We're Cookin'

Friday...

I do not know where to begin and how to fit all of this into one entry but here goes…

OK, everything went well. I should start out by saying that much. I was able to go to the gym this morning for the first time in over a month. Don’t get me wrong, I have been eating better then ever (due in part to Barton, who eats foods most people wouldn’t touch, like goji or wolfberries, wheat grass, and other natural organic supplements) and exercising but still, it was nice to get a that little bit of extra time in the morning. 10am, one hour makes a world of a difference, I swear it. We are directly across the street from a Whole Foods and I am waaaay off subject.

When I walked into the kitchen we immediately began discussing what we would accomplish food-wise, because we were serving people tonite for the first time. We have no hot water and Roto Rooter is there to fix a slew of slow drains we have in the kitchen. It seems like everything is going to be ready in the kitchen and we will be at 100% with nothing holding us back cooking-wise, with the addition of the hot water to be available by noon.

The plumber has a snake with a video camera on the end of it (sitting aside) and and some type of hose 30 feet down a drain. He tells us the drain is going to overflow for a minute while he tries to clear it. While he is working I have to run to Sonoma to borrow (and by that I mean they will never get it back) some containers, a loin of rib eye, towels and a few other things.

At 1pm this guy is going on hour number 4 and he doesn’t end up leaving until almost 3pm. We had an hour of cleaning after that guy was finished. We had just over 2 hrs to produce ¾ of the menu, awesome. We had 3 line cooks with us though and that was the best part of the day. Watching people cook in the kitchen, and being able to make food for customers after that.

We scrambled, but it was never hectic, and it was one of the easiest times I have ever had in opening a restaurant. There were very few kinks. People were very happy with the food and I got to drink a beer and watch people enjoy the food at the end. Am I really that simple? You bet your ass I am, at least after all the work I've put in here in the last couple months.

Tomorrow night we will do a few more covers then we did tonite. "Soft opening" is what we they call it, and I must say I like it thus far.

Fired Up and Ready To Go!

Thursday...

Oh, did I forget to mention that tomorrow night we will be inviting around 30-40 people to come in to eat? It honestly slipped my mind as well. We spoke about it about it at a meeting this afternoon. The gas got turned on this around 4pm and this kitchen rocks. The walk-in is still nowhere near its final setup, the line is empty, we have bits and pieces of the menu done...but it’s awesome!

Flying by the seams of our pants all the way, and I think it has gone better than any other opening I have ever done. As soon as the gas came on, we made up the chow-chow (pickled vegetables), a mix for pot pie, simple and insane, bechamel for 2 different items, braised some pork belly, cooked collard greens and the list goes on.

I guess now that I think about it, we accomplished more in 3 hours then we had the past 3 days by just being about to use the stove and ovens. Now if we could only get hot water tomorrow morning…

Unzipped and Waiting

The days are blending together...

Washington Gas Light Company, not owned ot run by the government but you sure would think so. Treated us like customers at the DMV, "take a number, bitches, and we'll get to you by the end of the day. Unless the day ends and we haven't gotten to you, and then you're fucked."

The same guy came back, actually fairly chipper this morning at 10am. Came in and checked the lines, went to turn it on while we were going over opening stuff, turned on one line, then another, then another...and nothing happened. He walks back up 10 minutes later to explain, then we take him into the basement (which has decades of history in it, being over 100 years old and having quite a continued existence) and show him what we identify has to be the "main line" for the kitchen...and he can't turn the damn thing on.

It only takes a special wrench and this man got up on the wrench while it was on the pipe, and proceeded to jump on it. The wrench stands parallel with the floor at around 3 feet, and we got a bit worried about his (and our) safety. Can't say the dude wasn't trying. He makes a call, says to "rush it" over the phone, and tells us a crew is coming out today to fix it and we would have gas by the end of the day.

Yeah, I mean that's great news and all but what are we going to do today? There is still plenty to do to get this place ready, but Barton wants food made, and that's music to my ears. So we go over some items we can make and we get to work.

I mean, the day wet by well and we accomplished a good bit, I even got to place our first equipment, chemical, cleaning supply order today. There is food in the basement of Blue Ridge now, and I must admit after all the work we put in to get it to where it is today, the food actually looks like it belongs there.

I called Washington Gas again at 2pm and sat on hold for 20 minutes, only to be told to wait longer over and over at 5 minute intervals. I was finally told, after having also gone through the 15 step process of listening to options and pressing numbers, that they would be there by 5pm to fix the issue.

At 5pm I have come to the conclusion that Washington Gas figures the day is over, and I (and Blue Ridge, for that matter) am the "receiver."

Early Morning Company

Wednesday...

Well, so much for getting here before anyone else. Eli and chef were here when I got in at 9am, kinda weird and a good sign that we're getting the finishing touches together for opening. Right now we are going over a tentative opening schedule. "Tentative" being the most important word in that sentence, even though the rest of the sentence sounds real nice.

Still waiting on Washington Gas to come back as well. Unfortunately for us, they are kind of like Comcast. They give time windows of 8 hours, so today they told us between 7am and 5pm. Great. Might as well have said between 10am and August. And we're running out of things to clean, so let's get this thing hoppin'!

Time to get to work...did you get a chance to look over our opening menu? We're close...

The Secret Is Out

I give you...the opening menu for Blue Ridge:

http://www.washingtonian.com/blogarticles/restaurants/bestbites/12406.html

The expectations are high, the pieces are in place, and now it's getting close to time for us to make this happen! It's very exciting around here, and I hope you'll be able to check us out soon...more to come.

Gaseous

Tuesday...

Is it really only Tuesday? For no reason, today felt like it went on for 14 hours instead of 10. We attempted to cook today but the gas company came and said they wouldn't turn on the gas because some line didn't have a cap on it.

OK, to the hardware store I go, it's less then a block away. I practically begged the dude to give me 3 minutes to run and get a cap for it before they left. We have been waiting to cook for months, literally. I would be pulling my hair out right now if this had my name on the lease!

Anyways, I digress as usual...I finally convinced him to stick around, so I ran to the hardware store real quick (we have an account there now...awesome). I come back only to hear the guy tell me at he doors that some line wouldn't turn on anyways in part of the kitchen. Fantastic. Then we had to check the fire repellent system, which is apparently something else, as it evidently went off in May of 2008 when this place was still Busara. Not pretty, I hear, so something you want to get in good order. It was.

So since the exhaust hoods worked, we fired up the wood grill and it was glorious. Only issue was we had to use the wood grill to boil water for poaching, as a stove top to saute, and the inside of the grill as an oven to roast food...which was pretty tasty given the mesquite wood we were using. Cross utilization at it's finest...just imagine what we will do with the food.

Today one of the items I made was the roasted lemon dressing. Barton stresses simplicity in the food, putting your ego aside and let the food do the talking. Agreed, however when I made it I made twice as much as needed. By that I mean I used entirely too many lemons than necessary, and flat out was not thinking right when I made it. Won't happen again, it was kinda like working off the rust I guess (I hope, LOL).

It came out fine, but it would have come out better, especially had I known it was missing one key ingredient that was told to me later. Oh well, it will be there tomorrow morning, so no excuses anymore.

Rocky Start

Saturday...

Did I ever write about how I am the first one here just about every morning? I only mention this because I got here 30 minutes early today, and it has been happening like that since I started working for Barton. Well, except for one day 3 weeks ago when I sent a text saying I would be ten minutes late, and still got grilled as to why I was late (it was The Brain's fault...).

OK, I understand when the boss says be here by a certain time then that's what is expected, but seriously. I won't go into details, but you best believe no one is here before me since that day.

Today we will be running to get some rocks, yes rocks, for the pond on the patio. I mean, it looks nice right now, but it could look much better. I have before and after shots as well so it should be a great comparison. Hopefully after we open, since the owner has already given me the thumbs up, I can slide all of this video to my producer and he can do something with it.

On that front, you know, the pilot? It will happen still, if my chef is going to get his own TV show I do not see him having any objection to projecting my own fate in front of a camera.

Time to start the day!

Sustained

Friday morning...

Meeting at 9:15am this morning, and my chef and I are here 30 minutes early attempting to get some last second research in. Artisan popcorn, if it exists, is what Barton is looking for. So we are here early doing whatever research we can and calling places across the country, though maybe we should return to this later, as it isn't even 8am yet where we are calling!

I have spoken to a company in Tennessee, who we will be getting ham skins from in order to make "cracklins," kinda like pork rinds but made differently. Can't work in a southern influenced restaurant without such a thing, and I ain't complaining!

We received 1,400 pounds worth of small wares for the kitchen yesterday as well. That includes ladles, spoons, knives, hotel pans, cast iron pans (YES!!!) etc. for operating a kitchen. Today we are expecting our first food delivery as well. Produce will not be coming in until much closer to the opening date but a lot of our bulk items (like dry goods) are expected to be here in the next few hours.

Random story about when I left here last night. I started out with a few drinks from Bourbon, which is just down from Blue Ridge. From there I met up with one of my friends from Staten Island from The Higher Concept, who took me to meet up with several of his friends. I only mention this because I had to listen to a sales pitch in the middle of dinner from a food purveyor.

She ended up being with her boyfriend, whose father owns a large food distribution company in Baltimore. It was great because she gave a whole yarn about how they were all about sustainability with their products. I tried not to laugh, since it is because of people like Barton Seaver, who've been living and preaching this stuff for years that companies are even catching onto this now. I enjoyed it, and will use her business card as a makeshift coffee table coaster...

Oh well, gotta start the meeting, ciao!

The Food Cometh

Thursday...

Did you get a chance to read the article that The Brain put up yesterday? Barton's choice of clothing is true to form, LOL.

Things are really moving here now. I had a laundry list of things to prepare for food being delivered tomorrow in the kitchen (Yeah, I said it! We WILL OPEN within 2 weeks). Unfortunately for me, lots of cleaning, including the front of the restaurant...I really can't complain though, anything that makes these doors open sooner is fine with me. Though I will leave the climbing on the roof to check AC units to my chef. He doesn't seem to mind heights.

Today Barton is letting us leave before 5 pm, and my guess is because there will be no days off in the foreseeable future. The "future" probably being 3 months or so...I mean, I am sure I will get a half day somewhere along the line, hopefully a few of them, but a full day off will not be on my calendar for quite some time.

We will most likely be turning the gas on tomorrow and be testing food by the end of the day. Gotta go, not much time let in the day to enjoy myself!

Eat the Fish, Save Ourselves, Everybody Wins

The Washington Post explores Chef Barton Seaver's thinking on sustainability, and gives clues about the Mad Chef's new gig at Blue Ridge.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/05/12/ST2009051202924.html

For the record, the Mad Chef does not wear women's designer jeans.

Most of the time.

Can't Stop the Rain

So after laying concrete one day and painting the next to get this basement ready to open, it floods.

By flood, I mean when I walked into here this morning there was a solid 4 inches of water throughout the place. Awesome, just fucking great, was this the reason why this place hasn't been able to push forward yet? I mean, maybe that or it would at least explain why the basement was in the condition it was when I got here several weeks ago. Well, today should be a load of fun as we work to clean it back up again, dry it, and attempt to lay down another coat of paint. As far as stopping it from happening again, that is completely up in the air.

Besides that, 3 different companies are coming in to install the dish machines at the bars and kitchen, coffee machine (most important for me!!!) and some more metal flashing around all the walls. After today the kitchen should be 90% done and hopefully we can start getting in product next week. This basement deal is going to weigh heavily on my mind all day, though. It will put a major dent in the process of opening the doors to this place.

Oh well, what would opening a restaurant be without lots of bumps and BS to push through? Even a highly coordinated, well thought out concept like ours is not immune to the travails of opening...

Getting Close

Wednesday...

Holy crap, my work day is done and it is only 7pm. I could compare it to a half day because that's about what it feels like. Today I spent most of my time moving around a bunch of stuff in our enormous basement. Painted the floors so that it looks like a place where food can actually be handled. Tomorrow, drywall will go up everywhere as well. The kitchen got another fresh coat of paint, ceiling tiles were replaced...things seem to be coming along,

This Friday and Saturday evening the owner wants to do a small event at Blue Ridge. Invites only of course, with other investors, close friends and that's about it. The dining rooms are still naked which will be interesting. Though the furniture is out of the bags at least, so that is a plus.

Some cocktails will be served and we will be bringing over food from Sonoma that day. Deviled eggs and maybe grab a bunson burner (single portable gas burner) so we can render some bacon fat and toast almonds in it. I only mention those 2 items because only one of them will even be on the menu.

As far as the drinks are concerned I have yet to find out what any of them will be, but the drink list is apparently one of the best in the city. The bartender has kept his mouth shut about a lot of the stuff he is doing because he is modeling it after one of the best bars in the country. Tall order to fill and I hope he can back it up when we open...

Breakdown

Tuesday...

Another week has come and gone faster than I can blink. I have made several phone calls across the country in search of the best ham and grits to bring into this restaurant. As I type this morning, the Micros systems are being installed and only my chef and I are here. We are about to lay concrete in the basement of this place to make it suitable for food.

I am person who could not paint before entering this place, or spackle, or put up dry wall. Yet I have found myself doing all of the above since coming on board. That seems to be an everyday occurrence, then around 5 pm heading over to Sonoma on Capitol Hill to cook some of the best food I have touched in years. I broke down a baby goat last week with the chef there. It took him under 5 minutes...let's not talk about how long it took me, LOL. It did take less then 10 but that's a turtle's pace for him.

We did however have a run at breaking down chickens. Barton tells us all the time it should take about 25 seconds. Unfortunately neither the chef at Sonoma nor myself has seen this happen yet. My first one drew the kitchen's attention and not because it was lightning fast. 1 minute 13 seconds, and laughs all the while as I cut away at the bird. My chef cut his first one in 49 seconds.

Then we went side by side and I came in at 55 seconds, but he smoked me by 10 seconds again. As he walked away and let me cut 4 by myself I steadily got used to it and got my last one down to 43 seconds. That's still considered slow, so hopefully today when I head back over there I can get below 40, so by the time Blue Ridge opens its doors I am around 30 seconds or so on a regular basis...

Next time, I'll challenge him to a tuna or something I've been breaking down for the last few years now!