Wood Sorrel

I have been putting together July's menu and I am going to be using wood sorrel in one of the dishes.  If you have never had wood sorrel, aka false shamrock, you should definitely try it.  It is similar to sorrel in that it is lemony and acidic but it looks like a clover with a yellow flower...and it grows like crazy in Western MA.  I have it all over my yard.  Sometimes I think there is more wood sorrel than grass.  If you have a patch growing in your yard, try throwing some into your next salad.  The crisp and acidic green will bring a whole new life to your salad.  Know that I think about it, there just might be more wood sorrel in my yard than grass...at least it tastes better...

"It's what's for dinner"

My wife and I rarely eat beef.  In fact many people are surprised at how little beef we eat.  For some reason once summer rolls around, we are beef-a-holics...at least for us.  Yesterday I realized why.  At first I though it was the start of grilling season.  Not really, although grilled beef is the way to go.  Then I thought it was because we are a little more active so we crave the protein.  Nope, not really true.  Then right in the middle of our delicious grilled River Rock flatiron with chimichurri, fennel, fresh-churned butter, warm baguette and sungold tomatoes, I realized what it is.  It's tomatoes.  Well, really it's umami but tomatoes play a big part in that. 

Umami is often called the fifth taste.  To me it is more of a sensation then a taste.  You can achieve "false" umami, which is what makes great chefs great chefs.  Their uncanny ability to balance their dishes so well that all of your taste receptors go nuts at the same time.  "True" umami is actually a taste.  Your umami taste buds are located right in the middle of your tongue and when you eat umami your tongue gets, well, numb.  I studied umami quite a bit, in fact I almost opened a restaurant devoted to the phenominon.  It turns our there are too many variables, including mood, so I moved on.  Since umami is so complex I will try and keep this simple.  There are two different kinds of umami, basic and synergizing.  Foods may have one or both types and in many varying amounts and proportions.  These ratios change when food is cooked, matured or dried.  Think of a shitake mushroom.  When fresh it can create subtle umami, when seared it gets more, and when dried the umami is off the charts.  Now pairing two or more umami rich ingredients together, especially when you can achieve the "right" balance of the two types of umami, can create an extreme umami sensation (think of caesar salad...almost every ingredient is loaded with umami).

Now back to tomatoes.  Tomatoes, especially when super ripe and raw, have a great deal of basic umami.  You pair that with a food that is loaded with synergizing umami , like a dry-aged (more umami than fresh beef), grilled (adding more umami) flatiron (the more marbling in the cut, the more umami) and you get exploding, addicting, delicious umami.  So when I can get my hands on tomatoes, I crave beef to go with them.  It is a perfect meal for me.  This was a perfect meal for me...

Muscadet

Summer is upon us and we just finished "updating" the wine menu with some nice hot weather wines.  One of my favorite summer sippers is muscadet.  This often overlooked wine is perfect for warm weather and pairs wonderfully with light and refreshing summer foods.  Muscadet is bottled early so it tends to have some residual CO2 which gives it a light spritz.  Most have slight briny and minerally notes which add interest to its lemony, apple character.  Probably my favorite thing about muscadet is that it pairs perfectly with light summer seafood, especially clams and oysters.  I have clams on the menu right now and the pairing is unbelievable.  I was a bit sad when I finished my plate, I almost ordered another...

Come and Go and Come Again

Restaurants have an incredibly high employee turnover.  We have been very fortunate to have a surprisingly low turnover at BLG.  Of the employees that have left, most have left on great terms.  One of our favorite ex-employees is in town visiting and while it is great to see her, it is really interesting to see how much the staff bonds when she is back in town...old and new.  It really does make me think that we have a small family of sorts and it is nice to be apart of.  know that I think about it, the same happens when I visit my old stomping grounds.  Old and new staff meet and everyone has a good time, telling stories and reminiscing about the place we called or call our job.  I don't think many professions are like this, but then again I only know of this one...

Sunday Recap

This week I learned:

New Englander's love their lobster rolls...

That patience is good to have when hiring, some work out and some won't...

It is good to live in the Valley, even with a "tough" start to the growing season we still have amazing produce...

No matter how hard I try, I may miss a day of "the Journal".  Sorry about yesterday...

That biking to work in New England means there are going to be wet rides...

When I get stressed out and overworked I end up booking a hotel in NYC...

That BIG NEWS is hard to keep secret, but I must for a few more days...

I miss dining at the BLG, I haven't sat down in the restaurant to eat in a few weeks.  That needs to change, I have always said "if the owners don't eat there, you shouldn't either"...

Worried...

Another cool, rainy day and the thought of a tough produce year is turning from thought to gossip.  This is hard for a restaurant like us to swallow because all we use is local produce.  We have all been so excited to move on from the parsnips, purple turnips and potatoes that Winter Moon Farm worked so hard to store and deliver to us over the long winter.  There is only so many ways you can change the form of a vegetable over a course of a few months and still keep it interesting.  I am getting slightly worried that I may have to do the same with the summer vegetables.  We have been fortunate that our farms like us so much and have been giving us preferential wholesale treatment...in some weeks we have been the only restaurant they have delivered to.  I worry that a bad year may be detrimental to the farms we have grown to be more than business acquaintances with.  I want to see everyone we work with become prosperous, especially ones we consider friends.  Hopefully Mother Nature makes a turn for the better soon, otherwise we will be serving a lot of zucchini this year.  That's ok I guess, I love zucchini...

Sustainable Seafood Dinner

We love to use cook with seafood at BLG and like everything it needs to be sustainable.  This year we are celebrating sustainable seafood with an eight-course wine dinner.  I just finished the menu yesterday:

-Raw-

Bluepoint oyster, grapefruit confit, house-made creme fraiche

~~~

Albrecht Brut Rose, Crémant, Alsace

-Cured-

scallop ceviche, pickled berries, jalapeno mousseline

~~~

Dr. Loosen, Blue Slate, Riesling Kabinett, Germany 2009

-Poached-

salmon terrine, foraged wood sorrel, scallion oil

~~~

Bonnet, Entre Deux Mers. Bordeaux Blanc 2010

-Steamed-

countneak clams, PEI mussels, prosciutto consommé, saffron

~~~

Chateau Routas, Rouviere Rose, Provence 2010

-Fried-

dungeness crab cake, marinated mediterranean cucumbers

~~~

Benton Lane, Pinot Gris, Oregon 2009

-Seared-

fennel encrusted ahi tuna, red beet puree, picholine olive relish

~~~

Martin Codax, Temprinillo, Rioja Spain 2008

Roasted

pacific halibut, roasted summer vegetables, fennel infused vin rouge

~~~

Terre d'Ombre Vin de Pays, Provence Rouge 2009

-Dessert-

champagne gelée, summer berries, chantilly

Closed?

A common restaurant "issue" is late-nighters.  What is a late-nighter?  A table that comes in either right before you close or shortly after.  What does this mean for the restaurant?  That's a tricky question. 

When I was an employee, I hated that table.  I know that almost all employees feel this way.  Employees always say the same thing, "Where do they work?  What if I show up right when they are closing and sit for an hour  How would they like it?"  As an owner I see it quite differently.  Making people happy is what creates repeat business.  As long as they come in within our seating hours, I feel we should happily serve them.  The downside is that it costs me a lot of money to stay open later, much more than I am going to profit from that table so if we don't make them happy it does me no good.

Now there are other variables in play here.  I don't ever mind staying open for a "late-nighter" as long as they pay a little respect that we did so.  Unfortunately not all do.  All we is ask is that you take care of your server appropriately and you don't over-extend your stay.  Tonight we had a very nice couple call and ask for a nine-o'clock reservation.  We politely told them we don't accept reservations for parties under five so as long as the get here before we close at 9:00 pm they would be ok.  One of the party showed up at five-to-nine and reserved the table.  All the other tables but a single guy at the bar had left before the other person in the party showed up at close to quarter after.  They then proceeded to have a very leisurely meal and were still enjoying themselves when I left at 10:45.  How do I feel about that?  I don't know.  I am conflicted.  I feel they abused our hours, but the spent a decent amount of money.  They seemed happy, but will they come back?   I definitely wasn't to happy they were taking their sweet time, but that was probably because I was tired and cranky today.  It really doesn't matter at this point.  If someone came in tomorrow at the same time, I would do it again...

Lobster Rolls

Today I learned a great lesson about New Englanders and their lobster rolls.  The bumper sticker "I brake for lobster rolls" is no joke. 

We worked the Tuesday Market this week and I thought some lobster rolls with french radish and herbs might be fun.  We sold out in two hours.  One person ordered one, then came back for a second, and was walking by when they overheard we only had a few left and got one more.  Usually we have trouble with anything over $5 at the market, but not with the $9 lobster roll.  I though for sure that my need for using high quality ingredients, like beautiful fresh lobsters like the one's we used, would bite me in my ass.  Nope, all N.E.ers know how to appreciate the finer lobster rolls in life...

Case of the Mondays

Well, we had our first case of the summer Mondays today. It started hot at 5pm then went on to be nothing but friends and staff hanging out. Every once in a while it's nice to have a night like tonight. Every once in a while...

Sunday Recap

Hmm, what did I learn this week?

I learned that the Valley's farmers will never cease to surprise me...

I learned that I can't always teach an old dog new tricks...

I learned that not all eyes see sanitation the same way, unfortunately...

I learned that there is nothing wrong with a simple dish...

I learned that kids and adults love Peligrino sodas...

I learned that my staff almost doesn't need me around...almost...

Yes, I am Strict

I had to "release" the newest member of my kitchen staff today.  Which is why I worked the line again last night and might be doing so for the next little bit (again).  It turns out I have incredibly strict policy when it comes to running a professional, clean kitchen and it keeps costing me employees.  Good thing I have an excellent core staff and they would rather work short-handed and up to my standards rather than fully staffed and knowing that someone isn't doing what they are supposed to.  My standards, not a thing I should have to say in a kitchen when it comes to being professional and sanitary.  It should just be the standard...

Working the Line

I haven't actually worked the line in a while.  Tonight I aproned up and worked a station.  I am a little surprised to say it was nice to be back.  My usual spot behind is behind the pass, expediting and watching everything like a hawk.  It was nice to only have to worry about my station.  The same can be said when I work the dishpit.  When your regular job entail so much control, control over others and trying to find away to control the uncontrollable, you find solace in a simple but very busy job.  You can lose your self for a while.  I never thought I'd see the day when the grunt work was comforting to me...

A Winner to Me...

Every now and then I come up with a special that I think is outstanding and it turns out to be a flop.  There is no telling sometimes, I really thought this one sounded, looked and tasted absolutely delicious but it just did not sell the way I would have hoped.  I even tried posting a picture on facebook but to no avail.  Sometimes a winner is a loser.  That's ok I guess, it means there's more for me...

Four Star Farms Cornmeal encrusted, line-caught pollack over a purple barley salad with mediteranean cucumbers and green shallots (The Kitchen Garden Farm), green shallot oil and our house-made creme fraiche prepared with Mapleline Farm dairy

Tomatoes?!

I was taking my usual Tuesday Market walkthrough when something red caught my eye. It was a tomato. Yup, I was just as surprised as you. I didn't get a chance to ask Ben (from Town Farm) how he has them so early but he was pretty busy. Probably because he had tomatoes. I assume he grew them in their new greenhouse and I can't wait to try them. I have some nice mozzarella and that geat basil from last night so once the tomato softens we are going to go caprese crazy. Hopefully the tomato "softens" by tomorrow, I'm not sure I can wait...

Basil and Blossoms

You know what we do when The Kitchen Garden brings us the first batch of beautiful basil and squash blossoms?  We make pizza...

RW Sunday Recap

Wow. After looking back on the posts for the week I realize that I'm a real complainer.  I guess Restaurant Week is getting harder for me to rationalize.  In my eyes, there are many different categories of restaurants and they all serve their purpose.  When you think of going out to breakfast, your choices can range from greasy spoon to elegant.  All are delicious and all are needed.  I love a greasy spoon breakfast...once in a while.  Everything is cooked on the same flattop, getting more and more seasoned with each serving.  It's satisfying in a comforting and greasy sort of way.  I also love an elegant breakfast; something about a nice glass of champagne with a hand-picked dungeness crab benedict is just beautiful and satisfying in a completely different way.  In both cases I feel I get what I pay for.  Those are the key words, "I get what I pay for."  On a regular night we believe our customers leave saying "I got what I paid for."  Restaurant Week twists this dynamic a bit. We so happen to be an "elegant" restaurant; our food is extremely time consuming to make, made from fresh and costly local ingredients plus it takes a large amount of manpower to prepare.  Unfortunatly, this means the deal of Restaurant Week represents something different to us.

Restaurant Weeks have become a normalcy in major cities across the US and for good reason.  They promote tourism, they spur new customers and they serve as a sort of customer appreciation.  In most larger cities they also benefit some excellent charities.  Having lived in some cities that have hosted some pretty amazing restaurant weeks, I can say I am a huge advocate.  Unfortunately, I think that our RW has a few flaws and those flaws affect businesses like mine more so than others.  I have a major case of "love-hate" with Northampton's Restaurant Week and here is why.

While some restaurants stand to gain a large profit from the publicity and influx in business, we use it more as a marketing opportunity and as a customer appreciation week.  Many restaurants "lessen" their menus to make even more money during the week.  We don't.  Our mark-up (on both wine and food) is far, far below the normal mark-up for restaurants.  Most restaurants run a food cost around 20%, ours is closer to 40%.  That means that if restaurant X is serving a dish that costs them $3.00 they are charging you $15.00.  We would only be charging $7.50.  Sure our prices are higher than most, but the deal you are getting is far better in terms of quality.  This works for us (and the customer) during a normal business day but on a week like this one, especially when we don't compromise our cuisine and have to staff well above normal, we are literally making pennies on the dollar.  This is not to say that we don't simplify our menu.  We have to in order to not lose money during the week and to allow our kitchen staff to serve three times our usual number of customers.  Now fold that in with the heightened criticism we tend to take during this week by people who are coming in without the understanding they are getting a deal. Add in the repeat customers who know they are getting the best deal in town, the large number of regulars that just happen to come in and the tourists who had no idea that RW was going on and you might understand my angst. 

We have tried swaying the RW board to understand our situation.  We have tried to get them to change the date to a week that has far less tourists, like August.  No dice.  When we suggested separate price points, they listened and changed them to include the restaurants that are priced too low to take part in RW by being able to offer a "2 for 1" offer.  We have asked them to raise the price, perhaps to $25 a head.  This year they made a big stink about raising the price.  They raised it 89 cents from $20.11 to $21.  Hardly helpful to us, or anyone else. 

There is nothing I love more than being balls to the wall busy and running a crazy restaurant.  I get a high from it and everyone who works in the business will tell you the same.  If everything goes right, all the staff flow together as one restaurant.  I love that.  The problem is that the high may not be enough anymore for RW.  We didn't see enough new customers this year so the "marketing" aspect may not be there anymore.  We definitely saw a large number of regulars, but we would rather run our own "customer appreciation week" during a week that has less tourists running around.  While there is a chance that we may take part in RW next year, I don't think it is likely.  Maybe the board will listen to our suggested changes, but it seems unlikely they will mess with something that works well for so many others.  It was an awesome restaurant week, easily our best one yet.  We had our rough nights, and we had our smooth ones.  I hear it's good to go out on a high note...

RW 2011, Day 6

It's over, finally.  I will talk more about everything in tomorrow's "Sunday Recap," right now I have to celebrate another successful RW with my staff and send off one of our servers for he is moving to Berkeley...

RW 2011, Day 5

Great night tonight.  The mood is drastically different from last night making it much more fun to work.  One more night lies ahead and then we give the restaurant and staff a day to rest.  That means I'll have to mow the grass, damn...

RW 2011, Day 4

Alright, today was the day that we have been hoping to do without.  One of our first tables, maybe our even the first table, was livid that her beans were cold.  It was a chilled fennel, orange and white bean salad and when the manager went to try and smooth things over, the lady went on a tirade about how they have eaten all over the world (and apparently have never eaten a cold bean before) so they know what is good.  Then they proceeded to intentionally look away from the server and not respond when asked anything for the rest of their meal.  During the bean incident, the staff looked over the dining room and everyone just looked melancholy.  Everyone looked depressed, no one was talking to each other just staring somberly into space.  I don't know if it was the lighting storm or the sticky heat but our night did not start well.  A handful of food returned to the kitchen unpleasantly picked apart.  Two ducks were too rare for the customers liking and one salmon was "completely raw."  Much like everything else in life, there is a polite way to send back a dish and a way that is sure to get the entire restaurant staff (and sometimes tables next to you) not too like you.  If you do not like the way something is cooked by all means you should send it back, you are paying good money for it...but please don't tell the server that the fish is completely raw when it isn't, just ask if they can have the kitchen cook it more to your liking. 

it is hard to have customers who only come into your restaurant once a year (during restaurant week) and feel the need to offer their criticism on anything and everything...especially when they are receiving three-courses for less than the price of our standard entrees.  Thankfully the mood lightened by the end of the night and people were very happy.  The last three RWs have been full of these types of days and we have been fortunate so far that this has been the only one, hopefully the RW gods will look down on us for the rest of the week...

RW 2011, Day 3

We're halfway there. Tonight we served 100 people, exact same number as last night but $1000 dollars less in sales. That is a little hard swallow when you are basically giving dinner away. As long as people are happy and first-time customers come back it is worth it. At least that is what I tell myself...

RW 2011, Day 2

I'm definitely feeling a little tired after today, must be getting old.  Today started off much faster than yesterday and the sales show it.  We have served about twenty more guests than yesterday and again, made it until close without running out if food.  No complaints on food, but we did have one a**hole who reamed my wife out because he allegedly had a reservation for two people...we have been very clear (for weeks) that we are not taking any reservations for restaurant week.  Besides, we never take reservations for parties under five  anyway.  Nothing's worse than getting yelled at for no reason by a liar and not be able to do anything about it but smile and apologize.  My wife earned her glass of wine tonight, maybe even the whole bottle after that one...

RW 2011, Day 1

This is the best start to restaurant week we have had yet.  We made it all the way until close without running out of food.  That's 81 happy people and only 1 minor complaint, that the pork was dry (of course, I beg to differ).  I think I really like this menu, let's see if I am singing the same tune come Sunday...

Take a Deep Bread

Restaurant week starts tomorrow and it is a long, hard week. Tonight is all about rest and sleep so we can really put our all into work this week. I'm sure I will have a lot to say about Restaurant Week at some point, but tonight I just want to enjoy a good night with my wife...

Come a Long Way

Here is a special that my crew came up with and it was delicious.  This is the first special they have put together that I had no criticisms.  It's the first special that they have put together that really represents what our restaurant is.  I couldn't have done better myself.  It was so delicious and so Bistro Les Gras, I am putting on June's menu.  What is the special?   Parisian Gnocchi made with local wheat tossed in a turnip green pesto with hakuri turnips, fresh turnip greens, local cheese and a fresh egg.  Wow... 

Innocent Bystander

The recent tornadoes that tore through Western Mass on Wednesday caused some pretty amazing damage, as tornadoes tend to I suppose.  It's hard to understand exactly what anyone affected is going through.  We found out that the farm we get our beef from, River Rock Farm in Brimfield, came away from the storm in pretty bad shape.  I have a hard time with situations like this because I fell a little helpless.  I suppose that anything and everything we can do helps, but it never feels like enough.  I hope everyone that was affected gets the help that they need and are able to move forward.  Anything I can do...

A Little Surreal...

I have had almost four days off from the restaurant.  Monday we were closed.  Tuesday I made bread and took off.  Wednesday I was at the restaurant but did paperwork and such all night.  Today I went in to make bread then spent the rest of the day at the golf course.  It was completely surreal.  I have never taken that many days way, it shows how much trust I have for my kitchen crew.  At least the crew that has been with me for years now.  It has been a special break, much needed (due to restaurant week coming next week), and even more appreciated.  I am ready to be back to work and can't wait to get back to my crew...

Kryptonite

I tend to like summer the least of the seasons and it's not because of the heat. Sometimes I think allergies are my kryptonite. Not having the sense of smell as a cook is like spiderman not being able to shoot webs. I may be exagerating just a touch. None the less, for me cooking involves all of my senses and when one sense is off they all go off, making it harder to do my job. It turns something that is normally fun for into actual work. I am going to try a new allergy pill to tomorrow, hopefully it works better than the one I have been taking leaving only the spring tornadoes for me to worry about. Speaking of which, I hope everyone is ok and the damage is only cosmetic...