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Starting a high profile new restaurant (after closing another)

gfron1

By gfron1
in Restaurant Life

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gfron1

gfron1

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1 hour ago, lemniscate said:

What did the "taunting laminated card" say?  Inquiring minds want to know.:ph34r:

 

It was in the article - basically it said, "you tried to hide the mushrooms I've also been watching, and now I have them and you don't."

Chef, Bulrush & Squatters in St. Louis, MO

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Smithsonian magazine story

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Smithy

Smithy

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31 minutes ago, gfron1 said:

It was in the article - basically it said, "you tried to hide the mushrooms I've also been watching, and now I have them and you don't."

 

I thought that bit was almost mixed parts sad, funny and creepy. Sad for the obvious reason that you were denied those mushrooms, funny because of the unexpected competition: the competition was a surprise, even though you discuss it in Acorns & Cattails. Creepy because, well, somebody else could have been watching you directly. I probably read too many crime novels. :blink:

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Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
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lemniscate

lemniscate

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5 hours ago, gfron1 said:

It was in the article - basically it said, "you tried to hide the mushrooms I've also been watching, and now I have them and you don't."

 

Wow, my reading comprehension is really on the fritz lately.  The funny part was the taunter took the time to laminate their response, very organized and didactic.   I wonder if their father smelled of elderberries................

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gfron1

gfron1

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2 minutes ago, lemniscate said:

 

Wow, my reading comprehension is really on the fritz lately.  The funny part was the taunter took the time to laminate their response, very organized and didactic.   I wonder if their father smelled of elderberries................

Exactly - we couldn't figure out if they carry that card with them all the time or if they carry a laminator with them into the woods - and this was 45 minutes off trail!

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Chef, Bulrush & Squatters in St. Louis, MO

BBC Write-up

Smithsonian magazine story

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Thanks for the Crepes

Thanks for the Crepes

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On 1/4/2019 at 1:03 PM, kayb said:

 

My grandmother always referred to "sweet milk" as opposed to buttermilk, "light bread," as opposed to either biscuits or cornbread, and "arsh (Irish) potatoes" as opposed to sweet potatoes. Those nouns never came out of her mouth without one adjective or the other.

 

 

@kayb,

 

It's been a long time since I heard the term "light bread", as my grandparents (paternal) both passed in the 70's, but that is what I grew up with too, used in exactly the same way.

 

And of course one would distinguish between sweet and other potatoes. I love 'em both, but they are very different. My grandma's pronunciation for the latter was closer to "Irsh" than "arsh" but real close. Remember that Springhill, LA is extreme northern LA and right on the border with AR and not far away from TX.

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> ^ . . ^ <

 

 

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lemniscate

lemniscate

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17 hours ago, gfron1 said:

Exactly - we couldn't figure out if they carry that card with them all the time or if they carry a laminator with them into the woods - and this was 45 minutes off trail!

 

Now my interest is piqued into the psych of Mushroom Hunters.  There's a book by Langdon Cook called "The Mushroom Hunters: On the trail of an Underground America".  Sounds like a fun read, and I normally do audiobooks, so it's on my list now.

Our cow pasture would erupt in what my parents called puffballs and the extended family would come out and harvest them.  I don't recall eating them though.  We always had a healthy fear of wild mushrooms as kids and knew not to just grab any old fungus.  We did find morels a few lucky times on the farm.

 

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gfron1

gfron1

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4 hours ago, lemniscate said:

 

Now my interest is piqued into the psych of Mushroom Hunters.  There's a book by Langdon Cook called "The Mushroom Hunters: On the trail of an Underground America".  Sounds like a fun read, and I normally do audiobooks, so it's on my list now.

Our cow pasture would erupt in what my parents called puffballs and the extended family would come out and harvest them.  I don't recall eating them though.  We always had a healthy fear of wild mushrooms as kids and knew not to just grab any old fungus.  We did find morels a few lucky times on the farm.

 

I don't like the small puffballs, but the giants are really good (treated like tofu) if they are clear white cut through.

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Chef, Bulrush & Squatters in St. Louis, MO

BBC Write-up

Smithsonian magazine story

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  • 2 weeks later...
Martin Fisher

Martin Fisher

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18 hours ago, Chris Hennes said:

Sounds like I need to start planning a field trip.

 

That's what I've been thinking.

Never thought that I'd have a particular reason to go to St. Louis, MO—not that I have anything against it, I certainly don't! :smile:

Only problem—I'm like a fish-out-of-water when I'm in big cities! xD

~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

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IowaDee

IowaDee

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St Louis is a flat out rockin' town on so many levels.  Now Rob has taken it another level even  higher.  Perfect weekend for me.  a day at the amazing zoo, a ball game at which the Cardinals smash the Cubs and dinner at Bulrush.....

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gfron1

gfron1

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29 minutes ago, IowaDee said:

St Louis is a flat out rockin' town on so many levels.  Now Rob has taken it another level even  higher.  Perfect weekend for me.  a day at the amazing zoo, a ball game at which the Cardinals smash the Cubs and dinner at Bulrush.....

And for the young at heart - the City Museum - I think it's the best museum in the country and possibly the greatest eccentric story I've ever heard.

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Chef, Bulrush & Squatters in St. Louis, MO

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gfron1

gfron1

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What a whirlwind 48 hours! First we made THIS list of most anticipateds yesterday, and then today ALL of my funding came through! That's a whole nother story I'll tell once the checks are in my bank account. I don't feel like I'm any less stressed or any more relieved, but I see a light at the end of the tunnel. And..construction is ahead of schedule and still on budget!

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Chef, Bulrush & Squatters in St. Louis, MO

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Smithsonian magazine story

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gfron1

gfron1

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So much has happened since my last post. We continue to be on schedule if not ahead. The keys should be handed over to me on March 17th. I'm sort of freaking out if I'm being completely honest. So many details - Where do we store the back up toilet paper? Do I need a feminine product waste container or is the regular trash can enough? If we shift the cooking island one inch will we still have room to move? Does the walk-in actually fit in that space?!

 

The counters are done and installed. They'll get finished next week after the drywall dust is gone. There are two different counter - walnut and ebonized. One is for the bar and the other dining surface.

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And yet we're still looking into what damn coup is acceptable!

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Oh, and we're just wrapping up maple season and boiled down close to 200 gallons of sap in my tiny apartment on my tiny stove!

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...and...I got called to Jury duty on what is supposed to be opening day!

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But not to fear! Apparently whoever is in charge of this recognized my name and rescheduled me...for the day we're supposed to move in! That's fine. I'll take that.

 

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Chef, Bulrush & Squatters in St. Louis, MO

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Smithsonian magazine story

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gfron1

gfron1

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And then last week I squeaked in a r&d trip for my staff. I took them to Chicago to eat at Smyth, who while more demanding on service than we'll be is stylistically similar to what we'll be doing for food.

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and this dish was funny because I've been doing something very, very similar for so long that its in my cookbook :)

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Then it was off to Aviary just because we need to not that it has anything to do with what we'll be doing.

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But at $25+ a drink we didn't stay long. We were actually much more excited about Kumiko. That place is amazing with none of the fluff of Aviary.

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The next day we went to Cleveland to see my buddy Jeremy Umanski who has become the kind of koji here in the US. He's doing so many amazing ferments and cures...and the day before got a JBF nomination! These are his house drinks:

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Yes, koji cured vegetable charcuterie.

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A plate of all sorts of greatness.

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And walls lined with even more cool creations.

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And finally we went to Spotted Owl because I had a savory cocktail there a few years ago that blew me away, and they did not disappoint this time either.

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Chef, Bulrush & Squatters in St. Louis, MO

BBC Write-up

Smithsonian magazine story

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Tri2Cook

Tri2Cook

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45 minutes ago, gfron1 said:

And yet we're still looking into what damn coup is acceptable!


For me, shorter is better... but this isn't for me. I just find me, alcohol and taller or top heavy glasses don't always make a good combination. Especially when drinking with others and not giving full attention to where my hand goes when reaching for my drink. :D

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It's kinda like wrestling a gorilla... you don't stop when you're tired, you stop when the gorilla is tired.

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