are air-filled crisp meringues, topped with sautéed cinnamony peaches and pears, brown sugar-frosted pecans and finished with a brandied whipped cream. Also, this week, French Silk Pie. This creamy chocolate goodness is devine. The grilled poundcake is night-time only. The pie and pavlovas are anytime.

So in a condensed form~~(more details; see above text)
Tuesday~ Trout burgers are 50 cents off. These are proving quite popular. We serve these seasoned trout patties with Rick's lemon dill mayonnaise, tomato and sprouts on grilled ciabatta. It'll come with a side. Usually $7.50—Tuesday $7.
Wednesday~White chicken chili with side salad. $6.99
Thursday~Equinox Salad. $6.99
Friday~ Creamy chicken  enchiladas $7.50

Flavor journey~ Beef fajitas with grilled bell peppers, Hatch peppers, onions, yellow squash, and jalapenos. $12.99

Seafood entrée~Crab cakes with creamy garlic spinach and fresh butternut squash ravioli. $14.99

I hope this week finds you moving forward with your goals and optimistic about your future. Have a happy one!

~~Susan