2009

The beginning of 2009 will see a small wine list tweak. I'm 86'ing a couple of wines because of poor service from the distributor. (ahem, Badger) Unfortunately I have to deal with them to get a few liquor products but there is alot of good wine out there that people can choose from. We'll probably lose a couple glass pours as well. I think currently we have 14. That's too many during a slow time of year.

Small menu tweaks are ahead as well. I found a good source of sustainable grouper that will allow me to put it back on the menu. I'll also change the tofu to a non vegan vegetarian dish. (I know that's going to piss some people off) Most likely a grilled mushroom, spinach and vegetable polenta lasagna. We ran it New Year's and it was well received.

We hope to concentrate on the garden this year. We are looking for a part-time gardener to help tend to it.

We will be advertising in Milwaukee. Something we really haven't done before. We are virtually unheard of north of the county line. We are 30 minutes from downtown Milwaukee with comparable food, better prices, service and tons of convenient parking. They should be beating down our doors. If they start coming look for us to spread our wings culinary-wise.

Knock on wood but I think 2009 will be a good one. (It can't get much worse)

2008

A few comments on NYE's service. In short, a great night. We topped last year's customer count and sales. More importantly things went smoothly and I'm confidant our customers noticed. Despite the absence of a server (called in sick, never fails) the dining room ran like a clock with my wife Patrice and guest hostess Cory,(Our daughter)at the helm.

As far as 2008 goes, I'm glad it's over. A rough year dominated by the closing of The Yellow Rose. A seemingly "all consuming" task. That should be put to bed once and for all within a week. You add the dismal economy on top of that and it makes for a bleak year business-wise.

Personal-wise, we have sold our home and will be moving very soon. The added stress of selling a home in this market hasn't helped our already amped stress level either. The up-side is we are now prepared for whatever this economy throws at us.

With all that behind us we're excited about 2009. Building improvements and new marketing plans will be our focus. A new website is also a priority. We also hope to travel more and spend quality time in Door County.

Food-wise, I think you're going to continue to see an emphasis on sustainable and natural. Local sourcing and chef to farmer hook-ups. It will be all the rage. The benefit of this movement is I think it will bring the focus back to the food. Simple, real and comforting food. I think restaurant design will follow. In other words "retro" with a sleeker more modern look. Prices will be an issue. Operators will want to keep the prices down but will have ever increasing budgets to cover. For the big guys, something's got to give. Their customers won't notice it for a couple more years yet. Then they'll go the way of Cork and Cleaver, Steak and Stein and my Alma mater Victoria Station.

Let's hope it's a peaceful and prosperous year for us all. Happy New Year!

NYE 2008

First Course
Soup
Wild Mushrooms ala Crème
Shitake, Portabella and Oyster mushrooms, garnished with Amontillado cream.

Prime Beef Brochette
Skewered prime tenderloin tips served over caramelized onions
with bourbon–Dijon sauce.

Crab Cake
Asian slaw, apricot and mustard sauces.

Scallops
Sautéed U-10 “dry” day boat scallop served with
smoked tomato beurre blanc

Second
Tuna and Micro Greens
Slices of rare tuna with micro greens, wakami salad and ginger dressing.

Boston Wedge
Bleu cheese dressing, smoked bacon, vine ripened and hard boiled eggs.

Spinach and Prosciutto
Fresh baby spinach served wit a warm prosciutto dressing with
toasted pine nuts and Parmesan crisp.

Third
Filet of Beef
Béarnaise, demi-glace and Wisconsin cheddar mashed potatoes with chives.

Chicken Ballantine
Boneless chicken stuffed with roasted vegetables, goat cheese and cornbread. Served with chicken demi-glace and French green beans.

Cedar Roasted Grouper
Roasted on a sheet of cedar and topped with Burgundy truffle butter. Served with potato croquettes and French green beans.

Lobster Dumplings
Shitake-mirin sauce with sautéed spinach.

Roast Vegetable and Polenta Lasagna
Natural Ricotta and goat cheese.

Fourth
Chocolate Decadence
Flourless chocolate cake with crème Anglaise and raspberry sauce.

Pumpkin Maple Flan
“Upside down” crème brulee, morello cherry sauce and caramel.

Berries and Sabayon
Fresh berries in a chilled light custard.

Sorbet and Pastry
Green apple, mango and raspberry

For the comfort of all our guests seating are limited to two hours.

Samurai Salad Man Send Off

It's customary in some restaurants to give a departing kitchen member a proper send-off. It's pretty rare someone quits and gives a proper notice so it's a rare treat when you can give a "brigade" brother a fine farewell.

The plan was to wait until the end of the night and send Samurai Man down to the walk-in cooler where upon leaving the cooler we'd all be waiting with ketchup, flour, eggs, etc.

As it turned out Samurai Man wasn't feeling too well but was good enough to come in on a busy night. So we decided to go easy on him and chase him out the back door with arms full of eggs and flour as he was leaving for the last time.

I did manage to land an extra large grade A to the back of Samurai's head. A nice shot from 25 yards if I may say. I was able to get close enough after Samurai took a little tumble in the slippery, wet and icy driveway. Ole Victor must have chased him for a hundred yards to get that scoop of flour onto his head. Everyone else was too far behind to get a shot in, they decided to finish the six top before giving chase.

Saw this blog on OnMilwaukee.com

"The one the great things about this great city is the great places we can eat. No matter what day it is, or what time, it is possible to enjoy a great meal and a great glass of wine. In a city that has more than 1,500 restaurants, there is something for everyone, even those with the most particular tastes

Not only do I love dinning in Milwaukee, but I love serving in Milwaukee, well most of the time. I have been working in and loving the service industry for many years now and have earned my current serving position by years of hard-work, but as I have adjusted to the fine-dinning, high volume restaurant life, I have come across many things that a restaurant of this magnitude can do that others can not, and most obviously is special requests.

When looking over a menu, I always see dishes that I know I would love if there was a small change, for example substitute balsamic vinaigrette for ginger sesame dressing, or substitute vegetable for a starch, and I am not afraid to ask- after all I am their guest and the restaurant wants to make me happy. At the same time, when one of my guests would like Bearnaise sauce with their steak instead of poivre, no problem, absolutely. When a guest would like no artichokes with one of their fish dishes, also not a problem I would be happy to.

The question I am then posing is: When does it become too much? If I am at brunch and would like fried eggs instead of poached eggs, am I going to be upsetting a server, or even worse a chef? At my current restaurant we can do, and will do almost anything for a guest if he/she asks, but is this really necessary? At 700 on a Friday night, when a guest asks for a steak without a marinade, with a different steaks preparation and his dinning partner wants a special salad that we used to have on the lunch menu as their entree, do we always have to comply? Trying to organize with the chefs and the cooks and the customer to create their essentially personalized menu, is no problem, I'm happy to do it- unless it takes all of my attention away from my other guests. Would it be unreasonable to suggest to the guest more feasible alterations? How would I feel if a server suggested that to me? Granted, I know well enough to be reasonable with my requests, but as a very dedicated server I don't want to upset anybody, but I also need to think about service.

Also, if a table has a special request, or many special requests to their dishes I don't think it's unreasonable to understand that it may take longer to come out of the kitchen. When the cook on grill has to spend extra time and attention to create this made-up steak dish, it may take an extra couple minutes, is that also unreasonable?

Just a couple thoughts on the issue, I find it becoming more and more prevalent not only with my customers, but myself as a customer as well. "

From a Chef's standpoint "sauce on side" or no pepper etc is not big deal but I draw the line at requests that are so distracting that they interrupt the rhythm of the line. If I have a spare body or if things are going very well we'll be more than happy to do an oddball request but if I have to pull a guy "out of the zone" to make it happen and I NEED him in that zone I'll say no. Any one who has worked the line knows what I'm talking about. That special place cooks go in their head when they are busy as hell and cranking it out.

That Time of Year

As usual with this time of year things get a little busy with home and work, so the posts may be fewer and farther between.

Just keep one thing in mind.

HAVE A GREAT HOLIDAY SEASON!