The Daily Beat at BT

•  We still can't seem to go day to day with an entire regular crew on board - today LaVonte is out, taking his baby to the Doctor, with Kira filling in for him.  Saturday night, sous-chef Kev was on a weekend retreat with his fiancee, which resulted in Angie filling in for Megan on the salads, while Megan did Kev's job on the line.  Meanwhile, the 6PM dishwasher was a no-show, so Megan called a friend of hers to come fill in the gap.  Thankfully, it wasn't a typically hair-raising Saturday night and things went smoothly.  We are lucky that we have been able to cross-train a lot of the kitchen crew, and we are lucky that they are flexible, for the most part.  

• Dining room wise, we are in a good spot, at least for the summer.  Super-server and busser Emily will be going back to college in mid-August, which will leave a major gap in the DR, probably to be filled by two people eventually.  Terrell is stepping up to the Dishwasher plate, in addition to his bus shifts, but that is also only a summer fix, until he returns to school in Baltimore. Thomas has transitioned very successfully from day waiter and busser to dinner server, displaying a competitive streak to his co-workers that seems to liven everyone up a bit.  He is another who steps up gladly to the plate when asked, and this summer that seems to be often.  August and September - if we are lucky - can be the busiest of the summer months, so everyone will have to do a little extra while we are transitioning staff.  

• Valerie will be doing some competing with her pipes this summer - she plays with the Pennsylvania Ulster Scottish Pipe Band.   Sunday the 22nd of August she will be traveling with her compatriots to Hunter Mountain in New York for the Hunter Mountain Pipe Band Championship.  Closer to home, put the Fair Hill Scottish Games on your calendar for next May.  This all day affair will give you a serious dose of everything Scottish, including the Highland Heptathlon, with the former strongest man in Scotland competing this past May.  It is a blast, and you will possibly catch of glimpse of Val with her band.

• Despite the fears and horrors coming out of the Gulf Coast, the price of Maryland crabmeat remains steady, still around the same as last year.

• It's the middle of a hot summer, with many worrying about a double dip recession looming, and the questions regarding our business remain a constant query. The fact is, heat seems to be good for us.  Perhaps it is because home kitchens are not attractive in July, or maybe other outside dining venues are even less alluring, but what ever the reason, we have been having an excellent summer so far.  That being said, we are still over 25% behind last year in revenues, due primarily to the opposite weather situation - those wonderful seasonally cold  precipitation weekends we endured in January and February.  Oh well, you win some and...

• Kevin and his crew have been making some good use of the fabulous produce coming into our back door this summer.  The scallops have lately been on a corn and melon salad; eggplant caponata has been gracing the large plates; frozen cantaloupe mousse is currently a dessert offering. Tomatoes on the burgers, zucchini on the BaconWich, corn chowder five days running, summer vegetables in the quiche - it is just simply that season when vegetables rule! 

• The issue with celiac and wheat-free dining is more and more prevelant these days, and we are proud to say that except for the chicken cannelloni, any of our dinner entrees can be made gluten free.  The crab cake has been tweaked this summer to also be in that ever growing category, and guess what?!  Even our ice cream sandwich this week, made with our flourless peanut butter cookie, can be enjoyed by those with wheat allergies!

• Lemonade and Lemon Icebox Pie;  SBF Burger and Tamale Beef Pie; Peach Up-side Down Cake and Brandied Peaches on Pork; Corn Chowder and Corn Salad; Crab Cake and Crab Steak;  Eggplant Napoleon and Eggplant String Sandwich - it's all about the food at Brooks Tavern, lunch and dinner, where we are delivering the good stuff to locals and visitors alike.  We are having a great time down here in UpHi, and we hope you are too.  Enjoy the summer in Kent County, it is like no other.  

• Eat, Drink, Relax!