Spring!!!!!!

Well, we just had about the shortest, mildest Missouri winter I can remember. In fact, it reminded me very much of my winters in Dallas. Let's hope we don't have a summer to match the Dallas weather. This week, Tuesday, in fact, marks the first day of spring. This is also the equinox—equal length day and night. When driving north from Thayer, US 63 near the race track is pointing in such a way that sunrise comes up on the Equinox right in the middle of the road. I've been watching the progression all fall and winter. If I was headed south about sunset, the sun should set right in the middle of the road going the other way. The forecasts are calling for above freezing weather for the next week or so. So I am going to be the brave optimist I usually am and jump in and buy my basil plants. Yeah, I know we could get hit like we did in 2008 with an April hard freeze. I'll take my chances.

Last week was very exciting for us. We began serving beer and wine with our meals and we had the largest turnout for Friday night we have ever had. We served over 60 at dinner. Shazam!!!! We don't expect to feed that many every week, but it is good to know we can. Starting in April we'll officially take over the other side as expansion space. We used it to good advantage on Friday and love the ability to spread out. Other plans for the second side include a small fine-craft gallery as soon as I can get my act together to find someone to help make it happen.

With the additional staff we are getting your meals out in a more timely manner. I hope you've noticed. We sure have. During the day, Rick Mize has been expediting and it has made a huge difference in how smoothly things are going. Thank you, Rick!  He will also be the usual waiter in the evenings, with additional help on Fridays as needed. We know that keeping staff is often really hard in the restaurant business. I take a huge amount of personal pride in how little turnover we have had, thus far.  Hopefully, you will always see happy, friendly staff. I've told my team I am far more impressed with genuine friendliness and good communication skills than a high level of "professionalism." Hopefully, you'll get it all.

The fresh fish we have been getting in has been of a wonderful, high quality. Sadly, it hasn't always arrived and I've scrambled to make other arrangements. This week, once again, my order got cancelled on the provider's end. So I am sticking my neck out in a big way and bringing in 25 lbs. of Gulf white shrimp. These are the big guys—9-12 per pound with heads on. They will arrive from the boat on Wednesday in time for dinner. They were still swimming on Tuesday morning. After numerous discussions, Bruce and I decided that we'll keep the heads on and cook them on the griddle. The flavor of these shrimp is so pristine that we decided to add as little flavoring as possible. We'll serve them over a fresh pineapple boat filled with coconut rice and grilled pineapple. The pineapple will be glazed with sweet soy sauce. On the side we'll stir-fry onions, snow peas, red peppers, bok-choy and mushrooms. I think it will be a lovely presentation as well as being mucho flavorful. We'll price it at $14.99. I know, it IS a steal.

My "flavor journey" at night is one that was popular before. This goes vaguely to Italy—lemony chicken piccata over linguine. Chicken breasts are pounded flat to create an even thickness. Why? So that the entire piece of chicken cooks at the same rate. They are then sautéed to create a slightly caramelized crust. We slice them across the grain (to give you the most tender mouthfeel) into fingers and lay atop buttered linguine. The sauce, which is poured over the top, is made from fresh shallots, fresh garlic, fresh lemons, fresh parsley, capers, butter and some white wine. I can smell it now. Can't you? We'll start you with a salad. $10.99

Lunch will also get a "flavor journey" this week. I am introducing Bahn Mi (pronounced bohn mee'.) This Vietnamese sandwich has become the darling of the food trucks in LA and Boston. The bun is made from a fresh French baguette cut into quarters. The texture of the bread is crispy on the outside and light— quite a different mouth-feel than a hoagie, which is very doughy. The meats can vary vastly but the first one I'm doing is made from pork that has been marinated in Asian spices and grilled. The vegetables include a slaw made from carrots, sometimes, daikon radish and mostly rice vinegar and the sauce is a spicy mayonnaise. Cilantro and sprouts are the major greens. The overall direction is light and bright—perfect for warm weather. If this dish gets a healthy reception then I'll add it as a "regular" to the menu and add a chicken version and a beef version and maybe even a vegetarian one. So stay tuned! Give it a try on Friday. A glass of pinot grigio would be perfect with it.

Here's this weeks' menu~

• Tuesday~ Romans are on sale at 50 cents off. Choose between the original with its cold cuts, the wood-fired trout, or the seared tuna. Each comes with a side item.
• Wednesday~ Sausage and mushroom quiche with side salad. $6.75
• Thursday~ Cashew chicken tamales. This has become one of the most requested tamales Bruce makes. If you like Cashew Chicken, you'll love the Cashew Chicken Tamales. Served with a side of white rice. $6.75
• Friday~ Grilled pork Bahn Mi. Served with a side item. $6.49

Seafood~ (dinner only)Ginormous Gulf Shrimp served in a pineapple boat with coconut rice, grilled pineapple and Asian stir-fry. $14.99

Flavor Journey~ Lemony chicken picatta over linguine. Served with a side salad. $10.99

I have a survey I am posting on Facebook I hope you'll answer. Our Facebook page is A La Carte Cafe. Please note the West Plains address. (There is another out West) It addresses music on Friday nights and your input is needed. We are considering removing the live music with dinners and only having it Saturday nights with more of a tapas menu. You have a vested interest in how this goes. So please share your thoughts.

If you were to attend a strongly spring event that included lots of frivolity, was family friendly while still serving beer and wine, what activities would you expect to find? We hail from Austin (lived there 12 years). In that town (when we lived there it was still a "town" to most) there is an annual festival the last Saturday in April called "Eeyore's Birthday Party." It was started by a UT professor as a way to get students to lighten up a bit the week before exams. It has become a huge civic fundraiser and has been around for 49 years. To an outsider it might simply look like a Bacchanalian festival. But in true Austin style, it is a family event—face painting, Maypoles, beer trucks, one hundred plus portable toilets, everyone in costume and all. I have no interest in generating a festival on that scale. However, as a resident I loved the intensity of the frivolity. It was a total riot—in a good way. We are planning our own small scale "Eeyore's Birthday Party." The date will be the last Friday in April on the 27th. I have no idea how we will celebrate. The purpose is to really acknowledge the warmer weather, get out, meet friends and family and loosen up—and, of course, bring in a bit more business to us. So I want to hear from you! If you wanted to attend the most fun event in an urban setting what would it include? BTW—I have zero interest in competing with ANY other West Plains event. This is simply an in-house promotion that seemed like a fun idea.

Do you remember Andy Roose? He came in last fall from St. Genevieve and got a very warm reception. He has a lovely style, easy to listen to and still full of emotion. Andy writes almost all of his own material—a rare singer/songwriter. He'll join us this Friday evening starting around 6pm. In case you are wondering, we don't usually charge a cover charge when we have music. Instead, we appreciate your dining with us and simply ask that you tip the musician(s) and your waitstaff generously.

Get out the umbrellas~ it is going to be a wet week! If you come in the door when it is raining, remind us and we'll give you a 50 cent discount~ unless you are already getting one.
~~Susan

W/E October 1st—Full Swing Fall

What  a lovely last couple of weeks we've had. Thanks to you, we've had 2 weeks of record breaking numbers and anticipate another with 3 of the members of Blackberry Winter being our entertainment for Friday night. This is a rare opportunity to see these guys locally. They've spent much of 2010 touring the US. Last month, Blackberry Winter had a CD release party at our establishment and we were able to schedule them for your entertaiment. Marideth Sisco, Dennis Crider and Linda Stoffal all live in West Plains and have a loyal following. Word is still coming in on the other members. We've now heard that Teddy- the bass player-will also join us. We expect the room to fill and overflow into next door on Friday night. Please be a part of this joyful occasion. But get those reservations in early. We're already over 20 reservations. Due to the high number of reservations expected, you will either be buying dinner OR paying a $10/cover.

The cooler weather has, indeed, allowed us to keep the doors open and the screen doors slapping. For the most part we've been able to streamline a couple of parts of our operation to get the orders out even more quickly. Several people have commented on this on their survey cards. Progress!!! The survey questions with your answers are really a big help to us— next we want to know about your beverage choices. Have you tasted regional wines or beers? We plan on offering several regional offerings, in addition to California wines. Surprisingly, very few establishments in the state have chosen to highlight these beverages—even though Missouri now has over 75 wineries and I don't know how many small breweries. Most experimenting occurs at the individual wineries, themselves, or at liquor retailers/package stores. The wineries are not located in the immediate area except for a couple in Mountain View and Seymour. Because this isn't a big tourist mecca of wines trails, many locals have never even tasted the goodness of the Missouri wineries. In the last few years more attention has been given to grapes that can be made into less sweet wines. The Chambourcin is one of my favorites along with Norton and St. Catherine. If you think Missouri wines are all sweet, you have treat coming—as soon as we get that license, that is. Progess is definitely being made on the paperwork. I hope that when we start the new year it will be with a liquor license.

I'll have 2 different soups this week. Monday will be the white chicken chili that proved so popular last winter. Tuesday and the rest of the week I'll have roasted butternut squash soup. Last winter this was the 2nd most popular soup. This is a rich, nicely rounded soup with a veggie base but a creamy finish without being a full-fledged cream soup.  It'll fill you nicely but not weigh you down. Standard soup pricing prevails.

We'll start the week off with a bang! Monday I'll introduce a special of Rustic Lamb Chili with shitake mushrooms served over roasted red potatoes. My mouth waters in anticipation. This is local grass fed lamb and it is delicious. We'll be pricing it like an entrée special—$6.50. It'll be served with a side.

Tuesday we'll have Mystery Tamales. That means I don't remember what variety Bruce told me last week he would be making. I'm sure he knows. I'm sure they will be terrific and I bet they sell out before noon. So take a chance and call to save yours Tuesday morning. (We'll know the variety by then and can tell you.) Usually they are served with a side of rice. $6.50

Wednesday I have chicken and mushroom crepes. We are fortunate to have access to the lovely mushrooms from Willow Mountain Mushroom and I like to take advantage of that. I'll mix shitake, portabella and button mushrooms for the sauce on these chicken-filled crepes. They'll be served with a side salad. $6.50

Thursday the pizzas will be BBQ chicken pizzas with a tossed arugula/ lettuce salad. The slightly bitter greens of the salad will be a nice counterpoint to the sweetness of the BBQ sauce on the pizza. We make the dough from scratch and are using local Amish whole milk mozzarella. $7.00

Friday will be a wild one so I am keeping the lunch a simple one. I am bringing back the Waldorf Salad. This was a big hit last time and I love incorporating the apples coming into season. We'll have Missouri pecans in it as well. $6.50

Friday dinners:
Seafood: Spicy garlic grilled shrimp skewers with rice pilaf and a side salad. $12.

Meat: Pasta Puttanesca—the pasta with the interesting origin. Originally created by the whores of Sicily or was it Naples? Anyway, it is somewhat salty and very full of traditional southern Italian ingredients. I'll serve it over rotini with a simple side salad. $12

Vegetable entrée: Sweet & Spicy veggie stir-fry over rice with skillet stuffed onions and a side salad. $10.

When you call in for your Friday reservations, please be prepared to give your entrée choice or tell us you'll just be paying to watch the band. The music will start about 6:15.