W/E February 23 Picking up speed

As the momentum of spring is picking up speed, so is our business. It is a fun ride. With Amy and Drew in place the creativity is no longer solely on my shoulders, and the result is far less draining on me personally. I like that. In fact, I have always wanted this to be more of a collaborative effort than a one-man show. Yes, it is nice to get the individual feedback, but it is just as nice to tell you that the dish you are raving about was created by Amy or Drew. They make up the core of our team, and I feel pretty certain they are going to be able to take us to the next level—whatever that should be. At this point we are focusing our expansion on generating more regular customers for the weekday dinners. These are hours I am already working and would like to see a stronger return on my time.

We are also gearing ourselves to be able to do some nice, small-to-medium scale catering. I have no interest in competing for tight-budget, high-volume luncheons that strip everything to the bare bones and require the use of low-end ingredients in order to meet the budget. I prefer to stick to what we are good at—good quality food made from real, preferably local ingredients, presented in ways that are healthy and enticing. Over the last few months we have done several small-to-medium sized parties and events ranging from baby showers to wedding receptions to retirement parties. Most were held here at the cafe. I am proud to say they all went quite well.

One aspect of catering I really enjoy is meeting with the customer to learn about the event itself, the people involved and designing a menu to meet those needs and budget. I am very comfortable discussing budgets, dietary restraints and decorative options. Recently, we expanded our resources and reference materials to include some floral design. If you have been in within the last week, you have seen some of Amy's work with the roses and orchids on the tables. This week we will really test our floral design skills when we do the flowers for the Filipino Dinner on Saturday. I have ordered all sorts of tropical flowers, and we plan some rather tall, lighted tablescapes. Watch for it!

Speaking of the Filipino Dinner... we had an unexpected cancellation, plus I accidently counted someone twice. So we have 4 openings I'd really like to fill. Our being able to do these special dinners with any regularity means we need to fully fill our tables. I am quite excited about the menu and though I realize the cost at $60 is pricey, I know you will be getting a full value. This cost includes 4 wines that are served with various courses. The menu itself is 8 courses, 9 -10 if you count each entrée. You will go home feeling like you have been transported to a different part of the planet. I plan to share not only the foods of the Philippines with you but some of the culture and history.You'll gain some understanding that can lead to a broader picture of where you fit in this universe. No. I won't be addressing philosophy... just broadening your horizon. Please call early in the week to fill those spots. If you have not already paid for your slot, please do so ASAP. Thanks.

You know we are always searching for ways to offer you foods that better support your health. We are very excited about our latest acquisition: a high-tech water machine that provides healthy drinking water rich in minerals, purged of impurities, and ionized through electrolysis. You'll find blue bottles of our new water on your table, so you can refill your water glasses at your meals. If you'd like to learn more about this water and the benefits it can provide, you can visit www.water-4-life.net or ask Jon for more information. Bottoms up!

~This week's dinner specials~

Mardi Gras slipped by and suddenly we are in Lent. This will give us an opportunity to bring out some vegetarian or at least meatless dishes. I'll begin this week by making 2 seafood entrées for dinner. The first one is breakfast at dinner: Smoked salmon 3-egg omelette. I'll make this using the local free-range eggs we get from an Amish farm near Seymour. The omelette will be filled with smoked salmon, cream cheese, grilled shallots, capers, fresh dill and fresh tomatoes. It will be served with potato pancakes accompanied by sour cream and applesauce, as well as our bread and a small spinach salad.  $11.99

The second seafood option at dinner will be Mahi-mahi lettuce wraps. You'll get 2. They will be filled with the mahi plus pineapple confetti rice and accompanied by Caribbean Kim Chee and my Sea Sauce. We wood-fired the mahi-mahi this weekend so the flavor profile is somewhat smokey. The Caribbean Kim Chee is worth a comment. It is made from napa cabbage, sweet red peppers, green mango, garlic, carrots, pineapple, cilantro, ginger, scallions, sriracha (rooster sauce), sesame oil and salt. The whole shebang is allowed to marinate while the salt draws out the flavors and begins to break down the fruits and vegetables. When the juice is drained off, the result is a nicely crispy refreshing salad. We offered it first last week with the mahi-mahi dinner, and it was very well received. I look forward to sharing it with you and developing a few more Caribbean Kim Chee fans.  $12.99

Our third dinner entrée this week will be the crowd favorite of beef Mostaccioli. This baked Italian pasta dish is full of Italian-seasoned ground beef, penne pasta, marinara, ricotta, Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses. I'll serve it with a side salad and our bread with pesto sauce.  $10.99

Now here are the lunch specials~~

Tuesday~ Grilled Reuben Sandwiches~Corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, Thousand Island Dressing on Jason McLaughlin's rye bread with side  $7.75
Wednesday~ Potato pancakes, sour cream, applesauce and turkey sausage  $7.75
Thursday~ Bagels (Jason's locally made) with smoked salmon, cream cheese, red onion, capers and sliced vine-ripened tomatoes, plus side  $7.99
Friday~ Crab and avocado salad with Japanese dressing. If you know me, you know I never use fake crab- EVER. Sooo delish!  $7.99

Soup this week~ Kapusta This is a Polish pork, cabbage and potato soup that is really filling. We start with country style ribs, fresh cabbage and our own pork broth. Yum!

The desserts this week will start with a chocolate cheesecake. Don't know where we are going after that. Probably something fruity.

I hope you can enjoy the hint of spring in the air. Notice that the tips of the tree branches are starting to fatten up and flocks of robins are hunting worms. Surely they are signs of warmth soon to follow. We'll get a nasty blast of winter mid-week, but by noticing these "sure signs" perhaps you can maintain an air of hope to carry you through. Have fun this week. We are!

~~Susan

The hope of rain.

My kids who live in the Tampa Bay area are laughing at the over-reaction to the Threat of Isaac. I'm not sure they even got any rain to speak of. We, however, might actually benefit from this slow moving storm as it moves over the Gulf of Mexico. With water temps just shy of bathwater, the energy is there to sustain it. We certainly could use the rain. 

Last week was the week that finally slowed down during the evenings...until Friday. Vinny's playing brought in a nice-sized crowd. We've added a staff member to the task of dessert delivery on Friday nights. It certainly sped up that operation. We welcome BJ to our team. He came on as lunch-time dishwasher and quickly showed he was multi-skilled, enthusiastic and a very nice fit. He jumped in grilling the pound cake for the peach desserts and did a very fine job. We sold more desserts Friday night than I think we ever had before. Yea, BJ! Now we need to keep up the excitement as we begin to transition from summer fruits and veggies to the fall ones.

Jon Lumsden will take a break from the register this Friday and grace us with a nice long set of his jazz guitar and vocals starting at 7pm. This is the first time he has played all summer as we have not been able to free him up to do so. As we seem to be generating a larger Friday night crowd we are going to implement a couple of organizational changes. The first is that if you wish to sit in the main dining room on Friday night you must make a reservation. Since we make no effort to turn over the tables, this will allow those who really want to see the performer first access. So far, there is still plenty of seating for drop-ins on Friday night, but it'll be in the second dining room. The second change is that on Friday nights you will be greeted at the door and taken to a table. This will allow us to realistically divide up the tables among our servers and create less confusion. Believe me, you will notice a difference.

I've had plenty of opportunities to speak with our customers when they visit for dinner during the week. For me it is a real treat to get to speak with you—the ones I am cooking for. Most of the time at lunch, all anyone sees of me is my butt. Well that is not quite true, but close enough. I am delighted when I get to meet new folks and get to the point of knowing to ask how the family is doing. I genuinely want to know if the food suited your desires. I, of course, hope to exceed your expectations. We may have had this bright idea to start a cafe that serves what people want to eat, while keeping the ingredients real, all the while expanding their palates. But it is you who allow it all to happen. It is you who gives us a direction on which we can focus. It is your word of mouth that is keeping this place not only alive, but growing. I must admit this is the toughest job I've ever had physically. But we are having a ball. Rick and I are loving collaborating on various dishes and menus. We have such a happy staff and it is pure joy to come to work each day. We know that what we are doing isn't for everyone. We acknowledge that our menu choices are somewhat capricious. But we are proud of the quality of food we are serving and having fun with the creative parts. I love following the harvest season to make menu decisions. While there are items I serve that are not always in season, I really make an effort to learn about the seasonal produce and innovative ways to present them. My personal mission is to broaden everyone's awareness of each other through their palates and gradually expand knowledge about various cultures so that perhaps we can all have a greater understanding and eventually peace. I never wrote that out before. Hmph.

Now the philosophising is over, let's get on with lunch~~

Tuesday~Both Pork Bahn Mi and Pulled Pork sandwiches are 50 cents off.

Wednesday~Rick is going to rock us with his Jamaican jerk chicken sandwich. Those chicken breasts are marinating for 24 hours in jerk seasonings to enliven that flavor. We'll stick to jalapenos rather than the usual habanero peppers for this dish. We'll serve it coconut rice and black beans. $7.50

Thursday~How about some mid-week pasta? Mostaccioli is a Greek casserole featuring lots of sweet Italian sausage, onions, tomatoes, pasta and cheese. We're serve it with a side salad for $7.50

Friday~South Indian-style Vegetable Curry. Served with jasmine rice. I've been reading a lot lately about the healing properties of certain herbs and spices. This one contains many of the most beneficial—cardamon, turmeric, cinnamon, cumin, cayenne. It IS vegetarian so tell your vegetarian friends not to miss this. It is also wheat-free. Dang it, it's healthy, too. $7.50

The Flavor Journey this week is really close to home. I am really enjoying making fresh pasta each week. We are at the peak of season for fresh vegetables from the gardens. I am doing fresh pasta with grilled squashes, eggplant, peppers and onions with herb-poached chicken, feta and basil.  This is truly a celebration of the summer harvest—with side salad. $12.99

Seafood Entrée—Wednesday through Friday—Wild-caught pacific coho salmon steak with dill mayo sauce, tomato tart, and spaghetti squash with Indian spices—with side salad. $14.99

I hope you have a grand week. Thanks for being there.

~~Susan