First off, let me say that this Summer is going by very fast and with the cool temps it feels a bit like Fall, which can only mean one thing: Don’t eat a Brussels sprout until after the first frost. 

Speaking of things edible, the menu at CT has been a blast this Summer, every week, yes, every week we have changed the menu and most recently with all the press about eggs we celebrated with a menu with a lot of eggs. 

Bacon crouton, tomato, alfalfa sprouts, reduction of sherry vinegar + aioli

Roasted red pepper + tomato soup,  basil puree and grilled bread   

Confit of  duck winglets, sweet corn aioli  spicy beet gastrique

Tomato pizza, basil puree, fresh sheep’s milk ricotta + sunny side up egg

Smoked trout, purple Viking + German butterball potatoes pickled mustard seed, red onion, hard boiled egg

Fettuccini cabonara “style” with house cured pancetta,  fresh parsley, black pepper and egg sauce

Pork loin, celery + blue cheese flan, roasted carrot hot sauce, baby carrots + pickled Hungarian pepper corn relish

Chicken, sautéed wild mushrooms, sautéed broccoli, tomato hollandaise sauce

Pan roasted trout,  sautéed green beans, roasted beets sauce grabiche

Rattatoulle + poached egg, eggplant, zucchini, tomato, sweet corn, tomato sauce + grilled bread

So, we are going to continue a new menu every week until, well, who knows, maybe we will just keep doing a new menu since we can get a ton of truly “local” food all year round  (really, we can).

Secondly, let me tell you that Tour de Farm this year has been a blast.  You have no idea what it is like to spend the day with people that make the food that we at CT eat every day.  Can’t say enough about how great our farms have been about hosting.  Always very gracious and accomadating.  Thanks to Tangletown Gardens, Riverbend Farms + Cedar Summit.

For the rest of the tour de farm updates you should go and check out that blog and get the lattest updates (and tickets for the remaining 2010 Tour!).

Every chef has a number of challenges in any given day.  The biggest challenge is do what you want or do what the customers ask you to do.  When you get the chance to fulfill both of those on a day to day basis.  You are a lucky chef.

With this in mind, I want to congratulate, my friend, Mike Philips on his latest project Green Ox.   

I have known Mike since he went and opened Chet’s Taverna too many years ago that I want to remember.  The restaurant was the reason that I got my job at the Modern Café.  Mike had worked with Jim at the Modern and when they opened Chet’s a job opened up at the Modern.  (They just celebrated 16 yrs. You should have been at the Quinceanera, last year. Wow.) So, I guess if Mike and Jim would not have opened Chet’s, who knows what I would be doing right now.  

As we all know, Mike is a “meathead” and that is a huge compliment. This is a guy from IOWA that will not stop defending his very flat state.  He has been working towards this goal of in his words “…. just making meat all day” for a very long time.  He is a true craftsman.  Now he will get to continue his craft on another level and the Minneapolis area will be a better place for it. 

I know I have said this to you a number of times.  But really, nice work my friend, now get back to making meat. 

You know the phrase “… be like Mike”?  It has a whole new meaning to me now.

Scott.

Hey everyone, I know this summer is busy for everyone.  If you are looking for a little help with that CSA box that you have been getting, here is a great opportunity.  I am working with Tangletown Gardens (site of our first Tour de Farm this year, btw.) this year and we are trying to do everything we can to make it easy for you to have some new tricks up your sleeve to handle all that beautiful produce.  

This little note is from their newsletter.  If you get a chance, give us a call and come on in. 

We know you love receiving your Farm Fresh Food shares every week. We know that it’s a treat to be learning about new vegetables like scapes and kohlrabi….but, really, what do you do with three different kinds of braising greens in one week? 

 Join us at Tangletown Gardens on July 7th at 6:00 PM to learn how to make the most of your vegetables. Pampuch will demonstrate strategies and techniques intended to inspire new ideas for using and preserving the vegetables in your share. Space is limited, so make your reservations now by calling the Corner Table Restaurant at 612.823.0011. $55 We hope to see you there. 

 Deadline to sign up is Monday the 5th, 2010.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the thoughts on the award and the recognition but there’s one teensy tinsy little problem: they’re not talking about the restaurant, they’re talking about one very special meal offering we have available. It is, is $125 per person for dinner, which is steep, but you, the diner, is in control of how much you eat. We feed you courses, not from the menu, but off of the top of our heads – with wine and beer pairings – UNTIL YOU TELL US TO STOP. Most people are eating somewhere between 15-20 courses. And as everyone likes a free meal, then of course it’s the best MEAL if someone else is paying. But really, you’re getting several meals.

Since the award came out, we have had customers now calling and emailing wondering what has changed with the menu?  Why are we so much more expensive?  WE’RE NOT, I PROMISE.

Our menu is still very diverse with offerings from $4 to $25 with tasting menus from $55 to $125. There’s a bit of something for every budget.

Thank You, City Pages for the award, really. We’re proud to say that people sure do agree with you on the ‘best’ part and so far nobody has complained about the price tag.

These two photo’s are of a chalkboard that customers at the end of the meal are able to give us some feed back.

So, far, so good.

Jon had applied to Corner Table, and I wondered why someone of his skill level would be applying to my restaurant.  I soon realized that he had so much to teach me, and he was always looking to learn.  We tied short ribs during his interview.  I will never forget that talk.   In the short time that I got to work with Jon, I realized that he was going to be an amazing chef. 

Restaurants in Minneapolis are better because of the food that he made and the skills that he taught others around him.  He will always be a one of the best cooks I know.

In Remembrance 

Date: Monday, April 26, 2010 Time: 7:00pm – 11:00pm

Location: Grand Café Street: 3804 Grand Ave S , Minneapolis, MN 

The Grand Café is deeply saddened to share the news of the unexpected death of our executive chef, Jon Radle. Jon’s unpretentious style and enthusiastic love of food and cooking infused the café with a warm and welcoming air. An award-winning chef, Jon was modest and hardworking. He had no taste for the role of celebrity. His graceful leadership set the tone at the café making it an intimate community working together. Jon was an integral part of this community and family. He will be deeply missed. Grand Café will be closed until Friday, April 23. It will reopen for business with associate chef Ben Pichler at the helm. We are very grateful for the unwavering support of Ben and all of the staff at the Café during this difficult time.

Sincerely, Mary and Dan Hunter

For funeral arrangements see www.oconnellfuneralhomes.com

In addition : In remembrance of Jon there will be a gathering at Grand Cafe, Monday Evening April 26th @ 7:00. InfoContact: Mary Hunter 612-822-8260 (Café) or 612-616-4168 (Cell) staff@grandcafempls.com GRAND CAFE 3804 Grand Ave. SMinneapolis, MN 55409 612.822.8260

Tickets for the events will be available for purchase exclusively at Corner Table for the next few weeks. (Yes, you still get a FREE beer with purchase!)

Did you get your ticket, yet?

Mm, free beer tastes better…

We even gave away some glasses from Furthermore Beer who is nice enough to sponsor us again this year!

Step right up and get your tickets here!

You can also get yourself some sandwiches.

Mm roast beef sandwich…

That’s what she had.

They tried one of each.

Brilliant chef in the making has already mastered deconstructing his food.

This would be the turkey salad sandwich. (You so wish you had been there don’t you?)

And then dessert, mm – do you choose Pastureland pound cake with strawberries…

or chocolate chocolate chip cookies? It was a tough choice and why you always need to bring a co-eater with you.

And then time for the dinner menu to rule…

Scott & Deborah Pikovsky, from Star Thrower Farm

Greg & Mary Reynolds from Riverbend Farm

Mm – stop in, get your tickets and fill yourself with some tasty food made from ingredients from all of these local farmers!

Now the big news: Tour de farm dates and chef’s are set and the email is going out very shortly to announce all the information. So, you better get on the list. This is your last warning. Serious. Why should you be on the list? To get to buy tickets & get information first! Get on the Tour de Farm email list, now!

There are some things happening. 

I have been having a lot of conversations these days about food.  I know that may not seem like such a big deal for a guy who owns a restaurant but these are bigger food conversations.  Things like:

”What is wrong with the food system, if anything?”

“Does ‘local’ food really matter?  Maybe it is just a trend.”

”What is local food?”

“All food is local, somewhere, right?”

”Isn’t eating locally really expensive?  I can’t afford it.”    And so on and so on.  Some of these questions come from customers, some come from peers, some come from friends, some are conversations in kitchens, and others are conversations in my head that have happened over the last five years.   They are all valid questions, and I have a bit of knowledge on some of them but I DO NOT HAVE THE ANSWERS.  (If I did, more people would be reading this blog, or I would have multiple books and you would see me on many talk shows, and we don’t want that, now do us.)

The thing that intrigues me so much about local food is that it does affect so many people and so many other parts of our lives.  It is energy. It is economics. It is the opportunity to share food with someone and ultimately develop community. It is sometimes the opportunity to be alone and just be in the moment all by ourselves.  Food is pleasure. Food is a challenge.  Food is art (if you work at it or get lucky.)  Food is very important to me.  This is why I spend so much time thinking about it.    This is how you can take that first step.  Just think about it.  Think about food.  Think about where it came from. Who grew it? Where did the seed come from?  What is the story behind that food? Who handled it along the way?  How many miles did it travel?  How many hands – how many people touched your food before it touched you? That food is yours, right in front of you.  Every time you choose to eat something you have bought all of where it’s come from.  Think about it.

Here are some ideas of what you can do to get the ball rolling.

1. Eat something you have never eaten.  Learn about it. Read about it.   Food Timeline and History

2. Take a friend to lunch,  even something small and simple, don’t talk about food, and just enjoy the time with that person.

3. Find a recipe for something you had eaten a long time ago and make it again.  Learn everything you can about that food.  If it is important enough that it is still in your memory, get to know it better.

4. Enjoy a guilty pleasure.  Find something, one bite of something that makes you just crazy.  Just one bite.

5. Find a server in a restaurant and talk to them all night long about food.  Servers know a lot and they are willing to share.  If that server does not know, they will find out and you will have helped them out with their knowledge as well.

6. Email a chef.  Send them a note about a meal you had, were it great, and were it bad, something, starts a relationship with a restaurant.  It will make you both appreciate the experience of eating in a restaurant that much more.

7. Email a farm, really.  Find out where you can get there food, buy a CSA. If you don’t know what a CSA is, look it up.  Ask that farmer more about why they farm.  GO, and help them, volunteer to work a day or make a visit.  (At the same time, respect the farms time, be creative, and maybe bring some friends and help for a day, of if not, just get to know them the best you can.)  Land Stewardship CSA List

8.  Foster creativity and curiosity in a child by introducing them to a new vegetable.  Let them eat it raw, the cook it, and let them see the difference.   Lyndale Youth Farm and Market Project 

I am going to end there, some of you may want to go to a top ten list or maybe 15, or 20, who knows, and I will let you fill in the rest.  Answer back and give me some of the things that you think about with food.  Try some of these things and see what happens.  In the end.  We all have to eat, so why not truly enjoy the process?