gfron1

and please feel free to ask questions.

Funny you should mention that because I was thinking about that too. If I could remove the graham flavor from it that could work if I could make it thicker. The cake is meant to be soaked, but still hold up structurally.

I've really been enjoying a show on Netflix called Raja Rasoi Aur Anya Kahaniyan. Subtitled into English, this show covers the history and culture of the vast array of Indian cuisine. Perfect for this crowd with its great depth of information.

I'm thinking about a thicker version of a traditional sacher maybe

Thicker, moister...but not moist.

crumblier/courser

I'm trying to create a dessert with a very specific cake component. I know I've had (maybe even made) what I'm trying to do, but can't remember what it is. Definitely not spongy like a genoise. But not meringue (daquoise) either. It needs a little texture probably from nut meal. I'm thinking of something that might be like a cake meets shortbread. The closest thing I can come up with are these dutch lady fingers I used to buy. HERE are those cookies. These are not quite what I'm looking for but close. Thoughts?

@Shalmanese Thanks for the thoughts. All of the investors are friendly investors so everyone did want simplicity, so no need for other options. The interest is simple, not compound. In New Mexico we had a separate Ltd for our Kumquat Property Group versus our S-Corp for the operational business. Since I won't own a building here we'll stick to our S-Corp, and if the investor(s) decides to buy a building for us, then it will be their decision.

Every day a new adventure! Over the weekend one of my investors said they might prefer buying me a building. So now we're re-opening the door to looking at properties. On another front, I chatted with a friend who is a retired banker, who is a very active investor. I wanted to find the best strategy to create a win-win with my investors and so he talked me through a few options. Upfront I offered 10% simple interest no later than 3 years from opening. We talked about risk aversion, cash flow and the possibility of having shorter and longer term investment options. We also talked about the difference between a $1000 investment and a $100,000 investment in terms of what the investor could have been doing with that money had it not gone to me. I also wanted to incentivize potential investors to go a bit higher in their offering. Recognizing the current market, in the end what I've decided to do is: $1-10k 1 year return: 6% 3 year return: 10% (this was my initial offering) $10,001-$25k 1 year return: 8% 3 year return: 12.5% $25,001-above 1 year return: 10% 3 year return: 15% The natural question by my friend was - why would I go this route when I can get a bank loan around 6% and my thought is twofold. First, compound interest on the 6% is greater. Second, is freedom. I did bank and SBA loans for my previous restaurant and the paperwork was a burden - not the initial paperwork but the ongoing reporting requirements. While I appreciated that SBA loan I would not do it again. Investors with no say or control in the business allows me to do what I need to do, and with my previous track record offers them a relatively low-risk investment with a strong return. In my eyes it's a win-win.

@ChefCrash What a great idea she has! Just joking - I've been doing your method for years. A couple of thoughts. I've always used whole wheat fillo when I can find it and prefer it ten fold. Also, she said the syrup must be cold. I've never worried about that - what's the rationale?

Welcome Tom. What kind of cooking do you like to do?

Curious if anyone's thoughts have changed on the matter since the last update on this thread. I've been thinking about sourcing a traditional Indian Ghantti but the ease of the NutriMill or KoMo has me intrigued. On PHG's page the Nutri has this review which has me a bit concerned and seems to be at odds to Andiesenji's comments from a couple of years ago:

Yes, but my last place, and likely this one, will be below the square foot limit which means I won't have to pay.

I haven't been discerning in type of tree - just from an area that is off the beaten path to minimize pollutants. With all foraged ingredients you can have two identical types of trees/plants and have them produce very different tasting fruits/seeds/pods, etc. so you just need to play and know that your ingredient cost you nothing.

I haven't used one but they have great reviews apparently. The only issue I would have is that they sharpen to 20º. For me that's too wide, so it goes back to the basic question of Western (20º) or Japanese blade (15-17º). I do like simplicity however so thanks for putting it on my radar.

This whole $1000 knife discussion has led us astray. I think so many people have intense fear of knives that is unnecessary. If you're a chef and need to think about performance then care. Otherwise, go play Harry Potter, pick up a bunch of different wands/knives and see what feels best in your hand. So, going back to the mail order question. I want to propose a second option, which I know many knife geeks will argue about, but I love my EdgePro. You'll drop about $200, but it's a one-time expense. What do you get in return? A locked in angle (do the Sharpie trick once and never again), set up in less than a minute and done sharpening in less than 5 minutes, and they take hardly any space (I keep mine in its carrying case on a kitchen stool). I've had enough professional shapeners go at my knives and they don't do any better unless I've had a major trauma to the tip or heel. And to the OP I do hope you'll continue looking locally - there will undoubtedly be someone in town that does quality work. And I do agree with someone above that you want a person who uses a stone not a wheel.

I'll give it a try but I'm skeptical. I've eaten enough pine tree parts to think that this will simply be sugar with pine flavor. Pine cone syrup is common and delicious. The addition of the young cones just doesn't make sense to me. That said, I would suggest two or three quick blanches of the cones prior to the steps they suggest to remove some of the resin and residue.

Today I'm stepping back and doing something fun - working on the playlist for Bulrush. My starting point is King Krule and The XX. This will be a long running Pandora exercise. Each song needs to be enjoyable as background noise, but not having tones that are distracting. I don't want a rock concert, but I also don't want a symphonic performance. I don't want too moody, but not to techno either. Right now Pandora is giving me Radiohead's Creep, which is a song I love, but can get a bit energetic in the middle. A while back someone suggested Bjork as a starting point and I'm still on the fence because she can be very loud at times - kinda like the drunk uncle of the groups I think I would prefer. All of this brings up issues of music licensing and the hawks at BMI that hunt you down and try to get you to pay for music. I support all artists but choose to do it through either buying my music directly or through subscription services. I believe my new facility will be waived because of square footage, but that remains to be seen. For those of you not in the business, BMI and other licensing companies can be relentless in pursuit of money to feed their lawyers.

The value of a name. I'm having one heckuva a week with property discussions. On one day it's smooth sailing. The next the deal has fallen through. The next I have a major investor who wants to jump in. Then today I got this message (edited for confidentiality): Well, to say this was fun to read would be an understatement. I have been thinking about what it would mean to open in this particular neighborhood, and how it will put this area on the map for a new vision than what it currently is - and developed in a classier way than say a sports bar or pizza joint. Tyler and I have been very cognizant of not gentrifying a neighborhood, nor colonializing one. We want to be a natural fit that would improve, but not shift courses, for a neighborhood, and it's a big part of why we have been looking at this particular location despite the building needing "a ton of work."

Pittsburgh absolutely has more than one. Ask at In the Kitchen, Sur la Table, Williams Sonoma - all of them will know the best place to refer people so the knives they sell are well cared for. And better yet - go to your favorite decent restaurant and ask the server to ask the chef. Every chef in the universe will know who to go to and who to avoid. Some random info that might prove helpful - A Pittsburgh bladesmith A whole Reddit thread on the topic Angie's List which is now free to join A Story about Penn Ave.

@quiet1 Your profile doesn't say where you are, but odds are good that there is a local sharpener. The questions to ask are - Do you sharpen with stone, grinding wheel or some other contraption. How much per inch? What angle do you sharpen to or is it custom angle? I'm sure others would quibble with these but it's where I would start. I have a local knife shop that does wheel which is too aggressive for my knives, and I found that i was much sharper on my EdgePro than these pros were. Ultimately my point is that if you have a local sharpener you can talk with them about what you want, and not waste time mailing knives.

Ugghhh, another day of lease negotiations...and on Christmas Eve! I was gifted a nice article yesterday in our regional food publication Feast.

Financing and Investors For the Kumquat I had a few family members loan or gift us, which allowed us to get bank and SBA loans to get open and ultimately buy our building. For Bulrush we're looking more publicly for investors. Since we’re looking to raise six figures instead of seven, it’s not too scary, but still something I’ve never done. Here in St. Louis the contemporary path is to offer a bunch of pop-up dinners and then start asking. I watched as Michael Ga llina did this for his new place he’s opening in town, and not knowing what the details of his final result were, it seems fast and painless. I’m having a similar experience. I’ve asked a few people directly, and made a blanket statement on Facebook that garnered a few, but haven’t had to beat the bushes too hard. I’ve got friends, family, past customers and a couple of recent customers who simply approached me with their offer. Of course this feels great knowing that they believe in me, and unlike the Kumquat where it all felt very risky, I’m enjoying showing them my financial projections. This has all sorta fallen into place in a two-week period. I’m not done yet, and still need final numbers from the landlord to know how much I need to raise, but it’s feeling achievable. A friend referred me to an investment advisor, who I met with yesterday and he turned out to be a hunter and foodie. Great connection. He is now in the process of connecting me with his friends that might be interested. On my end, I need to wrap up my business plan so I can give all these potential investors hard data and terms. Like I said, this was daunting with the Kumquat, but no so much this time around. [A short primer for those who've never done commercial real estate: The landlord offers a price per square foot on the property. That is the price per year - ie $10sqft for a 2400 sq foot property = $24000; divided by 12 months = $2,000 per month lease. Add on NNN (triple net) which is insurance, management fees and utilities splits which might raise the cost a few dollars a square foot. If you are asking for renovations, as we are, that cost is then often paid for up front by the landlord and then returned to the tenant in their monthly lease. So for example, if they do $100,000 in renovations (you may or may not be given an allowance by the landlord - money they're willing to invest to fix up the building at their expense), they will spread that cost out over the terms of the lease at a certain interest rate. ]

Yes, but I consider it low-fruit. There was much more creative potential with Curious Kumquat.

And I did buy the URL Bullrushstl.com to account for the spelling errors that will occur. This weekend I ate at a great restaurant in Orlando called se7en bites...yeah, that was a pain to google and facebook search. Part of our thought process was also what names people will have to make fun of us. I can't say the Curious Kumquat's ultimate mock-name since this is a family-friendly forum, but we already have anticipated Buls%^t which I can live with