W/E October 26 This is THE week...stone crab ++

While we watch the magic of the leaves reaching their peak this week, other magic is in store. October 15th has come and gone. Stone crab season in Florida is officially open. This week we'll be flying in 25 pounds of medium stone crabs. You won't find it fresher than this unless you met the boat personally at the dock and loaded straight into your car. These are brought in by the Holliday family in Aripeka on the west coast of Florida north and west of Tampa. They have been harvesting crab from a single boat for many years. As an aside, Karri is one of the family members and has been a lifelong member of the Weeki Wachee mermaid sisterhood. The source is a part of the Sea To Table group and they have always provided the freshest of our fish.

Let me tell you about stone crab—they are the most sustainable means of harvesting, since the crab is allowed to live. Only one claw is removed and the crab is tossed back in the water to grow another claw. It will completely regrow the claw in seven months.  The flesh is wonderfully sweet and is my personal favorite crab. The hard, hard shell will be cracked ahead for you and you will be provided with a nut cracker and a skewer to do the rest. You may choose to eat yours warm or cold. We'll serve it with drawn butter as well as with our sea sauce. This is an extraordinarily rare event, and you don't want to miss it. In fact, folks have already been calling in reservations for the crab. As there will only be 25 pounds of it, if you want some, call it in and perhaps even plan to come in Wednesday or Thursday, just to be sure. Note: not available on Tuesday. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL FRIDAY to reserve. It'll be served with our seasonal stir-fry and our autumnal peppadew potatoes. The cost will be $25.99 for 5 claws. The claws average 6-8 per pound. So this is a pretty good-sized serving. If you need instruction on getting the most out of your claws, we'll be happy to show you. You don't want to miss a morsel.

Friday night music this week will be brought to you by local musicians that have become a crowd favorite. The group is made up of Gordon Johnston, Mark Johnson and CD Scott. They do a fabulous job of classic rock while not overwhelming you. You'll be grooving in your chair ... or go ahead and dance!!!

NEXT WEEK— Holy Moly! Here is a preview....

Thursday, the 31st, is the big Halloween event on the Square. Now called, the Great Downtown Pumpkin Festival, it covers an area all the way from the Courthouse to Garfield St at 1st Methodist. Merchants will be handing out candy in vast amounts. We went through $50 worth of candy in less than an hour last year.

Friday, the 1st, is the Stroll on the Square aka First Friday. We'll be exhibiting the nature photography of Gail Rowley. Her photos totally immerse you in the Ozarks environment. Music-wise, we'll be importing from Arkansas a fabulous jazz duo called Kent and Beci Coffey. Another rare treat you will NOT want to miss!


Now here are this week's lunch specials~~
Monday~ Vegan "tuna" sandwich with side. $7.29
Tuesday~ White chicken chili.. CROWD FAVORITE! with side salad $7.79
Wednesday~ Harvest ham sandwich with inhouse-made honey mustard, apples and choice of blue cheese or Swiss plus a side. $7.59
Thursday~ Creamy chicken enchiladas with Spanish rice. Another crowd favorite. The sauce is made with fresh spinach and New Mexican Hatch peppers. Kicky, but not over-whelmingly hot $7.79
Friday~ BBQ pulled chicken on ciabatta with side $7.59 

Soup~ Wild rice, wild coral mushroom with chicken. A taste treat.

The dinners—
Stone crab, as mentioned above (Wed.-Fri.only). Reservations STRONGLY ADVISED
Apple-stuffed pork chops with our seasonal stir-fry and autumnal potatoes. $14.99

All in all a super week to put us in your plans. We look forward to seeing you. Bundle up!

~~Susan and gang

They are here!!!!!!

As promised, we have flown in fresh stone crab from Florida. By the time you read this they will be available. We expect to serve them primarily at dinner, but if you have a hankering to give them a try at lunch, you may at $4.50 per claw. We'll serve them at dinner for $18/ for four claws; 22.50 for 5. At dinner, I'll serve them with a nice side salad, baked potato and fresh green beans served in an Asian style. The claws will be served either cold or lightly steamed (your choice) and with a side of clarified butter for dipping. This is the last chance to get Stone crab until October as the season ends this week. Knowing we have the audience to bring in this remarkable seafood gives me great pleasure. To my way of thinking, stone crabs have the sweetest meat. Please let me know early in the week whether you need me to save some for you. We only have 25 lbs. and I expect them to go rather quickly. I certainly wouldn't wait until Friday for your fix. These are brought in via overnight shipment from Florida where the boat is docked.

Assuming we have no trouble selling all the crab, I will be bringing in Red Snapper next week. It'll come from the vessel Hired Gun out of Destin, FL. There is nothing as secure as knowing, not only that your food is wild, line-caught but also knowing the vessel itself. I feel very priviledged to be a part of the Chef's Collaborative. It is the organization that connects up chefs with sustainable sourcing of ingredients. It has given us a niche in the local market that is pretty much ignored by other establishments and allows us to bring you the freshest of ingredients.

Last week we initiated "Girls' Night Out." What a fun evening! We made a White Sangria we sold by the glass and most thought it a lovely addition. Sangria combines wine with fresh fruit. Also, we have now added Moscato to our wine list. It is a fairly sweet wine that many ladies have asked about. As before, we'll have smaller sized portions of our seafood and Flavor Journey. These will be regular features of our "Girls' Night Out." We'll also have some special appetizers just for you. I love hearing the background chatter in a full dining room and it certainly was chattery on Thursday!  It looks like this could be an enjoyable new tradition. Bring out your girlfriends, your mom, your daughters and join the blast.

As I mentioned last week, we are taking over the space next door. This means that we'll have more room to spread out, both at lunch and dinner. We don't have it all painted and primped yet, but we'll make the space available when needed. We still need to invest in some more tables and chairs. This week we added items the fire department inspection reminded us we needed to include. Also, after burning out 2 hand-mixers in the course of less than a year, we have purchased a new Cuisinart heavy duty hand mixer. Fortunately, we already had a good stand-mixer.

NEXT week~ Renee Wood Trio returns with jazz for your dining pleasure.

The flavor journey this week will be an Elk Meatloaf. This very flavorful, lowfat meat makes a wonderful meatloaf. We source our elk locally—it is raised in Dora. I'll top it with a hoisin sauce to give it a bit of an Asian flair. We'll serve it with a salad, garlic mashed potatoes, fresh green beans. $10.99

Here's this week's lunch menu followed by the dinner menu~~
Tuesday~50 cents off Trout Romans
Wednesday~ Thai chicken lettuce wraps with a sweet and sour rice plus side; $6.75
Thursday~Chicken Cordon Bleu tamales (stuffed with chicken and ham) with Swiss cheese sauce and asparagus risotto. $6.75
Friday~Spinach mushroom quiche with side salad $6.75

Seafood~ Fresh stone crab claws served with a side salad plus baked potato and Asian green beans. $18/4 claws, $22.50 for 5; add'l claws at $4 each.
Flavor journey~Elk Meatloaf; salad, garlic mashed potatoes, fresh green beans $10.99

Well that's it, folks. We hope you have a lovely week and even more that you get a chance to join us this week.

~~~Susan