New things to come

Adding the new beers and wines was just a first step. If you have not seen the beer or wine you prefer yet, please tell us so we can incorporate it into our plans. We had to start somewhere and what we got in initially is just a base. We have not yet added any wines beyond our "house wine" which is a restaurant-only brand, and many have declared it quite drinkable. We'll begin adding a few California wines then Missouri wines. Why in that order? Because the California wines are, so far, better known. We want to add a few Missouri wines. The cost per case is much higher than many of the California wines. The local palate seems to be toward drier preferences. Many of the Missouri wines are a bit on the sweet side.  We'd really like to get your feedback on personal wine preferences. One of the brands someone brought us to try was quite nice but unavailable for restaurant purchases. Darn. We are keeping our eyes out for Organics, too. We DO listen and feel you have a vested interest in what we choose.

As of the first of April we are officially taking over next door. The front part will be more dinner seating. The back part will become a small, fine-craft gallery featuring Missouri artists. The second side I am initially calling "MO a la carte." The very back part will be restaurant storage. There is a second bathroom over there, as well.  Our plan is to give you room to spread out at lunch and the ability for more to dine and listen to music on Friday nights. Virtually all seats will have a view of the stage when the double doors are open. Now we just need to purchase tables and chairs. We plan to have 3-4 tall tables with bar stools to give the "back row" a good view over the tops of other diners' heads. As with our other developments, they will happen as the income is produced rather than sticking our necks out to finance them. That may take some patience on your part—ours, too! We would LOVE to do it all, instantly. But, we won't. We'll be sane and keep it real.

Our priorities have been to enhance the areas that prepare us to deliver better and faster service. This week we are adding another rolling cart that will hold large trays. We'll then be able to prepare and hold our dinner side salads and desserts on nights when we are quite busy. That, alone, will speed things up considerably. We are also getting our servers some nice beverage trays to assist in delivery of your drinks. Simple things. But they add up!

Seafood~~I was delighted to hear from several of you that you'd like to be able to participate in purchases for fresh fish. This helps us quite a bit. Since my local source has dried up, I can so far only get fresh fish in 25 lb. minimums. This week I am sticking with sashimi grade (able to be purchased in smaller quantity) tuna that will be seared and served with a wasabi oil with sweet soy, sesame rice, a crab sushi maki, and seaweed salad with an Asian stir-fry. We'll have that Wednesday through Friday. I am working on the stone crab for next week. I got my seasons mixed up and April 15th is the LAST day for stone crab until October 15th. The cost for the tuna dinner will be $14.99. The crab next week will be higher.

The Flavor Journey at dinner will be the creamy chicken enchiladas (three) plus a side salad and sautéed summer squashes and onions topped with cotija cheese along with Spanish rice. Available from Tuesday, all week. $10.99. I make these using fresh spinach, fresh poblano peppers, chicken breasts, fresh cream and corn tortillas. We've served them several times at lunch and they always sell out. The dinner size is three enchiladas rather than two.

Thursday night is Girls' Night Out. We'll have smaller portions of both of the specials—the Flavor Journey and the seafood as well as pitchers of Sangria. I'll also have a special appetizer—grilled polenta topped with shitake and button mushrooms seasoned with butter and thyme. We have created an environment where you can feel comfortable enjoying a night out with friends and not feel like you are going to "get hit on." Why not start a new tradition among your female friends and make the scene on Girls' Night Out?

For Tuesday~I have been delighted by the number of people asking me to bring back the pimento cheese quesadillas. A long-time southern tradition, it stands up to our criteria of "real food." We make this from scratch using cheddar cheese, fire-roasted red peppers, minced onion, jalapeno, worchestershire, cream cheese and mayonnaise. This mixture then fills a pair of flour tortillas and is grilled. Served with a side at $6.75.

The Bahn Mi has been very well received. Bruce has gotten the French baguettes figured out. I did it last week with the marinated and grilled pork. For those of you who don't do pork, I am adding chicken meatballs. It will be available after Tuesday. The sandwich has a wonderfully Asian flavor profile and the French bread has a nice texture. If you bought one the first time I made them, I am using more meat now. The sandwich includes a mayonnaise spiked with Srachi, julienned carrots and cucumbers that have been pickled in a sweet brine. Cilantro tops the sandwich. I serve it with a side: Italian potato salad, Cajun home fries, black bean/corn salad, fruit or potato chips. $6.49 The plan is to keep this as a regular menu item.

Yes—the fresh fruit side is back.

For Thursday~Bruce is at it again. He is bringing back another favorite tamale—Garlic poached chicken tamales with cheddar rojo sauce and Spanish rice. $6.75

For Friday~With the craziness of the weather I can see no reason to hold off on making ceviche. I'll combine shrimp, scallops, crab and calamari with lime and lemon juice, sweet peppers, jalapeno, cilantro and garlic. The acid in the citrus juices "cooks" the meats of the seafood turning them opaque and giving it the mouth-feel and taste of cooked seafoods. I'll serve it over a bed of lettuce and with a side. $7.50 ( I paid almost $8 for a lunch-sized portion of ceviche in Austin 25 years ago.) If you like seafood, you'll love the clean taste of ceviche.

Desserts this week will include a strawberry cobbler and carrot cake with cream-cheese frosting. Those are my entries. I'm not sure what Bruce has in mind. I know he'll surprise us. He has already got angel food infused with lime and drunken blueberry sauce.

I hope you enjoy this week of spring—in ALL its glory.

~~Susan

Changes in energy

This is one of my favorite times of the year. I know...sounds weird. But here is my logic and emotion all tied up in one—What is the most exciting feeling in the world? For me it is anticipation. I am already in anticipation for that first cool day that spells the end of endless heat. Along with those weather changes come changes in energy, purpose and expectation. We are on the harvesting side of the year. Whereas, rainfall may have seemed abundant in the spring, we saw weeks of draught and extreme heat. Yet, through all those extremes we are now reaping the rewards of long hours and hard work. We are beginning to see and understand abundance. Don't get me wrong. I'm not claiming that the economy has magically returned to affluence. I'm just saying that this is the time of year we get to see the results of our work. This applies in more than just agriculture. I find I feel a renewed vigor to tackle those unaddressed goals made during the early high-energy months of the year.  I know that another milestone—the changing of the year—will soon approach and there are things I wanted to have on my "done" list before 2011 is a memory.

Among those goals is to get our beer and wine license or maybe liquor license. I have a program mapped out indicating each step that needs to be addressed, who is responsible and a target date for completion. Several of the earliest steps have already been addressed and "done" is written in. The next biggy is finally catching up on getting our income taxes filed. It isn't a money issue. It has been a time issue. Between taking care of Mom and starting this cafe out of nothing, we've had other priorities. The time is NOW! Our priorities have been allowed to shift and getting the required paperwork finished in order to be able to apply for that permit has suddenly focused our attention. So today I got to work on getting them done. I'm having computer challenges, so the going is frustrating. But progress is happening.

Another major goal we are close to attaining is creating a "meeting menu." This menu will be especially for offices of 8 or more people who see the benefit of having their meetings over lunch. We are putting together a menu that saves everyone time and money. The salads are made in a larger scale, sandwiches are served on an platter and we have prediction of needed effort which results in less waste. There is even special pricing on sandwiches because I can make several at once. Pick up a copy when you are at the register and take it back to the person in charge of ordering lunch!

Did you see our cute new bistro sets? These are very much like the authentic ones in Europe. I've wanted some since we first thought of doing this game. Even though the weather has been less than inviting of late, I still envision this as more of a sidewalk cafe. I am very much looking forward to that day that we can, once again, leave the front and back doors open and let the screen doors do their thing. Anticipation.

Speaking of which...a few weeks ago Jon and I were in Jonesboro, AR. We decided to have lunch at a little Japanese place. I couldn't believe it! I got emotional thinking about anticipating the tasting of something wonderfully rare and succulant to my taste buds. And when the flavor finally hit my tongue, I actually teared up, closed my eyes and smiled. I realized just how much I had missed anticipation. Anticipation, itself had become a rarity.  That is a major reason that I am committed to doing more than the "same old-same old." I really want to create anticipation. I want you to experience that extra spark of energy that comes with anticipation—as well as the satisfaction of enjoying the reality of that which you anticipated. The flavor journeys are to take you out of your hum-drum and add a spark to your week. I figure if I can create anticipation I'll have done my job.

Surveys— we realized we were not making the best use of a resource we have access to— your opinion!!! We know that you know best what you like and I can, at best, guess. But why guess when we know you'd like to tell us your thoughts? Afterall, you do have a vested interest in how this place develops. So we are going to put a stack of postcards on your table each week with specific questions we have. You are free to write about anything you'd like, but we'd love to find out your thoughts regarding certain things—like favorite fresh seafood, what radio stations do you listen to, what your favorite eating moment was, when you discovered you loved a new flavor, who are your favorite regional musicians? All questions to which we need answers. You may remain anonymous, but it would be nice if you gave us a way to contact you to learn more or say thank you.

Friday night this week will be a bit of a departure from the norm. We welcome Blindcat aka Michael McIntire. He'll get things really moving with the blues. I've wanted to get a blues musician in here all summer. At last! Please join us and get those reservations in early.

This week's menu~~
Monday~Raja Relleno. This is a New Mexican-directed dish that features fire roasted hatch chilis, lots of cheese, salsa, and eggs and is served with black bean frijoles and a spicy side salad. $6.50
Tuesday~Vietnamese tamales with red curry sauce, pineapple salsa and vietnamese fried rice. $6.50. Also Tuna Roman all week~ freshly grilled tuna steak, wasabi mayonnaise, tomato and spicy sprouts on freshly made Roman bun~ with side $7.50
Wednesday~Lasagna with chicken and spinach; plus one side $6.50
Thursday~Antipasto Salad $6.50
Friday~Lunch~Herb Roasted chicken quarter, scalloped potatoes, steamed zucchini, biscuit and side salad $6.50
Dinner A) Sesame seared sashimi grade tuna steak, shitake mushrooms and wild rice, stir-fired zucchini and onions, side salad $12
Dinner B) Slow cooked country pork ribs, corn on hte cob, stir-fired zucchini and onions, side salad, biscuit $12
Dinner C) Steamed eggplant and squashes with Thai peanut sauce, served with jasmine rice and side salad. $10