A little over a week ago while reading Rod Guinn’s post on Avoiding Bankruptcy, I recalled a restaurant in Vermont that had turned to it’s community to support needed growth by selling certificates redeemable for food.

It’s The Bee’s Knees
Morrisville, VT.

The term avant garde evokes thoughts of a major metropolitan area like New York City, but, avant garde is occurring in this small Vermont village in the person of Sharon Dietz and the citizens of Morrisville.

Sharon had a small cafe called The Bee’s Knees in Morrisville, (pop. 2000 +), and it needed more space and major renovations if it was going to survive. That was going to cost a bundle. She considered selling it. The community wasn’t having any of that and local residents have pitched in with $1,000 investments which will be paid back over three years in the form of restaurant discounts.

My chat with Sharon left me with the impression of a woman who cares as much for her customers as one would for a family. She greatly values the relationships that have sprung up and the connectedness that has evolved between her enterprise and the residents of her community.

The cafe features music, art, and comedy, as well as serving as a social hub.

A short drive north will put you at the doorstep of another CSR.
.
Hardwick, Vt

Claire’s put’s about 70% of it’s food purchasing dollar into locally produced foods and the Chef, Steven Obranovich, is very involved with local farmers and processors according to an article written by Robert Smart, and another by Zachary D. Lyons.

I spoke with Mike Bosia, affable co-owner of Claire’s, who teaches comparative politics and the politics of food at St. Michael’s College.

Buying and sourcing locally can be a financial challenge to the bottom line but he said the restaurant is not so much about making a profit as being a social and community hub. Being a contributing and active partner in community growth and nurturing personal, rather than just business, relationships is the foundation Claire’s is built upon.

Bosia said the community model, discussed in Claire’s blog, New Vermont Cooking, was patterned after Robert Fuller’s Bobcat Cafe, (since sold and not operating as a CSR) and they have built other community relationships such as The Center for an Agricultural Economy.

David Goodman wrote extensively about his experience with Claire’s in an article titled Building a Healthy Food System in Rural America.

Eating as a idealogy

Unlike the other two, considerably more rural locations, Tabella’s is located in Amherst, Ma. a community of 35,000 + / -, and a fairly large student population.

Tabella’s approach to CSR is one of philosophical intent, and is all about about sustaining regional organic food production and they believe that there are plenty of ecologically minded patrons that agree and will support their efforts by pre-purchasing.

Tabella’s Member Accounts are:

Member Accounts are yearly pre-purchased meals, prepared foods and gift certificates.
Your membership dollars will be held in account form, at your disposal to spend as you
choose. We will honor a yearly purchase for 18 months.
Currently we offer three levels of Membership:
Discounts and Benefits:
$500 level: 5% discount on all Tabella products
$1000 level: 10% discount on all Tabella products
$2500 level: 15% discount on all Tabella products
$5000 level: 20% discount on all Tabella products
All levels:
To-Go food off menu
Tabella Market Option: This exclusive option gives you the ability to buy
housemade bottled sauces, salad dressings, marinades, patées, smoked fish,
cheeses, meats, house blends of locally roasted fair trade coffee, etcetera through
the restaurant.
$2500 member: Same as ‘all level’ plus:
1, 4~person off menu multi course take home dinner once a month (four
days notice)
$5000 member: Same as ‘all level’ plus:
2, 4~person off menu multi course take home dinner once a month (four
days notice)

I think the most striking aspect of these businesses is that the foundation of them is the symbiosis between the restaurant and it’s community that surpasses the proprietor / customer roles and moves toward family / friend mutually supportive involvement.

If anyone knows of other CSR’s let’s hear about them.

Salami de Chocolate (with Coffee Liqueur made with Tequila)

Such was the case when I read an article by Patricia Jinich, ( More chorizo to love),  in The Washington Post.   I happen to be a big fan of chorizo in every last one of its forms.

Ms. Jinich has deftly encased chorizo and its nuances,  and served it to us smelling like warm tortillas and tequila.

That  tantalizing dalliance led me to her blog,  Pati’s Mexican Table,  which I have added to my blogroll and you must investigate, too.

I’ll be busy for some time reading my way through her site while listening to Ranchera Radio -  and thinking about the chocolate roll in the photo above.

I’ve got a generator to power my heater fan.  Three old oil lamps.  A box of candles.  The larder’s stocked with cheese, sardines, crackers, canned tuna & chicken, beans, apples, peanut butter, and other goodies.

There are plenty of books to read, ( the dark humor from the amazing  mind of cartoonist Gahan Wilson is perfect ) and a new volume of The New York Times crossword puzzles to work on thanks to my step-father Billy.

There are heaps of websites providing advice on coping with power outages.  Barbara Brown, a food specialist at Oklahoma State wrote this one.

The Ontario Ministry of Health  proffers dark wisdom here.

My favorite was written today in the Concord Monitor by Hillary Nelson, and was the spark for this post.    No Electricity Needed – simple meals for when the power goes out. Check out the open fire basket of fingerling potatoes, cipollini onions, and rosemary  -   That just plain made me hungry.

Tiffani Miller and her husband were impressed with their first meal at Jonathan’s The Rub (9061 Gaylord). Not so with the second one. Her group of six all requested the Black and Blue, a filet mignon with blue cheese sauce.

Everyone at the table ordered it medium rare,” Tiffani Miller says. “My husband added ‘emphasis on the rare’ to the server. When dinner came, my husband cut into his steak and we both noticed that his was much closer to medium than he likes. He very politely called the server over and let her know that his was a little too done. He asked to have another steak and told her to just send back the same sides with it. Another staff member returned immediately with the same plate and said, ‘Chef says that this is how he does medium rare. If you wanted it raw, you should have requested that.’

“She put the plate back down in front of him. Everyone at the table was so dumbfounded by this remark that we were briefly speechless. We decided to avoid further embarrassment, swallow our pride and address it another time. Two of our guests showed us that their steaks were more rare than my husband’s had been and even offered to switch with him.

“We never saw the server again until she presented the check with all charges included. She even asked if my husband wanted to take his untouched food home with him. It was never mentioned again by anyone on the staff.

“Obviously, we will not go to Jonathan’s again. I made a point of letting everyone know what a great experience we had the first time and many of my friends went on my suggestion. I will now tell twice as many people about this experience. Apparently, even in a recession, the customer is not always right at Jonathan’s The Rub.”

In the comments section, many people came to the restaurants defense with tales of much better experiences. 

My response:

1.  The term “BLACK AND BLUE“  is universally accepted to mean, charred outside / rare inside, another term, “PHILADELPHIA-STYLE” is synonymous.

2.   Alienating customers will result in closed doors.

3.  “Blue”  should be  “Bleu” denoting the use of cheese.

Classic Cafes  -   The Very Best of London’s Vintage Formica Caffs is a detailed digest of significance for it’s obvious dedication,  that is NOT to be missed.  The research Adrian Maddox has put into his book is appreciated by this Diner afficiando.

When you have some time come back and follow the labyrinth of links in The Top Ten to experience some of the niftiest cafe’s, diners, and coffee houses of the 20th century.

Other links on the site are equally compelling such as :

Lost Cafes and Seaside Cafes.

Many of them are long gone.   Some are notorious.   A few, quite simple.   All are poignant declarations of an ending era of neighborhood gathering spots.

Brining is a great method for achieving a moist roast turkey.  The Chicago Tribune has a how-to about brining and mentions  The Spice Hunter.  They have a brining hotline -  (888) 334- 8977

The Milwaukee, Wisconsin Journal Sentinel posted a great  resource for  holiday cooking problem resolutions.

Be sure to check out the RecipeZaar Thanksgiving Headquarters for loads of suggestions.

As usual Butterball is available to help with questions  at

1- 800 -  288 – 8372.

You should also see High Tech Turkey for more references for Thanksgiving Day.

Leftovers are the subject at  The Rest of The Bird featuring Antonio Mora’s   –   ” The Day After Sandwich“.  It gets my vote for #1 and is prepared as follows:

Stuffing, white turkey meat, cranberry sauce and bacon is layered on cranberry-pecan bread slices,  wrapped in foil, and baked.  No cranberry-pecan bread ?  Use what’s handy.  Dinner rolls will work for mini sandwiches.

Above all, follow food safety guide lines ! You are dealing with poultry here.  The USDA has the answers for a safe celebration.

Fresh pumpkin can be used for so many things.  I like it coarsely grated then sprinkled on salads,  or quickly sauteed with s&p and a bit of garlic,  or added to pancake/waffle batter and topped with apple butter and maple whipped cream.

Then, of course there are the more traditional pumpkin favorites,  pie and breads.

Most of us pick up a couple of cans of pumpkin puree at the grocery, but it really isn’t much trouble to make your own.

The first link here is to a post in the blog Chef in You and features a whole grain pumpkin pie that is as good to eat as to look at.  The site also has Indian and other ethnic recipes.

The Thin Chef found a pumpkin in her CSA box,  and fortunately for us,  walked us through the process of turning the pumpkin into delightful cupcakes.   The addition of cream cheese frosting and a bottle of champagne took it over the top.

Before you toss out the seeds from your pumpkin check out this recipe for apricot, almond, and pumpkin seed granola.

Pickled pumpkin rind, ( Peter Pipers favorite part - sorry, I couldn’t resist ), is good too.  A note: try cantaloupe and winter squash, too. My first experience was pickled watermelon rind – thanks, Mom.

Try Pumpkin butter with this recipe. A note at the top mentions pumpkin pecan cheesecake, I’m all for that !!

For the seeds you might try Mole Pipian.  I really like them as pepitas.  This recipe is great, but I like them as well with only a sprinkle of salt.

Don’t forget to save some for planting next years crop.

I also came across a recipe for pumpkin leather.     I think it sounds like a great snack.

10/16/09

MSN Delish – 12 Weirdest Pumpkin Recipes

Interesting take on pumpkin curry from The Chef from Hell

NOSHTALGIA  -  Pumpkin Butter – I love apple butter, this is a winner.

The only part of the pumpkin I haven’t been able to find a use for is the stem.  Ideas are welcome.

It’s a great step-by-step on stuffed squash blossoms.  With photos by  Shaina Maidel.

As you can imagine, given the title of my blog, I’ve posted about coffee before.  It’s used in lots of dessert recipes, but you don’t think of it for savory foods.   You need to alter that.  Think of it as an ingredient in rubs, sauces, marinades, and braises.  Redeye gravy has been a long time favorite of mine, along with mole’, both are coffee applications from way back.

Marlene Sorosky Gray, writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, produced the best article on savory coffee applications I’ve ever stumbled across.  She includes tips, recipes, and some reallt good wine pairing suggestions.

Slashfood has some coffee recipes to get your creativity in gear.  Stop into Kate’s Global Kitchen for another informative post with menu suggestions and some recipes.

OK, now fire up your Google search and get started on coffee cookin’.

P.S.  I ran across this little nugget,  (scroll down), about hickory smoking coffee beans prior to brewing.  Your call.

“This coffee falls into your stomach, and straightway there is a general commotion.  Ideas begin to move like the battalions of the Grand Army of the battlefield, and the battle takes place.  Things remembered arrive at full gallop, ensuing to the wind.  The light cavalry of comparisons deliver a magnificent deploying charge, the artillery of logic hurry up with their train and ammunition, the shafts of with start up like sharpshooters.  Similes arise, the paper is covered with ink; for the struggle commences and is concluded with torrents of black water, just as a battle with powder.”

Honore de Balzac, “The Pleasures and Pains of Coffee”

The Kogi Korean Taco Truck

One dark and stormy night Mark Manguera, an exceptionally accomplished Chef and F&B director by age 30,  shared an idea with luminary Chef Roy Choi , and culinary history erupted.

While many restaurateurs are treading water, the two whipped up a multi-faceted fusion emulsion combining Korean and Mexican cuisines, some very hot Japanese dancehall reggae scented it with a liberal dose of Web 2.0  and created a mobile feeding frenzy that has sent ripples, make that a tsunami, throughout the foodservice industry as well as the financial world.

Both Chefs can hold their own in the very competitive world of high end kitchens, but have chosen instead to drop it back a few notches to ply their trade on the greater Los Angeles streets with imaginative and delectable fast food.

Take a look at this video at TheWorld.org,  and another at Bite Club to experience the phenomenon that is the finished dish.

Incorporating Web 2.0,  using Mike Prasad to Twitter arrival times at locations, and N.Y.C. based Alice Shin pounding the keyboards for P.R., was a brilliant use of technology  resulting in formidable lines awaiting the trucks arrival! ( These guys are going through 400 pounds of meat a night.)

But wait!!  This menu isn’t presented without entertainment.  A D.J. Masaki Akaider airs the Japanese reggae music that further distinguishes the uniqueness that is KOGI.

Even the venerable Newsweek Magazine printed a story about “America’s First Viral Eatery” including this video.

Toss in the world press with this article in the London Financial Times and you began to see the possibilities of combining social media with more traditional advertising can pay off.