Sonoma

Sunday...

Well, I guess I have some explaining to do.

For the past 3 days I have been spending time with chef/friend Nicholas Sharpe of Sonoma restaurant. By that I mean I have been in the kitchen here rather then at Blue Ridge.

The decision came from Barton several weeks ago but only recently happened. It just so happened that I was lobbied for over the past month by the Sonoma folks, since there is only one sous here and there should be two. There are currently 2 plus the chef over at Blue Ridge and that does not include the tournand, and there isn't one here either. As much as I would love to say that it is all peaches and cream over here, Mr. Sharpe takes it upon himself to remind me I am no longer in Kansas. I have very little time to get acclimated to this kitchen and up to the standards of the former Maestro and Mio sous chef.

Standards are higher then I have ever worked with in a kitchen. Everything is kept spotless throughout service, the only person talking is the chef, no one but the chef touches the tickets at expo, everything is tasted before it leaves the kitchen, servers only interact with the chef, etc. Its nothing new when I really sit back and think about it. It is the higher standards that I have looked to work with in a kitchen for a long time. That, and constantly getting reminded that
I'm an idiot, have the hands of a brick layer, fabricate fish with a butter knife, "now" means "5 minutes ago" and so on.

They even took the liberty of hazing me after only two days in the kitchen. I was sent to Good Stuff Eatery in search of a "bacon stretcher." Now I am no expert on charcuterie, although most people know I cannot resist a good foie gras, but I knew from the moment they told me where to go and what to get, it just didn't sound right. I walked out of the restaurant and got on my phone to use the Interwebz, thank you Al Gore, and began to search this "bacon stretcher" thing.

Turns out it does exist, but I still didn't want to walk into that place to ask for it. WTF would a glorified burger joint be doing with something like that? They also told me to ask for Spike and get some free burgers. Long story short, Spike wasn't there, the guys at Good Stuff caught a good laugh, and back here Nicholas and the sous were already laughing hysterically when I got back.

This is going to be a fun kitchen, but don't think for a minute I have entered Wonderland. This Capitol Hill hot spot is going to test me to my limit, but I'm no longer the wide eyed kid I was the last time I worked in this part of town...

Wreckfish

Deep sea fish that hovers around 1000ft deep in the sea. Hence the bubbly eyes, they pop out when they are caught on the fishing line and get brought to the surface. I also got to break down a pork loin again yesterday and talk to some farmers. We had to stick around until well after midnight because a delivery came in by way of Eco Friendly Farms and Beverly Eckelstein, as fresh as it literally gets.

A whole new world...

Heads and Tails

Sometimes we get to fabricate some pretty cool stuff in the kitchen. When an entire animal comes in, I, along with the other chefs, daydream of all the cool things we can do with the parts of the animal that are not normally used.

This pic was just as I was re-enacting an entire scene from Hamlet ("Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio, a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy...). Kitchen theater, it's all the rage.

OK, so it eventually got made into soup, but my scene went almost perfect until I began to laugh at myself for getting into a debate with the head of what was a 30 pound lamb an hour ago. Small for our standards and a poor yield for serving. Thank goodness one of us thought to make sausage for brunch!

Did anyone catch that review in the Post? I do not think I have been ripped that badly by a critic since the days of Zola, and even then we managed 2 stars. It almost reads like there were some personal issues between he and Barton. Either way the show goes on.

Barton, chef, and I realize it was fair in the assessment of many of the dishes he disliked. Well, the 3 that he did not. The fritters, I wish I could have that batch back. I have had a hand in them since day one. The vegetable pot pie came off the menu last week because none of us was happy with the dish. I forget what else he tore apart, and that is mostly because I have not read it yet. It was too depressing. Oh well, thus is life.

Out of time...more pics on the way! Ciao.

Mad Chef 1 - Lamb 0

Mental Health Break

So the Mad Chef just sent me some 5 paragraph scribe that looked like it was written by either my 15 month old or Sarah Palin. I was going to try and manufacture it into actual understandable English, but by the end of the second sentence, I wanted to kill myself.

So, instead, I will post pictures of puppies for your enjoyment!

There's No "I" In "Mashed Potatoes"

Thirsty Thursday...

If yesterday was hump day, why did I choose to go out and drink last night? Who knows and who cares, I will most likely end up doing the same tonite with different people. I am not an alcoholic I swear, I just like the taste of beer.

Today a surprise in the form of Frank Morales, my old chef from Zola almost 10 years ago, who paid us a visit in the kitchen and hung around for several hours. Maybe he is going to stick around for a while as Barton prepares for the zillion other ventures he has going on. Morales just recently left Rustico, which was taken over by another former chef of mine from Olives, Steve Maninno. Things could get interesting around here, having so many chefs in one place at the same time. Too many chiefs, not enough Indians would be the saying. To be a bit more PC, I will say too many chefs not enough cooks...

Tonite we did just around 150 covers out of nowhere and I ran out of mash potatoes at 9pm. Well, I noticed we were low beforehand and had another batch working when we ran out. It all would have worked out fine had Barton not been walking down the line in the middle of the rush and noticed they were being made. No, don't give any credit for jumping on the problem and finding a solution so quickly. Instead question why the fuck I was running out in the first place. "There is no I in you fucked up..." Thanks Barton.

I mean I had the potatoes ready, only one table had to wait 15 minutes for their food. Barton catching me in the act was all it took for the night to go to shit. Not even the entire day, not even the entire evening. The last 30 minutes of service sucked because of that one issue. Yeah.

Everyone left with smiles on their faces though, including Chef and Barton. It's Miller time...

Team Player

Tuesday...

I got a day off yesterday! I met up with a friend for lunch, caught up with my friends in The Higher Concept before they hit the stage this weekend with MTV, and J Glaze just happened to be in town as well. Not to mention going to dinner with my friend Nick to Black Salt. The food was OK, we were sent out multiple comped plates from the kitchen, so we had plenty to sample. Guess it's good to be with the Chef de Cuisine of a well known restaurant sometimes.

I made it to bed before 2am, and I walked into the kitchen this morning around 9. Chef let it be known immediately that he would be leaving by 1pm and taking the day off. Uh OK, I mean it's not like I had a problem with it, but I would rather see him get an entire day like myself instead of a half. They are few and far between enough that we both appreciate it when it does happen.

Then Barton strolled in in the afternoon to go over some menu changes (again) before service. Things were great, and I was asked if I could open and be in at 8am Wednesday morning so chef could spend sometime with family that was in town. No sweat, so chef can take 2 days off, meaning my mini-vacay won't be far behind!

Or not.
ciao!

Strolling Along

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/goingoutgurus/2009/07/stroller_happy_hour_gets_rolli.html