What's New

I have been catching my breath after the holidays so I haven't had the desire to post. Not that much has been going on anyway. I don't like to write something just for the sake of writing. (Although it may seem like it)

Just got back from an exploratory trip to a vacation spot here in Wisconsin. We've been considering opening a seasonal restaurant there. The last time we were there for pleasure we spotted a tired restaurant that was priced to sell. After careful consideration we will most likely not do it at this time. The economy isn't the greatest, costs are rising, the labor shortage and the distance has made us think twice. We feel we'll be needed to pay attention to our existing restaurants in this time of economic turmoil. If it's still for sale after the national elections we may still consider it.

We'll be going to New York for a dinner at the James Beard house next week on January 23rd. We'll be there attending not cooking. The chef where my daughter works will be staging a truffle dinner. It was a good excuse to go to the big apple. While there I hope to check out some culinary hot spots as well. I'll take plenty of photos and post them here.

As far as work goes, some menu tweaking is in order as well as an update to both wine lists. I want to add some French Burgundies and maybe some Italians. Our clientele is increasingly foreign and on expense accounts. They don't seem to care for American wine. I had one big shot who flew three cases of wine with him on the corporate jet to serve while he was here. (Not sure if that's legal)

Slow season at #2. I just tweaked the menu to make it less labor intensive and we now close between lunch and dinner. During the cold winter months downtown is a ghost town. It happens every year. Thankfully our private dining facility associated with #2 keeps us afloat during this time.

I lost my ace saute man at #1 so I'll be pulling a few more shifts on the line. I'll miss the guy. He went back to Mexico and may or may not return. He's been working for me for a few years, young and cocky but he can back it up. One of the best I've ever had. (I've had many)

If anyone out there has any New York suggestions please feel free to offer them in the comment section. I just wish we'd be going on Monday so we could catch Les Paul at the Iradium (sp?)Club. I have a photo of him and me that I'd like him to sign. It will go with the guitar (a Les Paul) that he has signed.

BTW, you can see my ace saute man, Heriberto, on the staff Christmas video located below. He's the guy with the curly hair standing at the "Mexican" table.

NYE Menu

We don't get crazy with the NYE menu. Remember it's all about logistics. Plus the crowd isn't really the "foodie" type.

The night went beautifully. We set a new sales record at #1.


New Years Eve 2007 $48.00

~~ First Course ~~
Crab Cakes
Champagne beurre blanc
Caramelized Onion Tart with Goat Cheese
Cumberland sauce
Shrimp Tempura
Kung Pao sauce
Pot Stickers
Asian style pork stuffed dumplings, apricot sauce

~~ Second Course ~~
Lobster Bisque
Rich lobster tomato-cream soup
Walnut, Pear, Gorgonzola
Balsamic vinaigrette
Baby Spinach, Pecans and Goat Cheese
Raspberry vinaigrette
Mixed Greens
Shredded parmesan, herb buttermilk dressing

~~ Third Course ~~
(Add a five oz. lobster tail to any entrée for $14.00)
Grouper
Lime butter, mango-pepper slaw, wild mushroom risotto
Scallops
Smoked tomato beurre blanc, wild mushroom risotto
Pumpkin Ravioli
Sage butter sauce, parmesan, asparagus
Lobster Tail
(Additional $10.00)
Nine oz cold water tail, broiled, served with mushroom risotto
Rack of Lamb
Basil demi-glace, gruyere mashed potatoes
Filet Mignon
Béarnaise, demi-glace, gruyere mashed potatoes

~~ Fourth Course ~~
Chocolate Decadence
Raspberry Layer Cake
Baked Alaska
Sorbet

360mm Masamoto Yanagi, Hon-Kasumi Shiro-Ko

I've been asked why such a long yanagi? In the video on the bottom of the page you'll see I use every inch of it in that particular application. Slicing beef tenderloin to order on the line. Sure it's tender and easy to cut but that almost works against you when you want to complete the task in an efficient manner. Tenderloin can be delicate, so a long sharp knife is very useful.

I did alot of these for private dinners over the Holidays. Sliced at service for up to 80 people. Once you get a rhythm down you fly through the tenders with this yanagi. One stroke per slice.

Merry Christmas

Or Happy Holidays. Which ever you prefer.

The madness of December is over. Now it's on to New Years Eve.

I hope everone has a wonderful Holiday season.

Tour

I finally figured out how to manage my videos and You Tube. I've included a tour of #2 at the bottom of this page. Forgive the soundtrack. It was handy and the perfect length. Also somewhat fitting.

#1 is on there now as well.

Also a brief look at the staff at our "Thank God Christmas is finally here party."

The Weeds

Anyone who is in the business knows what I'm talking about. It's inevitable, no matter what your job is sooner or later you'll be in "the weeds". Simply put it's being overwhelmed with time sensitive tasks. Pressure personified. I've seen people just say "fuck it" and walk out and quit on the spot. Countless numbers of waitresses break down into tears. Chef's losing it and throwing plates. (I won't mention any names) It's a bad place to be. A very bad place to be. If you watch Gordon Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares (I do not) you'll probably see it often. A cook being in the weeds can have a snowball affect. If you're unable to get the food out in a timely matter it puts the servers in the weeds, which in turn can put the Host in the weeds, which can compound the server's weeds which compounds the cook's weeds and the bartender is probably in the weeds too. It's not pretty.

Young cooks need to be exposed to it for educational purposes. Once you're in the weeds you need to get out. In a word, survive. Experience is really the only teacher. I have a favorite phrase after surviving being in the weeds. "Pressure makes diamonds." It's true.

I got in the weeds big time last week. It was a very bad day. It doesn't happen that often. I can usually control the factors that lead to it. I let my guard down and trusted an employee too much and I ended up suffering for it. (not to mention another 5 or 6 people I was working with) I find as I age I'm not quite as good dealing with it as I used to be. That's one of the reasons I keep my line work limited these days. It was however a reminder to be ever vigilant when prepping, scheduleing and booking tables. The weeds is a place I don't like to visit and hopefully I won't be back there soon.

If you're a civilian and can't figure out why your food is taking so long and why your server has that "deer in the headlights look" and then disappears, chances are the restaurant is in the weeds. Be patient, you'll get served sooner or later. Probably when your server feels safe going back into the dining room.