Welcome to May! Time to Fiesta!

This time of year has the merri-go-round at full-tilt speed. Most of the showier flowers have done their thing. We are in that "wait and see" period before most of our garden crops are ready. We are also in that period of weather that has our relatives wondering how in the world we can live in a place that has so many tornadoes. Since many of my relatives are in southern Ontario, they are completely confused. Using an analogy like living in California awaiting an earthquake doesn't calm their fears. Nor does living in Florida with its hurricanes. I am NOT a gambler when it comes to anything that is hit or miss on money. Our money has been too hard won to ever feel good about playing with it lightly. But, I do feel that living where there are tornadoes is a pretty safe bet. I have personally only known 2 people who were affected directly by a tornado. This despite growing up or living in Texas, Tennessee, Florida and Missouri. Just as my cousin (thirty plus years ago) was sure she would be stepping over rattlesnakes on the sidewalk in Dallas, they have a pretty distorted idea of what living here is like. My aunt was fascinated to learn we already had fireflies and freaked to hear about army worms.

With the other side now open, we are much more able to comfortably seat you and get you served. I've rotated a few of my quilts around so you'll see something different. Know anyone with a large corporate space that needs artwork? Check out "Slipstream Adventure." It is the big red-hued quilt loosely based on a Van Morrison tune that mentions an adventure in a slipstream. If you look closely you will see a turbulance in the way the colors move. I pictured myself caught in the spin of river rapids or the prop wash behind a turbine. Spinning movement. The fabric is primarily hand-dyed silk plus some strategic metallics. Need more data? See me.

With our Texas roots, we love to celebrate all things Mexican—especially if it has anything to do with food. This week we will explore many Mexican dishes while tipping our sombreros to Cinco de
Mayo. We won't even be open on the 5th, so we recognize it is a passing tip of the hat. But any excuse to dig out those "south of the border" flavors get our juices flowing.   Fish tacos are on sale all week. We are doing gorditas (pork taco) on Wednesday...well, just think Mexican. Thursday Bruce is doing his most traditional tamales—pork with roja sauce. Bruce is re-inventing lasagna using Mexican ingredients on Friday.

The dinner specials will begin with a full fledged Mexican Fiesta meal—Jicama-melon salad, Chicken Mole—Puebla style, Chilaquiles de Guajolote (Tortilla casserole with turkey), Corn pudding, and Almond flan. This full meal—salad, entrée, and dessert— will cost $15 and will be in limited supply—so call in your reservation and order for dinner any night this week.  We'll also serve a festive red sangria—$5.50

The seafood dish is also from south of the border and is made from shrimp and scallops. It is a garlicky linguine with seared shrimp and scallops, chipotle and queso anejo. It is available Wednesday through Friday nights. It will be $14.99 and be served with a side salad or jicama melon salad.

As mentioned earlier, one of the desserts will be an Almond Flan. I also have a key lime cheesecake with whipped cream and grated lime zest as well as Bruce's Strawberry not-so-shortcake toped with whipped cream and fresh strawberries..

We have music this Friday night. JT Chinn will strum his stuff—acoustic blues with a southern flair. Listen to him while you dine or join us for a cerveza and dessert. We'll have several Mexican beers on hand and maybe a couple of fancy non-alcoholic festive beverages. I am thinking sparkling lemonade, or a mango pureed something.

Where is my Mexican circle skirt when I need it? Oh yeah, I out grew it when I was 10 years old. Bummer! I loved that skirt.

It is sure to be a quite festive week. I hope you'll join us!

~~Susan

New things to come

Adding the new beers and wines was just a first step. If you have not seen the beer or wine you prefer yet, please tell us so we can incorporate it into our plans. We had to start somewhere and what we got in initially is just a base. We have not yet added any wines beyond our "house wine" which is a restaurant-only brand, and many have declared it quite drinkable. We'll begin adding a few California wines then Missouri wines. Why in that order? Because the California wines are, so far, better known. We want to add a few Missouri wines. The cost per case is much higher than many of the California wines. The local palate seems to be toward drier preferences. Many of the Missouri wines are a bit on the sweet side.  We'd really like to get your feedback on personal wine preferences. One of the brands someone brought us to try was quite nice but unavailable for restaurant purchases. Darn. We are keeping our eyes out for Organics, too. We DO listen and feel you have a vested interest in what we choose.

As of the first of April we are officially taking over next door. The front part will be more dinner seating. The back part will become a small, fine-craft gallery featuring Missouri artists. The second side I am initially calling "MO a la carte." The very back part will be restaurant storage. There is a second bathroom over there, as well.  Our plan is to give you room to spread out at lunch and the ability for more to dine and listen to music on Friday nights. Virtually all seats will have a view of the stage when the double doors are open. Now we just need to purchase tables and chairs. We plan to have 3-4 tall tables with bar stools to give the "back row" a good view over the tops of other diners' heads. As with our other developments, they will happen as the income is produced rather than sticking our necks out to finance them. That may take some patience on your part—ours, too! We would LOVE to do it all, instantly. But, we won't. We'll be sane and keep it real.

Our priorities have been to enhance the areas that prepare us to deliver better and faster service. This week we are adding another rolling cart that will hold large trays. We'll then be able to prepare and hold our dinner side salads and desserts on nights when we are quite busy. That, alone, will speed things up considerably. We are also getting our servers some nice beverage trays to assist in delivery of your drinks. Simple things. But they add up!

Seafood~~I was delighted to hear from several of you that you'd like to be able to participate in purchases for fresh fish. This helps us quite a bit. Since my local source has dried up, I can so far only get fresh fish in 25 lb. minimums. This week I am sticking with sashimi grade (able to be purchased in smaller quantity) tuna that will be seared and served with a wasabi oil with sweet soy, sesame rice, a crab sushi maki, and seaweed salad with an Asian stir-fry. We'll have that Wednesday through Friday. I am working on the stone crab for next week. I got my seasons mixed up and April 15th is the LAST day for stone crab until October 15th. The cost for the tuna dinner will be $14.99. The crab next week will be higher.

The Flavor Journey at dinner will be the creamy chicken enchiladas (three) plus a side salad and sautéed summer squashes and onions topped with cotija cheese along with Spanish rice. Available from Tuesday, all week. $10.99. I make these using fresh spinach, fresh poblano peppers, chicken breasts, fresh cream and corn tortillas. We've served them several times at lunch and they always sell out. The dinner size is three enchiladas rather than two.

Thursday night is Girls' Night Out. We'll have smaller portions of both of the specials—the Flavor Journey and the seafood as well as pitchers of Sangria. I'll also have a special appetizer—grilled polenta topped with shitake and button mushrooms seasoned with butter and thyme. We have created an environment where you can feel comfortable enjoying a night out with friends and not feel like you are going to "get hit on." Why not start a new tradition among your female friends and make the scene on Girls' Night Out?

For Tuesday~I have been delighted by the number of people asking me to bring back the pimento cheese quesadillas. A long-time southern tradition, it stands up to our criteria of "real food." We make this from scratch using cheddar cheese, fire-roasted red peppers, minced onion, jalapeno, worchestershire, cream cheese and mayonnaise. This mixture then fills a pair of flour tortillas and is grilled. Served with a side at $6.75.

The Bahn Mi has been very well received. Bruce has gotten the French baguettes figured out. I did it last week with the marinated and grilled pork. For those of you who don't do pork, I am adding chicken meatballs. It will be available after Tuesday. The sandwich has a wonderfully Asian flavor profile and the French bread has a nice texture. If you bought one the first time I made them, I am using more meat now. The sandwich includes a mayonnaise spiked with Srachi, julienned carrots and cucumbers that have been pickled in a sweet brine. Cilantro tops the sandwich. I serve it with a side: Italian potato salad, Cajun home fries, black bean/corn salad, fruit or potato chips. $6.49 The plan is to keep this as a regular menu item.

Yes—the fresh fruit side is back.

For Thursday~Bruce is at it again. He is bringing back another favorite tamale—Garlic poached chicken tamales with cheddar rojo sauce and Spanish rice. $6.75

For Friday~With the craziness of the weather I can see no reason to hold off on making ceviche. I'll combine shrimp, scallops, crab and calamari with lime and lemon juice, sweet peppers, jalapeno, cilantro and garlic. The acid in the citrus juices "cooks" the meats of the seafood turning them opaque and giving it the mouth-feel and taste of cooked seafoods. I'll serve it over a bed of lettuce and with a side. $7.50 ( I paid almost $8 for a lunch-sized portion of ceviche in Austin 25 years ago.) If you like seafood, you'll love the clean taste of ceviche.

Desserts this week will include a strawberry cobbler and carrot cake with cream-cheese frosting. Those are my entries. I'm not sure what Bruce has in mind. I know he'll surprise us. He has already got angel food infused with lime and drunken blueberry sauce.

I hope you enjoy this week of spring—in ALL its glory.

~~Susan

Changes in the wind

This time one year ago, Jon and I were quaking in our boots. Our 40th anniversary was imminent and we were celebrating by committing to leasing space for our cafe. Throughout the month of November we focused our attention on getting this space remodeled into a working kitchen/ cafe. A year later, we are still here and are on the verge of some, hopefully, significant changes.

First of all—this Saturday we will be open. This is an exceedingly rare event. We'll be open because it is the first weekend of deer/gun season and there is a tradition in these parts for the women who aren't hunting to be out shopping, instead. Kathy and Frankie at Simply Chic clued us in to this phenomena and were the ones who suggested we might be open. So we will be. If you have not been able to join us previously because of your work schedule, or know of those in that category, this would be a lovely time to experience our lunch menu. Perhaps a few of you will be among those out shopping and can make us a part of your shopping spree. We'll be open from 11a.m.-2p.m. I know Kathy and Frankie have some pretty spectacular deals going for this annual event, too.

Next—This Friday we will host Renee Wood Trio. It will be the last Friday night we will be open this year. Between now and Christmas the café will be available for private parties during the evening hours. We will close entirely for 2 weeks immediately following Christmas. We'll be seeing our kids and grandkids whom we have not seen in two years. When we return January 9th, we expect we will have our beer and wine permit. This will allow us to serve beer or wine with lunch, catering or at our Friday night dinners.  Our focus will remain on local/ regional fare and this will extend to the beers and wines. We'll plan on hosting tastings and, hopefully, educate our palates along the way.  I have much to learn about pairings and celebrating regional wines. We can all learn together. I think it'll be a fun adventure.

Then—we are looking at revamping some of our Friday nights. We are currently surveying for feedback for a once-a-month-fine-dining experience. We would be creating a meal of magnificant delicacy, multi-coursed and splendid. The cost would be in the realm of $25/person. Pairings with wine or beer would be available. It would give me a chance to bring out the fancier ingredients—fresh seafood flown in, unusual meat sources, high grade cuts, etc. Because this would not work for just a few, we would have to have a high enough participation level to keep it up. I would love to explore various ethnic cuisines, sharing the lore behind the dishes and acquainting you with a more worldly palate. This would, most likely, replace open mic night on the first Friday. The note cards on the table are for your feedback and to let us know your favorite regional beers and wines. We really do want to structure our cafe around your needs and wants. So pipe up!

The holiday catering is already heating up. We will be producing several office holiday lunches for various staff around the county. Hopefully, we'll be preparing foods that are familiar while allowing you to have new taste experiences. If you have a staff luncheon planned, please give us a shot at preparing it. I'm betting your colleagues will thank you.

We are exploring more custard type desserts as the season heads toward the colder temps. My first one that I am excited about will be coconut cream pie with meringue. Of course, pumpkin will be in the mix as well as lemon curd, and various creme brulee. I can't wait to learn to use the torch to melt the sugar on the creme brulée. Bruce has brought back his tira misu. It will be available most days. As far as we can figure out, we are the only place in the region to make a real tiramisu. We use real mascarpone, a dozen egg yolks, real lady fingers dipped in real coffee liquor and real whipped cream. Recently, one of our customers had us make one for his girlfriend's birthday. She wrote to tell us how she used to eat Tiramisu while living in Italy and this was the best version she had had since leaving there. I'm not sure if Bruce's head will fit through the door on Monday...or perhaps it is just that he is floating 3 feet above the ground.  While I love creating fusion fare that mixes up the cultures somewhat, bringing you authentic foods created without shortcuts, using quality ingredients continues to be a big part of our mission. So many options these days begin with "I need a faster way." There are simply times when faster isn't better.

Here's the week's menu—
Soups~ all week French onion soup. A batch takes almost 10 pounds of fresh onions that are cooked down for hours to release their sweet goodness. Later in week~smoked sausage, kale and potato soup

Monday~Tuna Romans are on sale at $6.99 This tuna steak is seared to order and served on a Roman bun (made inhouse) with wasabi mayonnaise, tomato and spicy sprouts. Served with chips.
Also~Antipasto salad is $6.50 containing lettuces, salamis, ham, turkey, bell pepper, red onion, roasted red pepper, black olives, swiss cheese. Hefty!
Tuesday~ Sweet and sour chicken tamales with a confetti rice. Bruce's specialty! $6.50
Wednesday~Chicken Pad Thai $6.50 We've got the real deal made with tamarind, lemon grass, rice noodles, egg, sprouts, lemon...yum!
Thursday~ Turkey casserole. I know...we need a better name for it. It is made with fresh turkey breast, fresh and canned tomatoes, mushrooms, bell peppers, onions, mostaccioli (a form of macaroni) and lots of parmesan cheese. We'll serve it with a side salad. $6.50
Friday~ To celebrate Pimento cheese month, eat our pimento cheese quesadilla. Made from scratch, the pimento cheese is mostly chopped up cheddar cheese, plus roasted red peppers, some real mayonnaise, a jalapeno or two and finely minced onion. As the insides of a quesadilla—marvelous! $6.50 with a side.
Friday night dinners~
Seafood~Pan-seared rainbow trout, roasted root veggies, sautéed brussels sprouts plus side salad $12
Meat~Pastitsio. This authentically made Greek casserole of layered beef and noodles has both a tomato layer and a creamy cheese sauce layer. Served with a side salad and warm bread. $12
Vegetarian~Whole wheat noodles with broccoli, red peppers, carrots, shitakes, onions and garlic. With a side salad and warm bread. $10

Time for focus!

Before this Merry-go-round spins out of control it is time to channel some energy and set a straight course. The major holidays will be here before you know it. Here at the cafe we are gearing up for catering and making the most of the late-season harvest. Mary Badiny is bringing in her remaining tomatoes. Some we are drying for later use. Some are those tiny wild tomatoes that pack a bunch of flavor in less than 1/2 an inch. We are adding those to the salads as a bonus.

We are making good progress on the liquor license. This week I meet with city officials to follow the next steps. We'll have the criminal background check done this week. The taxes are paid. Our target is to have it all in place when we come back after the holidays. We'll be closed for 2 weeks following Christmas. We haven't seen our kids or grandkids in 2 years and plan to take this time to do so. We have one granddaughter we haven't even met yet!

The last of the green tomatoes have now been made into pickles by Bruce. We still have some of the dill, sweet and sour and bread and butter pickles. With the last of the local cucumbers already harvested, we'll wind down that aspect of our creativity until next summer. Last call for pickles!

We brought the tiramisu back. As it takes 12 yolks to make, we are also making the lime infused angel-food cake with drunken berry sauce. It takes 12 egg whites. It is all about good planning. We also have a  new pear frangipane tart. Oh my! The frangipane part is made with almonds ground up to a paste. It is one of my favorite flavors on the planet. With the pears being so available right now, we'll probably make it weekly for the next several weeks.
 
What with the world series, halloween parties, Scare on the Square and almost no reservations last Friday night we decided to be closed. We're rescheduling Bill Hilton later in November. This week we have Open Mic. I think I have heard that we will have several performers. It is always a nice surprise to hear who shows up. Remember— all performers on Open Mic get their dinner for half price.

So here is this week's menu—
Soups~we'll start the week with a traditional chili. Then Bruce will make his broccoli and 3 cheese soup. While it is creamy it isn't as heavy as some cream soups. That is because most of the broth is vegetable or chicken broth finished with cream and cheese.
Monday~Chicken Gyros are on sale for $5.75
Tuesday~Wood-fired chicken and Black Beans tamales with avocado and salsa verde sauce plus buttered and toasted cumin seeded rice. $6.50
Wednesday~Creamy chicken enchiladas with Cilantro broccoli slaw $6.50 (warning: these sold out super fast last-time)
Thursday~Quiche Lorraine with a side salad $6.50 (always a favorite)
Friday~Anti-pasto salad with corn muffin $6.50
Dinners: seafood~Shrimp Scampi with bread sticks and a side salad $12
meat~ Lemon Chicken Pasta with bread sticks and a side salad $12
vegetarian~ Savory spinach and mushroom crepes with rice pilaf and side salad $10

Your being a part of things here is important to us. We are thrilled when you share us with your friends and family. Does your office manager have a copy of our meeting menu? If you'll be entertaining friends this holiday season, let us make it easier for you.  We can put together appetizer platters and dips as well as entrées and sides. We're not yet up to a full scale operation in this aspect—so a bit of notice is appreciated.

Have a wonderful week—
Susan

Fall weather brings colorful foods

The pomegranates are in! To me, this marks the official sign that fall has arrived. I just love adding the little jewels to our chopped fresh fruit. This time of year we are pairing them with apples and pears—many local. You'll see them used as garnishes, too. If you are unfamiliar with pomegranates, they originate in the Mediterranean region and are a fruit that is about 3-4 inches across. To eat it, one peels away the outer skin to finds lots of jewel-like kernels. They almost look like ruby corn kernels. There IS a seed inside, but it is so small that most people simply swallow them. The juice is very refreshing and healthy. Thanks to recent marketing campaigns by POM, they have become a sought-after addition to salads, beverages and and even desserts. I grew up eating them, and we even had a pomegranate bush in our yard in Dallas.  My brother, Bill, and I loved to harvest and eat them straight from the bush.

Our flavor journeys this week are not centered on any one area. The South is represented by the southern corn chowder that I'll be serving all week. The tamales are traditional southwest as well, as is the pazole. Then we jump across the pond to enjoy a curried couscous salad. Thursday my Pizzas are simply Italian and Friday's lunch comes back to the US with  a Club Salad. France gets the nod with the trout and Italy again with the Fri. night lasagne.

This would be a great week to be adventurous in seeking your Friday night entertainment. We have Andy Roose coming from St. Genevieve. Jon had a chance to hear him on-line and really enjoyed his style. He classifies himself as an Americana singer/songwriter. Coming this far is an act of faith on his part, and we want to make it worth his while. So often, I think, locals feel they have to go elsewhere to hear music that is new to them. This time the "elsewhere" is coming to us. If you want a chance to hear him before committing you may do so by going to www.reverbnation.com/andyroose. But I have come to trust Jon's taste in musicians and feel confident you will enjoy Andy's music. As we have grown in popularity for Friday night, we are slowly building a following that appreciates expanding their concept of what is entertaining. We take that role pretty seriously and the trust you have given us. Please help support our efforts to bring you fresh talent by joining us Friday night. By building an appreciative audience base, we can continue to delight you with new sounds and experiences. I'll continue to expand the flavor journeys. Just another attempt to take you beyond the "Same ol', same ol'."

Our desserts these days have been pretty exciting. Bruce has been experimenting again and last week created a new one. It is white chocolate covered cherry dream pie—oh my! It begins with a chocolate crumb crust and is filled with white chocolate, drunken cherries and whipped cream—as I said, "Oh, my!" Bruce also came up with a new cake—Pineapple right-side-up cake. Fresh pineapple, coconut and a yummy yellow cake base. Where does he get these ideas? Who knows? But he does it week after week. I personally get a thrill each time he does so. Even though he is Mr. Quiet, I think he gets a thrill, too. Please let him know how much you are enjoying his efforts.

Another area I am trying to expand our dessert repertoire is in the realm of gluten-free offerings. You'd be amazed to know how many people are cutting back on gluten. Gluten is the part of wheat flour that creates the structure that supports bread and cakes. By carefully replacing that tradtional ingredient with alternatives such as rice flour, eggs, and other less glutenous grains, we can help those reach their gluten-free goals. In the digestive system, gluten can often cause a mucous build-up that interferes with the body's ability to remove  and use nutrients. If you have ever known anyone with Celiac's disease, you know that gluten can cause all sorts of troubles. Many of our customers are referred to us by their healthcare providers that we felt we should be able to offer dessert alternatives that speak to them. But they are not in any way a compromise, flavor-wise. The completely decadent chocolate-hazelnut torte is an example. Eggs, chocolate (lots) and no wheat flour make a dense, rich dessert. Do you have other ingredients you are trying to avoid? Speak up! Even if you've found other local places can't accommodate your dietary needs, come in to see what we can offer you. But if I don't know, I can't try to help.

Just so you know, here are some other things we avoid here—We NEVER use hydrogenated fats like Crisco, nor packaged whip cream products like Cool Whip. We never use margarine—always butter or extra virgin olive oil. For the rare times I am pan-frying something, I'll usually use corn oil. The sweetener in the cornbread is honey. Our breads are made fresh daily using whole wheat flour or unbleached flour. The pizza bases are made with a combination of unbleached and semolina wheat flours. Our eggs are almost always local, farm-fresh and organic. My favorites are the Aricana eggs that I use in the spinach and egg salads—they have a naturally pretty, light green/blue color shell. The insides and flavor are the same as the brown or white but I love the drama of peeling the coloreds ones. We make all our dressing from scratch using extra virgin olive oil or real mayonnaise. Our broths are either made from scratch or MSG free—usually organic. The pie shells usually use strictly butter, but if I am making a non-vegetarian dish I'll sometimes use butter and lard. Nothing beats real lard for a flaky crust. The tamales are made with traditional lard and corn masa, from scratch and hand-built. Whenever we can find them, we use local produce. Gradually we are expanding our local resources for produce. Mary Badiny had done a superb job of keeping us in fresh herbs and greens. We get our milk and dairy from Hiland Dairy where their farmers have committed to not using BGH—bovine growth hormone. We are always looking for ways to bring you food that originates closer to home. We welcome your input and suggestions.

So the menu this week~
Soups~ all week Southern Corn Chowder; Tuesday Pozole; Wed + Creamy garlic , spinach and potato soup 3.49/4.99/5.49  or with entrée 2.50/ 3.50
Monday~Fall veggie deep dish quiche. this quiche is so loaded in veggies you won't even notice there isn't any meat in it. With side salad. $6.50
Tuesday~  Cumin rubbed pulled pork tamales with a salsa verde cheese sauce and Spanish rice $6.50
Wednesday~Curried Turkey and Israeli couscous salad $6.50
Thursday~ Pesto pizza with smoked sausage, bell peppers, and portabellas with side salad $7.00
Friday~Hefty club salad with turkey, ham, swiss, hard boiled egg, plus red onion, mushrooms and bell pepper. $6.50

Fri. night dinners~ Seafood~ Rockbridge Trout Meuniere with wasabi mashed potatoes and stir-fried fall veggies and side salad $12
Meat~Beef lasagne with side salad $12
Veggie~veggie stuffed manicotti,  baked acorn squash, side salad $10

Thanks for joining us.
~~Susan

It's May!

After what seemed like an endless winter, we've been given another season with extreme velocity. I have lived in Florida and I know hurricanes. I have never seen so much rain, over so many days. And it looks like this week will add to the mess. Right now, I am grateful that my outdoor art fair days are a memory and not something I am having to deal with regularly. As much as I really loved doing the festivals, extreme weather could sure take the joy out of it. Wind was enemy numero uno. Rain, a close second. If I was at a show that had a number of amateur artists there was always the risk that the amateur's booths would be blown into yours and total your booth. That was because they seldom respected the wind and had no real concept of tethering down their booth. The Walnut Festival in Springfield is notorious for always having at least one day of extreme weather.

Our only instance of being affected by last week's weather came on Wednesday or Thursday when it rained REALLY hard during the lunch hour. Even though we have a fairly new roof, the east wall adjoins a 2-story building and water was able to seep into the edge of the flat roof. We were scrambling to get pots, pans, aluminum roasters, etc under all the leaks. We had to remove my quilts as the water was moving along the swales in the corduroy ceiling and dripping onto the quilts. We had quite the concert as all the pots collected water and it was very dark and gloomy. If the weather goes per most years, typically the worst of the weather should be gone by week's end.

Were you one of the lucky few who got to enjoy last week's morels? Hopefully, the local foragers will be back with another load. There are several varieties of local edible mushrooms in the Ozarks. We also have lots of edible wild greens and berries. Watch for them in our weekly menus. Often, they will appear unannounced as I am dependent on what is found and delivered—usually with little warning.

Have you tried our new Pomegranate/ Blueberry Lemonade? It is currently available daily. I hope we can add more exotic beverage options as the weeks progress. Do you have favorite summer drinks? Tell me about them! You can also order an Arnold Palmer— that famous mix of iced tea and lemonade.

Bruce has been busy lately experimenting with refrigerator pickles. We now have dill; sweet and sour; and bread and butter varieties. We make them in-house and use only fresh ingredients. Ask for them as an add-on to your lunch.

Bruce has also been playing with deviled eggs. This is a perennial favorite for the home cook, but seldom seen in restaurants. Bruce's kick these already-luscious treats to a higher level by topping them with shrimp or crab. Because we use local free-range eggs, the yolks are quite yellow. Almost an ochre. And it is sheer fun to peel those green and brown shells. Some are even speckled.

Have you noticed we've been populating our courtyard with containers of herbs, peppers, tomatoes and flowering plants? I am sure all this rain will give them a bounteous start. I am also starting nasturtiums so we can top your salads with fresh, edible flowers. Were you one of the lucky ones to get violets or red bud blossoms on your salad a couple of weeks ago? I've also started a couple of planters in the back. Hopefully, this will make our back door stand out so that those coming for to-go pick-up can easily spot the steps and run in to get their meals. Besides, it is prettier than plain ole wood and stone walls.

This week includes Cinco de Mayo. Our Texas roots have included many a celebration for this festive holiday. To celebrate here we are going to make Gorditas—slow roasted pulled pork—and serve it with a fresh slaw on soft flour or corn tortillas along with some Spanish rice. I'll make some black bean soup and we'll whip up a pitcher of virgin margaritas! We'll extend our celebration into Friday night where we will offer fajitas—both elk and beef.

And speaking of Friday night— It is First Friday and that means Open Mic. Last month was a blast!!! We welcome all who wish to share their talents with us. Bring along your favorite audience so they can enjoy you, too. I have a vegetarian Pesto Pasta Primavera, Elk and Beef Fajitas, and Trout Meuniere (Rainbow Trout with a white wine/shallot/lemon/butter sauce). The elk and trout are sourced locally. If you have Friday night entertainment to attend at 7pm, we can get you fed and out the door. Or stick around and enjoy the entertainment our crowd will provide. We are working to build alliances with the Avenue Theater and the Civic Center to make it easy to dine before a Friday night event.  Sorry. We cannot do Saturday night at this juncture due to care giving activities with my mom.

 This week's menu offerings—

Monday~Leek and Morel Tart with Potato Tabbuleh Salad; Chicken, mushroom and rice soup
Tuesday~Chicken Mole Tamales with salsa and Spanish rice
Wednesday~Spanish Potato and Vidalia Onion Tortilla (Spanish for omelet) served with Spinach and Arugula Salad
Thursday~Cinco de Mayo! Gorditas with Spanish Rice; Black Bean Soup; Virgin Margaritas
Friday~ lunch~Potato and Cabbage Pirogies with smoked turkey sausage.
 dinner~Beef or Elk Fajitas; Trout Meuniere; Vegetarian Pesto Pasta Primavera

See you soon!!!!— Susana