Jammin for the Arts!

Ok, this is a little advertisement but it's for a good cause. On Saturday Sept 29th there will be live music all over downtown Racine in the bars and some restaurants. Also the restaurants will be donating a portion of the nights sales to the cause. The proceeds go to The Racine United Arts Fund. Basically to the schools to teach art. A VERY WORTHY CAUSE. Without the arts this world would be a very boring place.

At The Rose we'll be having four acts. I'm especially looking forward to Dave Braun, a jazz guitarist. I'm a big fan of jazz guitar and own a few myself. (although I can't play worth crap) We participate every year but this year will be different. The bands will actually play In The Yellow Rose, where in the past they've played in The Grotto next door. The reasons will go unmentioned except to say there was a little communication problem.

On the plate.

Lots to do. Wine dinner coming up on October 19th. I have to get that menu done. We're also going to tweak the menu at C-bass very soon. I hope to add a grilled romaine salad and change the grouper. I ran a special this weekend and it rocked. I accented the fish with a julienned mango-pepper salad using hot and sweet peppers and then accented the dish with a lime butter sauce. Woah. It was way good. So I'm going to make it a permanent fixture on the menu. The current grouper is a favorite so I'm sure I'll be hearing about changing it. I tried the grilled romaine at a special dinner and it also was killer. I haven't decided to pair it with a warm Parmesan dressing or a warm bleu cheese dressing. I've tried it both ways but I favor the bleu.

The wine list also needs tweaking. We plan to shore up the reserve list. It's been taking a pounding lately. Thankfully the higher end wines have been moving. It's a good sign the economy is improving.

Heating Up!

Now that summer is over things are heating back up in the kitchen. I suspended this blog for awhile but it's back to work for me. After a summer filled with malaise I've re-dedicated myself to the kitchen and getting back to what I do best. Cook and running the kitchen. Admittedly things have slipped while I was slacking. As summer came to a close and after a nice road trip I've re-discovered what really makes me happy. So I'll be keeping anyone who reads this up to date on what's going on in my world of restaurants.

If you are not familiar with me let me give you a little background:

I've been cooking professionally for over 30 years. The last ten years has been for myself. (and my partner and wife) We currently own two restaurants, three if you include our private dining facility located adjacent to one of our restaurants. I don't intend this to be an advertisement for any of our restaurants so I won't mention them by name unless it's necessary. What and where they are is no secret.

I'm an early riser so I'll usually be blogging in the early morning hours, recapping the day before and laying out the day ahead. Anyone who's interested in the restaurant biz may find this educational and sometimes enlightening. For me it's therapy. After 30 years of this I need it.

Please forgive the bad grammer and spelling.