It's Friday already! It has been a very busy week, with the usual drama in the kitchen and a steady flow of guests joining us in the dining room. Lunch business seems to be back from its seasonal December slump and dinner service is bustling, thanks in a large part to the men (and a few women) in camouflage...Tuesday was as busy as Thursday, and was I ever glad I asked Charlie to come in and tend the bar in my stead that night. I don't know what I would have done if he hadn't been there, but I do know it would not have been pretty! I had all I could manage out on the floor; if I had had to tend the bar as well I think I would have simply lost my mind.
The extra business that the Canada Goose hunting season brings is a lifesaver this time of year. (The season ends on January 29, which means we will miss out on the last weekend, since we will be closed to attend Kevin's dad's memorial service.) We have many who are annual "regulars", coming back to our place each year, and each year we get a new bunch who just now have heard about us. I do miss the old days though, when we could cook the game for the gunners. I called the Kent County Health Department this fall, to see if there was any way around their ban of the practice, but Erica was firm - no wild game cooked in our kitchen. It's too bad, because that was great for business and a real treat for the gunners as well, to have Kevin prepare their goose for them.
Last night's menu is pretty much all I have pictures of this week. I meant to take a picture of Gary Pinder while he was here trying to breathe life into the hot water heater, which took a dive at the end of service last night. The situation threatened to put a closed sign on our front door, but Gary managed to get it going, literally an hour before lunch this morning, and we will be treating it quite gingerly until we get the new motor he has ordered. The last thing I want is to lose another January weekend, but without a hot water heater we'd have no choice. Gary is certainly our hero of 2014, thus far!
The first course of the prix-fixe was a pair of Kevin's cannelloni, filled with some of his newly cured ham, fresh peas and cream. It's what we had for breakfast this morning, so I can attest to its deliciousness! Light but immensely satisfying, the delicate sheets of pasta were as tender as your first kiss. (There will be more cannelloni tonight, filled this time with veal, peas and prosciutto. You can be pretty sure they will be a sell-out.)
The entree for the menu was pork medallions, pounded thin and sauteed, and then sauced with a pomegranate walnut concoction. This I was not able to sample, although I was informed that I should try to get an order for myself...
Kevin's veal stew was the primary competition last night, and it was a sell-out. The biscuit, the peas, the flavorful SBF veal in its creamy sauce, what could be better on a chilly winter night?
Well, maybe a plate of fluke resting on a puddle of pureed celery root, with a couple of big shrimp on top? Frankly, I don't think you could have gone wrong either way.
I don't know why I don't have more pictures to share, but that seems to be it for the week. I actually have had a lot going on lately, with the added water heater twist and the usual goings on in and out of the office. I'll try to get some new shots this weekend. Meanwhile, enjoy the sky this evening with the almost full moon and perhaps some good star gazing on Sunday night.
Peach out!
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