w/e August 10 Starting year number FOUR!

It is hard to believe that this time three years ago it was the hottest week of the year. Jon and I were scared and we had a massive learning curve ahead. We were working out of 4 coolers and 2 under-counter fridges. The spot I cooked in, in the trailer, was about 2 foot square and I stood there for 8 hours a day—prepping, cooking and doing dishes all from the same spot. Jon ran around setting up tables, umbrellas, buying groceries and watering plants. Ahh. Times have changed.

All this rain and cooler weather have been such a treat. Has anyone started planning their "Okay, we've had enough rain for a while dance?" I'm just glad we have intrepid diners who are not stopped because of a bit of wet stuff. All Hail the umbrella!

Terry Hamptom, with the Quill, has been given wider leeway in her feature writing and has now written an article on our cafe, our role in the community and our stance on sustainability and good food. It's due to come out on Tuesday. I am hopeful that it will help raise our visibility within the community and awareness on good food options. Included in the section will be an excerpt from my blog on our ingredient choices. If folks will just read that, we may gain a strong new audience.

We've already started the process on many of the plans we discussed last week. I am researching the liquor laws and finding out what we need in order to expand to the outside sidewalk serving. I have located the planters we need that will support the "fencing" needed to corral the outside seating. The sign on the wall that acknowledges the occasional need to lick the plate is nearly ready to be sealed down—after I move it 6" inches to the right. We've been saving wine bottles to create the down spot lights that will hang over the new bar and the seated banquette. We're putting numbers to all the items on the wish list. We'll soon be recruiting  labor in exchange for food/beverages to create the physical changes. We are still in need of a trailer that is long enough to haul 2 10-foot-long church pews. They are located near Cape Girardeau.

Fortunately, our traffic has begun to pick back up and we had a spectacular anniversary week. We know things will dip again as school gets back in swing. But hopefully, this will be a strong fall. If you have any dates planned for your holiday parties, it is not too early to put us on the calendar. Popular dates fill up fast. Remember, we can cater your party here or on-site. If you want your party to be easy on your part, knowing your guests will enjoy the delicious food, we're the guys to call.

It was nice to get all the feedback about our plans. Thank you for speaking up. Please keep those comments and ideas coming. You DO have a vested interest in what comes next.

The music this week is a new artist for us. His name is Josh Tyler and he is a singer/songwriter. Jon and I heard some of his tunes via a friend of his. We really enjoyed his music and think you will as well. His music is somewhat of a contemporary folk genre. Please join us Friday night to hear him perform.

For the dinner specials we visit both France and Mexico. France brings us boneless duck breasts with a honey lacquer or glaze. We'll pair it with a fresh tomato gratin which takes fresh tomatoes and seasonings plus a topping of bread crumbs and browns them for a crusty texture. I'll complete the dish with our super fresh summer stir-fry. This week we have all sorts of local veggies in the stir-fry including eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, sweet red peppers, and cabbage—plus extras as they come along.

The seafood entrée comes from Mexico's coastline—shrimp chilaquiles. (pronounced chee-leh-kee-lez) This is nearly a casserole as it combines lots of shrimp with fresh peppers, garlic, Mexican cheeses like Crema Mexicana and Queso Fresco and corn tortillas that have been crisped and then baked in the sauce. I'll serve it with the customer favorite of Mexican corn pudding plus a bit of cilantro lime slaw. It will be a bit kicky without being too hot. ¡Que buena suerte! (what good luck!)

Lunches~
Monday~ Spicy cilantro, pepita pesto stuffed peppers $7.59
Tuesday~ Roasted veggie sandwich with eggplant, red bell pepper, mushrooms and onions on ciabatta with side $7.59
Wednesday~ Pizza with red sauce, spinach, tomatoes, salami and fresh mozzarella with side salad $7.99
Thursday~ Pasta All' Amatriciana—pasta with pancetta, Pecorino cheese, parsley, oven roasted tomatoes plus side salad $7.99
Friday~ Tortellini Antipasto Salad $7.59

Seafood entrée~ (Mexico) Shrimp chilaquiles plus corn pudding and cilantro lime slaw $14.99
Flavor Journey~ (France) Duck breasts with honey glaze, tomato gratin, summer stir-fry $16.99

We are having a huge amount of fun and hope you are able to join us regularly. If you see anything you think we are missing, please feel free to speak up. We are looking forward to traveling this journey with you on our team. You make what we do a joyful experience. Thank you. Have a lovely, rare cool August week. We'll be here for you.

~~Susan

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