It is hard to believe that we have made it this far. What began as an experiment and hopeful solution has become a community gathering spot and oasis for good food. And, oh my!, the learning curve has been amazing. Before we opened three years ago in a food trailer next to a used car lot I had never worked in a restaurant kitchen. My total restaurant experience boiled down to 3 months as a lunch time waitress 39 years ago and less than 2 weeks in a buffet restaurant 3.5 years ago.
Fortunately I am a cook with a strong sense of curiosity and who is easily bored by the same old, same old. When we were writing up our game plan we were keenly aware of friends who had gone before us and knew how much a restaurant could steal your soul. We decided early that despite "normal practices" we would design this project around our realistic energy levels, without big monetary risks, and an ability to actually pay our bills. Some aspects have been more successful than others. As we've grown we've taken on higher commitments to staff pay, government regulations, rent and utilities. These have chipped away at the nice margins we worked with early on.
Over the last three years we have kept our ears open and listened to what you told us you needed and wanted. Night time dinners all week were added in February of 2011. Shortly after that we added beer and wine. Then we expanded into the "annex" next door. Let me tell you what we have planned next. Many of the ideas have been simmering for a while. Amy adding some of her keen insight and the timing of a super seminar have escalated the time-frame.
First—we are adding tap beer to our serving options. Once we have a kegerator (the container that holds, chills and dispenses tap beer) in place we plan to add true craft beers. Hopefully, this will happen before the end of summer.
Second—we plan to extend our beer and wine serving permit to allow us to serve on the patio outside. This requires us to fence off in a fairly substantial manner an area that makes it obvious you can't walk beyond it.We'll add a couple of benches so friends can sit and talk while enjoying their beverages outside.
Third—we plan to get a full liquor permit to serve not only beer and wine but spirits as well.
Fourth—This is where it begins to get more expensive—we plan to put in a full bar with several beer taps and full-service liquor options. It will be located in the area we now use to hide ourselves away between lunch and supper. The "propanels" will come down. (Propanels are the temporary gallery display sections currently used as walls and to display some of my quilts.) The bathroom door on the annex side will be moved to allow more direct access. A triple sink as well as a hand-sink will have to be installed. The back wall will house the liquors and glassware. New lighting will also be a part of things. A new, non-porous floor is required.
Fifth—Along the wall area where we currently hang some of my framed pieces we will add 2 10 ft long church pews and 4 48" tables, plus chairs with pendant lights hanging over each table.
Sixth—The display area inside the window of the annex will be removed. I'm not sure what will go in its place. Perhaps a long counter against the window for stool type seating.
Seventh—Paint and lights and fans. Using the "Live Water" quilt as inspiration we will paint the "annex" in colors of the sea. I want the whole theme of the annex to be water. Over the next few years water will become a major topic of political and philosophical discussion. I want our venue to be a natural place for such discussions and a place where water's vitality is keenly observed and respected.
Eighth—An awning. The cost of putting an awning across the whole front is pretty high—close to $4,000. But we feel it is crucial to comfort while dining outside as well as increasing our visibility, and even lowering our utility costs. Hopefully, we'll also be able to add some barn lights to shine down on our sign and light the awning from above. By the way, my vision has always been for this to be a sidewalk cafe. The fact that this vision is slow to occur doesn't daunt my vision. I just want to do what it takes to make dining outside in nice weather your first choice. In larger cities, dining al fresco is considered a rare treat.
How do we plan to make all this happen? You are a big part of the plan! Jon attended a seminar last week at OzSBI on crowdfunding. It fits right in with our stance on sustainability and allows us to grow, providing the services and facilities you've requested, while keeping high risk out of the equation. We'll be putting together the whole campaign shortly and hope your enthusiasm will keep the flow going. Stay tuned for the details.
Another part of our Anniversary Celebration will be to have 2 musicians play for you this week on Friday night.
Phil Orlikowski is a crowd favorite playing vintage tunes from the 60s and 70s on guitar. Yes, folks...that is vintage these days.
Jon Lumsden will also join us and play his laid back jazz guitar from the Great American Songbook plus many of his original tunes.
In celebration of our Anniversary, we are bringing in
fresh caught Coho salmon from Alaska. They will arrive Tuesday morning after being out of the water for less than 24 hours.
The cohos were caught off Beluga Point in the waters of the Cook Inlet via set net by a group of fishers that's been working that water for many generations. They use small skiffs (no more than 20 ft long), most of which do not have names since they're small, unmotorized boats. Using set nets, they pull in small amounts of fish at a time, and then each load their catch onto a tender (large motorized boat) that transports the fish back to the dock. I will cook the fillets to order and serve them with a rice pilaf and our lovely summer stir-fry. We'll make up our Sea Sauce to serve on the side. $16.99
The Flavor Journey this week comes from Argentina. I'll be serving
Grilled Flank Steak (local grass fed beef) with a chimichurri sauce. The story of chimichurri is a bit convoluted. According to Wikipedia—
The Argentine gourmet Miguel Brascó claims that the word chimichurri originated when the British were captured after the British invasions of the Río de la Plata. The prisoners asked for condiment for their food mixing English, aboriginal and Spanish words. According to this story, che-mi-curry stands for "che mi salsa" (a rough translation is "hey, give me condiment") or "give me curry". The word then corrupted to chimichurri. The fact that prisoners could even ask for a condiment gives this little credence in my book.
Another theory for the name of the sauce comes from the Basque settlers that arrived in Argentina as early as the 19th century. According to this theory, the name of the sauce comes from the Basque term tximitxurri, loosely translated as "a mixture of several things in no particular order". It is a sauce made from lots of parsley, garlic, olive oil, oregano, and wine vinegar. Various things can be added like lemon juice, cilantro, paprika, cumin and thyme.
The flavor is somewhat similar to a pesto or pistou. We will serve the flank steak and chimichurri with grilled
onions as well as a saute of fresh local zucchini, pasta and zucchini flowers. Quite a striking dish! $15.99
A third dining option this week will be the Pasta all' Amatriciana. I have finally practiced this enough to pronounce it without too much stumbling. It is a pasta served with Italian pancetta (Italian rolled ham), Pecorino cheese, oven-roasted local Juliet tomatoes, lots of parsley, fresh garlic and a bit of red pepper flakes. It can be made as mild or spicy as you wish. Comes with a side salad for $14.99
Now lets talk about the lunches—
Monday~
Spicy Peanut Noodle Salad (cold version). Vegetarian, of course. It is Monday, after all. $6.99
Tuesday~
Black and Blue Hamburgers served on Pretzel Roll. Local grass fed 1/4 lb. beef burgers grilled to order and served with caramelized onions, blue cheese sauce, sprouts or lettuce and fresh local tomato. Served with side of Home Fries. $8.50
Wednesday~
Caesar Salad with garlic parmesan shrimp. $7.99
Thursday~
Thai Beef Salad with mint and cilantro $7.99
Friday~
Spiced tilapia with linguine $7.99
Special desserts this week~
Blueberry poke cake—a yellow cake which is then poked with a wooden spoon and a mixture of fresh blueberries, Bailey's Irish Cream, sugar and heavy cream are poured over the top while the cake is still warm. Served warm. $4 (early in week only). It has nothing to do with poke weed.
By request! The return of the
Grilled Pound Cake with warm peach coulis, vanilla ice cream and Chantilly cream. $5 We did a version of this last summer and many customers have reminded me. Thanks for the reminder!
Thanks to you, we have been able to continue to grow and expand. Your continued support, word of mouth promotion and personally directed enthusiasm have kept us moving forward. Without you A La Carte Cafe would wither and die. Come and be a part of great things to come. We are modeling our future based on your requests and input. In other words—you have a vested interest in what comes next. Stay tuned!
Have a lovely week! ~~Susan
