W/E September 29 Equinox Changes

This past Sunday marked the first day of autumn—the Equinox—the day where the sun is visible and invisible for equal amounts of time. While the true colors of autumn are yet a month away, the harvests are winding down, and we adapt to shorter periods of  visible light or around here known as "can't see to can't see". I can feel the inner stirrings I get this time of year. This has always been my prime time of year for doing art shows and being on the road. It is like an itch I don't get to scratch.

Instead I'll channel my wandering energies toward a new piece of art and creative ideas in the food line-up. I was delightfully surprised by how well the tilapia salad with curry vinaigrette went last week. Last Friday night we sold out of both the trout with dijon sauce and the Greek moussaka. Fortunately, as the fall progresses our number of diners is picking back up and hopefully this will be a weekly occurrence.

We've got some wonderful music lined up this week with a Linda Stoffel and Dennis Crider—both from Blackberry Winter Band. Any members of that band have consistently packed the house and we expect that to happen again this week. Other members of the band may join them, but so far, these are promised. Dennis' awesome guitar picking and Linda's Songbird voice are well loved in these parts. Reservations are pretty well the only guarantee you'll get in. So don't mess around—get your reservation in early. While you are doing so, did you know you can call in and reserve your dinner entree? This is especially important on the seafood entrée as we have only 16 servings for the week. Entrée information is listed a few paragraphs down

If you are a fan of Renée Wood's After Hours Big Band, come listen Thursday evening this week. They will play in the Annex. If you want the full dose of big band, you can sit close by. If you wish the sound to be more background, we'll seat you in the main dining room. We close the doors between the rooms as the intensity of the big band can carry you away...in a good way.

The seafood entrée this week is crab-stuffed sole paupiettes with our fall potatoes (mashed with gouda and peppadew peppers), eggplant parmesan with fresh mozzarella, and a salad of microgreens, radishes, pears, walnuts and blue cheese with a mustard vinaigrette. Paupiettes are made by stuffing lengths of sole fillet with the crabmeat, then rolling them up and cooking in a stock. The result is a tender, flavorful roulade (rolled meat). The sole will be topped with a white wine sauce (Sauce Vin Blanc). It is a very elegant dish from Normandy France. On the plate, I am stuffing some of Mary's lovely small eggplants, adding in those seasonal potatoes (which are getting rave reviews) and a pear and blue cheese salad. Perfect for fall. $16.99

The Flavor journey is apple and bacon stuffed pork chops. I'll be using some fresh local sage to season the stuffing as well as local apples plus apple-smoked bacon. As there is no bread in the stuffing, it is lighter than many stuffed pork chops. There will be a pan sauce using the stuffing that doesn't fit in the chops to which I'll add a bit of white wine. This will be drizzled over the top. We'll plate it with our seasonal potatoes and seasonal stir-fry. $14.99 I'll have about 12 servings for the week. Another perfectly timed fall dish.

The Autumnal Equinox Salad returns this week. It starts with a base of romaine, then topped with a combination of arugula and spinach, feta, chopped fresh pear and apple, red onion, wood-fired chicken, pomegranate, walnuts and served with a hot bacon dressing. For many, this is a declared favorite on the menu. We'll have it until late December when things change with the Solstice.

Also returning this week are soups. This first week I have Roasted Poblano-Cheddar Soup made with fresh local poblano chilies, sharp cheddar cheese, chicken broth, cream, tomatoes and onions.  We usually take turns from week to week with our choices. As always variety, rather than predictability combined with local availability dictate the whim of our choosing.

You may already know this, but occasionally there is some confusion regarding Monday's lunch. First of all, we serve our entire lunch menu each day. We feature a meatless special on Monday that has a strong vegetarian following. Since I am often still working on the rest of the week's menu and blog, I can seldom post it beyond the Facebook listing for the day. You are encouraged to come in on Mondays whether you are vegetarian or not. We are lucky to have such talented vegetarians on our staff who can present a wide variety of dishes. I have gotten to taste more vegetarian dishes in the last three months than I have eaten in my entire life. Good for us all.

Come Wednesday I'll have some pumpkin crepes for dessert. The crepes themselves have the pumpkin. They are filled with a sweetened cream cheese and topped with a warm praline sauce and chopped pecans. $6. Holy moly.

Now here are this week's lunches~~

Monday~ Portabella pizzas with feta, spinach ,garlic and tomato plus side salad $7.59
Tuesday~ Equinox Salad~ romaine, spinach, arugula, chopped pear and apple, feta, red onion, wood-fired chicken, pomegranate and walnuts with hot bacon dressing. Normally $7.59; today $7.39
Wednesday~Chicken enchiladas with Spanish rice $7.79
Thursday~Lasagna Bolognese  with side salad. Traditional lasagna. $7.79
Friday~ Pork Estofado with side salad. A traditional Filipino pork stew (estofado means stew) that includes tomatoes, potatoes and carrots. $7.79

I hope you are able to take a few moments to slow down and notice the very beginnings of the change of seasons. The colors are not here yet, but the delicate air, light as a feather, foretells the advent of autumn. Now if we can just have a bit fewer allergies to go with it. So far, so good.

~~Susan

Lots of news and new "regulars"

We're back!!! We've got energy and we are excited! After several weeks of "walking wounded" our staff is fully operational once again. I actually found myself dancing in the "pit" on Thursday and Friday last week because I was so happy to once again feel nearly "normal." It is a glorious feeling, let me tell ya! We have lots of exciting things going on, so you'll want to pay attention....

 ARGH!!!! I had placed an order for stone crab to arrive on Wednesday but just got a call that they can't come until Thursday. So I have cancelled the order and rescheduled it for early NEXT week. Believe me when I tell you this is frustrating.

Recently we have noticed that many of our regular customers have discovered the convenience of calling in a to-go order to pick up on their way home for dinner. We're trying to make sure that we can have any item on the dinner menu ready to go at 5pm so you can make use of this convenience. Try calling in your order and we'll have it waiting for you.

Next on the updates—I told you the bahn mi and Roman sandwiches were disappearing for the season. To replace them we have 2 new items. Both are from south of the border and authentically prepared. The first is carnitas. These little tacos are made from slow-cooked pork shoulder seasoned with garlic, cumin, cinnamon and coriander. We'll serve them with sour cream, salsa and guacamole, plus chips. $7.75 This first week they will be available from Wednesday onward.

The second item I am delighted to serve is chicken mole tacos (pronounced moh-leh). Again, prepared in the traditional manner, this recipe has over 20 ingredients and is quite a time consumer. Using fresh dried chiles, toasted seeds and spices, plus fresh tomatillas, and the secret ingredient—Mexican chocolate, this dish is as rich in tradition as it is in flavor. We'll serve 2 chicken mole tacos on corn tortillas with sides of salsa, guacamole and sour cream and chips. The tacos will be topped in our cilantro-lime slaw and cotija cheese. Ahhh-yiii-yiii! $7.75. They will be introduced as the lunch special on Tuesday, but available as a regular item onward. This recipe came from the famous Austin landmark restaurant, Fonda San Miguel.

The chicken mole will find itself on the dinner menu this week, as well, served Puebla style as the "Flavor Journey." Instead of tacos, we'll serve it with rice, a side salad and black beans and corn pudding. To my knowledge, there are no local Mexican restaurants serving authentic chicken mole. $12.99. It should be available as of Tuesday night.

So here's the full line-up of lunches—

Tuesday~ Chicken mole tacos $7.75

Wednesday~Carnitas $7.75

Thursday~ Chicken Pot Pie with side salad. $7.50. We always sell out!

Friday~Beef and sweet Italian sausage lasagna with side salad. $7.50

Soups~ Black bean soup~Tues and Wed; cheddar bacon beer soup~Thurs and Fri

Flavor Journey~ Chicken Mole, Puebla Style $12.99

Seafood~ Shrimp, pasta and fresh veggie stir-fry with light cream sauce. Similar to our shrimp pasta but with veggies, also. $12.99

Desserts~ tira misu and baklava. Rick is making the tira misu and BJ is making the baklava. Hopefully, we'll get them all made early in the week. It is quite a challenge to get all done at one time as our kitchen is quite small and we have but one stove/oven.

As always, we are grateful to be serving such a warm community. You have embraced our vision of serving foods made from fresh, usually traceble ingredients. You have voiced a willingness to expand your palates and try different flavors from around the world. We thank you! You'll never be bored at A La Carte Cafe—West Plains. Have a glorious week!!!

~~Susan

Seasonal shuffle

As we pass into the phase of the year that provides the hope of autumnal weather, we are making shifts in manpower as our staff return to school. Ashley returns to nursing school for her last year; Stephan and Corey return to their last year of high school. We'll be able to retain the boys on a more part-time basis, but will miss their happy banter. Ashley will continue to wait tables on Tuesdays and Fridays. At lunch Paula joins us in the pit. This little bundle of energy is a joy to work with and seems to understand our "if it isn't fun, fix it" concept of work. While much may be happening while preparing your meals, seriousness is not a part of it. Paula will be helping to get out beverages and taking food out to tables. We continue to tweak our delivery for speed and quality. We're beginning to get this learning curve thing down to a manageable level.

You may have noticed that our volume seems to be picking up. We couldn't be more delighted. Fortunately it has, thus far, happened at a speed we can adjust to. We're working with four folks in the "pit." Jon takes your order and gets things rolling. Paula gets your beverages going. Rick handles anything that needs grilling or cooking. I handle the salad end of things. Between us we are getting pretty fast. We are extremely aware that your time at lunch is limited and know that no matter how good the food is, if you don't have time to eat it, we're missing the boat.

We're making a strategy change regarding desserts at lunch. The wonderful grilled desserts take staff focus and sadly, interupt the rhythmn of delivery. Therefore, we'll be offering desserts that allow for instant delivery at lunch. These might include pies, cakes, or even tarts. But it'll be a dessert that can be plated with very little extra effort. We'll still make and serve the more spectacular grilled desserts but only at night. In fact, on Friday evenings we'll probably eventually dedicate a single staff member to preparing these gems. But don't go thinking that the lunch desserts will be a of lesser level. For example, on the lunch menu of desserts this week is a fresh fig tart. It is made with a pastry tart crust, pastry cream (thick egg custard) and simmered fresh Brown Turkey figs, topped with a brandy infused whipped cream and crumbled pistacios. Oh my!

Another dessert I am looking forward to presenting is a Double Chocolate Tart with Candied Hazelnuts and Black Pepper Ice Cream. You've been clamouring for chocolate—well, here you go. That is the item in the image above.  I've also got a Ricotta cheesecake we'll offer later in the week. All of these SHOULD be available at lunch. We'll hold back the grilled pound cake and fruits until dinner time. As you may have noted, we are making most of our own ice creams these days. This allows for more interesting combinations, fewer undesirable ingredients (like high fructose corn syrup), and the ability to be right on top of what is in season. How much fun is that? We've been doing so many desserts with egg yolks lately that we need a rash of egg white-laden desserts just to catch up. I am thinking meringues in the form of New Zealand's pavlovas, topped with fresh late season fruits and whipped cream. Probably next week. Can we skip lunch and go straight for the dessert?

Before I go into detail about this week's lunch and dinner specials, let me remind you of this week's Friday night entertainment. Vinny Ray will return with his 5 string electric violin along with Harry Styron on guitar. Vinny dazzled us last time playing wonderful jazz violin. A seasoned professional, Vinny is a past state fiddle champion. You can't help but move your body a bit while listening. As always, please tip them well. We want this caliber of musicians back and your tips are what help make that happen. Music will start about 6:30 pm. As always, there is no cover charge but we ask that you buy a meal or at least dessert.

So let's talk about the actual meals planned. We are trying out a new Trout Burger this week. It is made with rainbow trout and formed into a 5 oz. patty. We get it frozen from our purveyor and prepare it by grilling. It'll be paired with ciabatta, sea sauce, tomato and choice of sprouts or lettuce and served with a choice of sides. We have 20 servings and will serve all week, until gone. If you like it enough, we'll put it on the menu. $7.50

Tuesday lunch will take advantage of the large stash of fresh veggies we have right now. We'll do a grilled veggie sandwich on grilled French bread. It'll have grilled eggplant, zucchini, onion, red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, and snow peas. All will have been marinated in an olive oil herbal blend beforehand. The bread will have a lemon, dill mayonnaise sauce. We are not yet open for "meatless Monday" but you can start your Tuesday off meatless.  $6.99

Wednesday, Rick will make a turkey and veggie lasagna. It'll have all the flavors you expect plus be a bit healthier. In addition to the ground turkey, you'll find zucchini, onions, ricotta, mozzarella and an inhouse marinara sauce. You may have it with a side salad or another side option. $6.99

Thursday we'll bring back the crowd and staff favorite—chicken mole tacos. We make the chile sauce from scratch using dried chilis, then blend in pepitas, chocolate and the rest of the fresh ingredients. This is very time consuming and as authentic as it comes. IF I can manage to get it right, we'll make our own corn tortillas. There is a bit of a learning curve there. We'll serve it all with a lime cilantro slaw and Spanish rice. $7.50

Friday I'll be making pesto pizzas. We'll take our local organic basil and create pesto. Then we'll smear it on our in-house pizzas blanks, top it with FRESH mozzarella, carmelized onions, Juliet tomatoes, and shitake mushrooms. I'll serve it with a side salad for $7.50. Add wood-fired chicken for 50 cents.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ And now for the dinner specials~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Flavor journey this week has its origins in the US south—Glazed pork shoulder. We'll take pork shoulder and bake it at a low temperature until it is nearly melting. Then we'll glaze it, serve it with a mustard green base, lima bean salad and baked fan potatoes. You'll also get a side salad to start. This may not immediately be on your flavor radar, but I invite you to stretch your palate and give it a taste. $10.99

I've been having some fun playing with the fresh pastas. Mixed seafood medley on fresh pasta with stir-fried veggies in a light cream sauce.This week I'll make a fresh egg pasta and top it with lots of currently in-season vegetables plus a medley of mixed seafood. The veggies will include tomatoes, green onions, zucchini, shitakes, snow peas and mung sprouts plus basil, white wine, cream and parmesan. The technique is most similar to the shrimp pasta, but with more variety of shellfish. The seafood will include shrimp, scallops, octopus, squid and clams. $15.99/ double seafood add $6.

Each week we meet more and more friendly local folk. I am humbled by how we have continued to grow. As we reach each new milestone, we are seeking ways to improve the quality of our service as well as the quality of our food. We are fortunate to have built an environment where we do get genuine timely feedback. We listen closely to your suggestions. They are not always right for us or our situation, but we do look at, not only the suggestions, but perhaps what might have prompted the suggestion. As we have grown we have gained some confidence in our ability to keep going. It feels really good. You have been there cheering us on and making sure we covered the basics all along the way. You are what makes what we do worthwhile. We love to see your smiling face! Thank you for being here and for sharing us with those you care about. We promise to treat them well.

~~Susan

Tweaks hither and yon

As we continue to grow our little cafe, we seek new ways to serve you that might prove beneficial to all. We recently learned that the local upstart Italian restaurant has closed, as well as the locally owned frozen custard stand. We were sad to hear this. I have avoided making Italian tomato-based dishes because I didn't want to seem to be trying to compete with the Italian restaurant. Now it would seem there is a gap in flavors being delivered in this area. Additionally, Tuesday night has been the night with the least predictability of customers coming in.

So we are starting a family pasta night on Tuesdays. Every week we will produce a pasta that can be delivered quickly and affordably. This week we'll start with wood-fired chicken fettuccini alfredo. All our sauces will be made from scratch using quality ingredients. We'll have two portion sizes available—adult and half-portions. The adult portion will be a full 8 oz. of cooked pasta plus whatever other ingredients are included—like sauce and meat.The half portion will be exactly that. The adult portion will come with a side salad, warm bread and pesto oil. The half portion will have a choice between a side salad and fresh fruit and come with the warm bread and pesto oil. Adult $8.99/ half $4.99. As Tuesday is often a night where meetings and school/church events start at 7:00pm, we'll be workng hard to make sure you are out the door in plenty of time. We open our doors at 5:00pm and will have the pasta ready to be served immediately.

Each week we will change up the pasta variety. If there is enough demand we might also have a regular spaghetti and meatsauce that remains the same each week. But, that will depend on feedback. There are so many different pastas and sauces that can be explored. I am especially fond of those that follow the seasonal produce.

We will continue to deliver the Flavor Journey Tuesday-Friday. The seafood special will be dependent on when the fresh seafood can arrive. Most weeks that will be Wednesday through Friday or Thursday and Friday only.  I was quite delighted with the response to the mussels in curried cream sauce we offerd last week. We sold most all of it—leaving just enough that I got to take some home to enjoy. Some weeks that doesn't happen.

Last Friday night Rick joined me in the kitchen helping to get out your meals. We had a full house and I think we did fairly well getting meals out in a timely manner. Ashley, Corey and Jon were out front scrambling to keep you happy. The music was fantastic and had me dancing in the aisles. Thank you Vinny Ray and gang for keeping us so happy! We had the state fiddling champion playing in OUR cafe!!!!

My flavor journey this week explores the cuisine of northeastern Spain in the Catalonia region. Like other areas of the Mediterranean, the food utilizes produce grown regionally like eggplant, tomatoes, onions, zucchini, and olives. There are a few basic sauces that give Catalan foods their distinctive flavors. We'll be using them in the various dishes being explored. We'll begin with mushrooms sautéed with garlic and parsley. These could also be served on pizza or a pasta but we'll make it an appetizer. Romesco sauce is quite special to the area. It is made from tomatoes, garlic, olive oil plus almonds, hazelnuts and ancho chile. That will top the salad made from baby lettuces with olives and Cotija cheese. The entrée gets special treatment with chicken thighs baked on top of slices of fresh lemon, rosemary, thyme and sage with a wrap of allioli (a garlic, salt and olive oil emulsification central to the region's flavors) until the skins are crispy. Then we'll have a grilled vegetable compote called escalivada that features hot roasted eggplant, red peppers and garlic with olive oil. They'll grace a piece of grilled bread that has been rubbed with fresh garlic and tomatoes. The additional vegetable presentation will be spinach with pine nuts and raisins. These flavors are very characteristic of the region and give the fresh spinach a somewhat sweet finish, balanced by the savory of salt and pepper. Traditional dessert for the region would be a plate of mixed ripe local fruit. We'll offer that as well as less traditional desserts like grilled pound cake with grilled fresh peaches and vanilla ice cream.

Taking you on Flavor Journeys gives me great pleasure. As I have stated many times, my mission is to expand your palate, allowing you to experience new flavor combinations beyond what you might normally expect locally.

So the Flavor Journey menu is thus—

Catalan mushrooms with garlic and parsley

Baby lettuces with olives, Cotija cheese and Romesco sauce

Chicken thighs baked with lemon, sage, rosemary, and thyme

Grilled bread with red peppers and eggplant

Spinach with pine nuts and raisins

$12.99

a platter of fresh fruit is the appropriate dessert~ $4

The more complex red wine of cabernet sauvignon would serve the chicken well or perhaps the less formal pinot grigio would be a great wine to accompany this dish.

The seafood this week (Thursday and Friday only) is crab cakes. I'll make them as before with minimal binders and lots of back fin crab meat topped with red pepper coulis and our Sea Sauce. I'll serve it with a squash casserole and a choice of the usual side salad or upgrade to the baby lettuces with olives, cotija cheese and romesco sauce for $2 more.

Lunches~Tuesday~ Chicken bahn mi sandwich—Asian marinated grilled ground chicken on French bread with cucumbers, carrots, sprouts and cilantro, with side  $6.49

Wednesday~ Lasagna with beef, eggplant and squash, plus side salad  $7.50

Thursday~ Pesto pizza with fresh mozzarella, roasted red peppers, salami and shitakes, plus side. $6.99

Friday~Curried chicken and fresh mango salad. $6.99

Other items: Jon has misplaced his glasses somewhere within the cafe. Free lunch if you find them!

No music planned this week, thus far. That can change. (Renee Wood Trio next Friday.)

I hope the new family pasta night fills a void in your meal planning. We love it when you bring in your family and share your friends with us. We know you want to keep us your private secret but we NEED you to share us with others. Have a great week!

~~Susan 

Warm foods for cold days

our grandson, John, gets his love for cooking honestly

Well last week was over before I even got to post. It was quite a whirlwind as we did a supper club dinner last Monday night. The theme was foods of the Greek Isles. You are going to have to wait for the details as I am now diving into THIS week. You got to sample several of the dishes at last Friday night's dinner— dolmades, spanikopita, baklava, etc.

Boy! Last Friday was something! Renee and Tom rocked the house and warmed our hearts with their saxophone and guitar, playing jazz classics. The Shrimp Alfredo was devoured with gusto. In fact, we sold out of most of our dishes by the end of the night. I had to make a special dish for Renee since we were out of most dishes by the time they finished playing. SUCH a problem! It was lovely to see so many of you and to note we are getting some Friday night "regulars." We are pleased you have added our good food and live music to your Friday night options. We'll try to keep you and your palate entertained.

We have changed out a couple of my quilts. The newest ones hanging are "The Energy of Hope", "Reconcilable Differences," and "Neon Cha Cha." "Reconcilable Differences" is all about focusing on "us" as opposed to "me." Pricing info on most of my quilts can be found on my website http://www.rebelquilter.com/. For the story on many of them, you might visit my blog http://rebelquilter.blogspot.com/.


This week we are changing up a thing or two. First of all—we'll have more variation in our soups during the week. Also, we are adding a couple of warm entrees to the mix. Since the opening of the new Asian buffet restaurant with its sushi menu built in, we have had fewer requests for my sushi. So, we'll skip it for awhile.

Bruce has brought many fresh ideas and great energy. I think our energy is feeding off each other and the synergy is palatable—literally! His insight, logistical understanding and quiet nature have given us gentle guidance where it has been needed. He is a gifted, creative cook with a thorough understanding of what is needed in a restaurant environment. We are glad he is here!

Here are this week's flavor journeys. We are taking you to the tropical latitudes.

Monday—Lentil and Smoked Sausage Soup  with cornbread
Vegetable Soup—carrots, onions, potatoes, corn, tomatoes in a veggie broth; with corn bread
Arugula Salad with jicama, pickled red onion, grapefruit, avocado, feta, & pomegranate $5.99; add wood-fired chicken +$1.50; add garlic shrimp +$3.00
Tuesday—Slow-cooked pork tamales over a warm mango puree complimented by a pineapple mango salsa and coconut rice. $6.25; add a bowl of black bean soup $9.99
Soup—Black Bean with queso fresco & cornbread
Wednesday—Chicken Curry with Coconut Rice & fruit $6.25 add side salad or cup of soup +$2.50
Soup—Beef & Barley Soup with cornbread
Thursday—Quiche Lorraine (bacon, onion & Swiss cheese) with fruit  $6.25; add cup of soup or side salad +$2.50
Soup—Creamy Garlic & Spinach Soup with garlic toast
Friday—LUNCH: Chicken Pot Pie with fruit $6.25; add side salad $2.50
Soup—Creamy Garlic and Spinach Soup with garlic toast
SUPPER: Beef and Sausage Lasagna with side salad and garlic toast $9.99
Chicken Pot Pie with side salad  $.9.99
Various tapas 
Soups—cup/ $3.49  bowl/ $4.99 16oz/$5.59

Thanks for being a part of our grand experiment in good food. YES! You DO prefer freshly made foods made with REAL ingredients.

Coming up—
This Friday night music will be provided by Jon Lumsden playing his 7 string jazz guitar and singing his tunes plus selections from the Great American Songbook
Valentine's dinner—February 14th Monday   Stay tuned for details of the menu. We will do only one seating and reservations will be needed.Our plan is a steak and seafood offering.
Earth Day Tasting Feast—April 29th Celebrate local sustainability and enjoy the fruits of regional producers. We are teaming with Chef's Collaborative, a national organization dedicated to local sustainability.

See you this week, we hope!