Restaurateur Stu Stein provides week-by-week updates on the opening and first year for his Portland, Ore., restaurant, Terroir. en-us http://www.rimag.com/blog/900000490.html?nid=4142 Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information. Subject to its Terms of Use October 6, 2008 http://www.rimag.com/blog/900000490/post/1600025360.html?nid=4142 As of February 1, Terroir Restaurant & Wine Bar will be closed. This journey has come to an end, but as Semisonic poetically said in the song “Closing Time”: “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.” Cheers! Stu http://www.rimag.com/blog/900000490/post/1590025359.html?nid=4142 I hate to generalize, but in my 18 years in the biz, I’ve known two kinds of chefs: those who love to do functions, large parties and catering, and those who don’t. Most of my career has been spent in smallish, usually owner-operated, fine-dining restaurants and boutique hotels with litt… http://www.rimag.com/blog/900000490/post/1580025358.html?nid=4142 Last week I received a letter in the mail. Yes, real mail, not e-mail, text message or carrier pigeon. There’s nothing that earth-shattering in receiving a letter, except that is from a customer and her husband who dined with us a few days before and who happen to live in our neighborhood. L… http://www.rimag.com/blog/900000490/post/1570025357.html?nid=4142 In this time of holiday giving, the issue of customer service seems to be at the forefront, at least here at Terroir. My question to all you purveyors, is “What happened to my customer service?” The weekend before Christmas turned out to be a fairly busy time at the restaurant. Betwee… http://www.rimag.com/blog/900000490/post/1560025356.html?nid=4142 Cole (as in Cole Danehower, my wine and beverage guy, r.) and I were having dinner the other night, and we were discussing what has and hasn’t been accomplished on the public-relations front since we opened. The message we’d hoped to get across was, “Terroir is the quintessential… http://www.rimag.com/blog/900000490/post/1550025355.html?nid=4142 Will "Tuesdays at Terroir" bring in winter stay-at-home customers? Stu Stein's going to take that gamble. Back in business school (go Fighting Illini) and even as recently as when I taught restaurant management, the marketing buzzwords were focus groups, market segments and ROI (retur… http://www.rimag.com/blog/900000490/post/1860017586.html?nid=4142 Busy earth2table blogger Stu Stein finds a few delightful meals at airports. Within the last month, I’ve been to Montreal, San Francisco and Seattle and have traveled through a half a dozen airports along the way. Mind you, this was business-related (mostly business-related, anyway). What I… http://www.rimag.com/blog/900000490/post/2000019850.html?nid=4142 A local [Portland, Ore.] reviewer--in a condescending, “I don’t understand, but allow me to tell you how smart I am” way—recently wrote of Terroir, “I was suspicious of what the menu said he was evoking: A Taste of the Pacific Northwest. Hasn’t it already been don… http://www.rimag.com/blog/900000490/post/2000019849.html?nid=4142 When you receive that phone call from a local charity does your blood pressure begin to race? Does the excuse section of your brain go into over drive? Do you hand the phone to your business partner and tell them to make a decision? ...Read More http://www.rimag.com/blog/900000490/post/2000019848.html?nid=4142 Picture me wearing a large (extremely large) cowboy hat and chef whites out in front of my restaurant, in front of a big banner over my door reading, “Come down to Crazy Stu’s, where our prices are so low, they’re just plain INSAAANE! Save big, ’cause we’re slashing pri… http://www.rimag.com/blog/900000490/post/2000019847.html?nid=4142 ...Read More http://www.rimag.com/blog/900000490/post/2000019913.html?nid=4142 Chef Stu’s “Not Quite Everything From a Pig” Tasting Menu ...Read More http://www.rimag.com/blog/900000490/post/2000019912.html?nid=4142 ...Read More http://www.rimag.com/blog/900000490/post/2000019911.html?nid=4142 ...Read More http://www.rimag.com/blog/900000490/post/2000019910.html?nid=4142 ...Read More http://www.rimag.com/blog/900000490/post/2000019909.html?nid=4142 ...Read More http://www.rimag.com/blog/900000490/post/2000019908.html?nid=4142 ...Read More http://www.rimag.com/blog/900000490/post/2000019907.html?nid=4142 ...Read More http://www.rimag.com/blog/900000490/post/2000019906.html?nid=4142 Here’s a little insight into a day in the life. Chef Stu Stein (r.) with Cole Danehower, Terroir's wine/beverage consultant....Read More http://www.rimag.com/blog/900000490/post/2000019905.html?nid=4142 Well, not quite. Here’s the story of our mock service, which we did the day before the official opening....Read More http://www.rimag.com/blog/900000490/post/2000019904.html?nid=4142 Yes, yes; my wife already told me. “That’s quite a few dishes you’ve got on that menu there,” she said. “You might consider losing one, two or perhaps 12.” So here they are, the opening--and I stress the word opening--menus. Food Menu - From the Plancha; Braised, Steamed & Fried; Innards, Of… http://www.rimag.com/blog/900000490/post/2000019854.html?nid=4142 ...Read More http://www.rimag.com/blog/900000490/post/2000019853.html?nid=4142 I’m no Handy Andy, but given a bit of direction and limited access to dangerous tools, it turns out I can be a competent handyman. My contractor gave me a few tasks that I needed to complete over Memorial Day weekend if I still wanted to have Terroir’s pre-opening open house/th… http://www.rimag.com/blog/900000490/post/2000019903.html?nid=4142 Coffee—check. Telephone—check. Music—check. Computer—check. It’s early, way too early, on Monday morning and I am sitting at one of my outdoor tables, currently set up in the middle of the yet-to-be completed dinning room at Terroir. I’m feeling, to say the least, a bit apprehensive, sligh… http://www.rimag.com/blog/900000490/post/2000019902.html?nid=4142 OK, we’re about three weeks out, so it’s time to finish the planning for the pre-opening par-tay. Very early on, I decided that I wanted to have a pre-opening party for Terroir—part thank-you for everyone involved, part fund-raiser for a local not-for-profit/hug-a-farmer charity an…