Food Pics.

I've been continuing to work hard and put in those long hours. I even feel lazy compared to the chef even- he's been going nuts. But that's what happens when you try to open a restaurant in less than a month.

Tonight is our 1st mock service. We'll practice service, and be able to stop everything at any moment if needed, and the people dining give us feedback in exchange for free food. It'll be a very easy night I predict, and the kitchen should go pretty smooth. Fingers crossed.

A few pics of food (all appetizers):

The 55 pound goat in the trunk of a Lexus. Perhaps the 1st time that's happened.... It's been broken down, braised and turned into crepinettes.

The emmer and rye with kale, Estrella blue cheese, and kabocha squash puree.

Ozette potatoes and sunchokes with truffle aoili.

Roasted cauliflowers with greens, walnut vinaigrette and weebles cheese (a smoked provolone from Estrella creamery, which is about 25 miles west of Olympia)

Albacore tuna, with beets and sunchokes.

Ok. I gotta go to work now. Enjoy!

I Think So.

Another long, productive kitchen day done. Things delivered, food ordered, serious cleaning done.

But if you're really interested in the future, then how about a new dining experience?* One that resides in the heart of Tokyo's Roppongi district, an ultra-modern, hip, and exclusive dining spot called, "I Think So" a "Mega-Hyper-Turbo Lounge." It's dining style: a perverse and often baffling array of extinct, rare or even fantastical ingredients and/or preparations.** The rough menu can be found here.***

*(This idea was conceived very late, and in a very perfect moment with Trever on Saturday night after beer/Pappy van Winkle 15 yr/a lock-out)

**Please don't judge us. We're harmless dorks at times....but this should serve as your warning.

***If you read it, weren't you properly warned?

PDX.

Worked my 1st day at Emmer&Rye. Solid day, very long. Mind wiped.

Portland was great- classic Trever, as he locked us out of the apartment, and he found a neighbor who drilled through his lock, and then the complex manager said she'd put a new one in no charge, because she hadn't updated emergency contact info.....

We ate at Wildwood, which was good, not great as it had been in the past.

Had the worst brunch experience ever, but I wish not to recall it again, it's too agonizing. Ok, short version: waited forever for food, server tells me the kitchen overcooked my breakfast, then another long wait, then the food is inedibly salty. Ew.

Played a dangerous amount of Big Buck Hunter African Safari, and drank $1 Raniers with some of PDX's finest crazies (and not so crazies)

Need to shower, finish "Funny People" and sleep. ZZzzzzz.

Grab Bag. Duex.

By request, more details:

-The Dart has been unused for nearly 2 weeks. When I went to get my parking pass out, the full weight of the door slammed on my ankle, thus hurting really bad!

-REI? I bought a bunch of stuff, like gaiters. That's hiking nerd stuff.

-I sung Ladies of the World, AND, Most Beautiful Girl in the Room. The former is much more difficult as it's higher and really is a duet, the latter is just wonderful.

-Rock, I nostril flared intimidation psyche-outed this girl.

-Paper, I had no strategy, and one needs a strategy.

-Scissors, no one uses scissors much, and I learned this is a good way to break the ice with strangers, because everyone knows the game, and it's pretty silly.

I'm done with the catering job officially. Going to Portland to see people this weekend. Be back Monday!

Grab Bag.

I felt like I should say something, but little seems worthy.

Finishing up at my current job, and will be starting the new, more difficult, challenging, rewarding job next week. I am nervous and excited at the same time.

Otherwise, it has been a week that has run the gamut: an epic rock-paper-scissors experience where I had an entire bar gambling and shouting; one of the most incredible football games of all time; flight of the conchords in karaoke form; an REI impulse shopping spree; the Dodge Dart being a vindictive car (I've been using my brothers newer Lexus...) that closed a very heavy steel door on my ankle's sweet spot.

There you go, it was a more interesting past few days than I thought!

Truffle Hunting Is Excellent.

We didn't find any truffles, so here's this instead. (Socrates *totally* loves us!)

Actually, here's the pictures. It was a quiet day in the woods, which wasn't as cold or snowy as one would expect in January....

Alert! There was a recount demanded! Some people (me) think that this is just as good!

Excellent.

Today was a fantastic day.

Superb.

Tomorrow I go truffle hunting in the mountains. Hopefully, I will return alive, having avoided become cougar prey.....

New Year's Change.

I was offered a new job last week; it was one that I had pursued for a while after I returned from NZ and was looking for gainful employment. That didn't materialize then, and honestly, I had given up on thinking that the chef was going to get things together to open a place, as there were multiple adversities he encountered. I needed to pay rent and took the job I have now, which has been fine-ish. I like the people I work with, the execution of things has left me upset in the past....

But with the new place, my high standards will be partially implemented, the level of ingredients used will be- in my opinion- the highest available, and getting to see a restaurant opening first hand is invaluable, as that is what I'd like to do someday.

So this opportunity came along, and I needed to take it I felt, to become a better cook, to meet more business contacts, and become culinarily relevant in this town after a seemingly too long "sabbatical".

The restaurant is called Emmer&Rye. It will be open officially February 1st!