Had a blast with JC at Channel 9, hope you enjoy the view!

First off.. regarding our newest iteration of our Lunch & Dinner Menus we have basically split our menu into a Tapas Menu and Dinner Menu that changes very often. Expect consistent creations focused around fresh seafood and the best produce. I’m working with two amazing specialty suppliers of fish and produce and adding our creativity including Sous Chef Carlos Delgado who is back full time at Chef Tony’s adding his flair to our menu.

You know we love feedback and would also love for you to help us out by spreading good word about us online. More and more, our guests find us through a Google search, read reviews and decide then to come in or not.

If you’re a happy customer of Visions (soon to be Chef Tonys), PLEASE take a moment to add a postive review to our many review sites. For your convenience, here are the links for you to do so:

Our Restaurant on Twitter Chef Tony on LinkedIn

Become a fan on Facebook Chef Tony on YouTube

Email Us Directly Review Us on Yelp!

Review Us on UrbanSpoon!

Over 50 reviews on Google!

Yes, any review on any site can help us in Google search rankings, and overall positive reputation on the internet.

Since opening right before the real estate crash in 2007, my staff and local supporters have kept us moving forward, and now is one of our best moments to shine.  Help us to help Bethesda continue to have an AFFORDABLE seafood focused restaurant as a home to locals and travelers alike.

Next post…Gulf update and our new 5 course Tasting Menu for only $29

THANK YOU, I truly appreciate any time  you can give to review us!

I’ll keep it simple..but all FRESH food can be affected daily by weather, seasons, economic changes, delivery routes, Chefs decisions, etc…

As EATERS, we are…

• Used to getting what we want, when we want it (often oblivious to seasons)
• Upset when prices go up
• Vote with our food choices both in restaurants and grocery stores
• Love consistency

By being observant of the Gulf situation, and thinking forward into the next year while that area recovers from this horrendous situation, our food supply (especially those of us who love seafood) will be affected for a long time.  Being aware, and flexible as you make your dining choice, my plan is to be very creative and aware of seafood from other areas of the US and elsewhere to continue to offer great choice at fair prices.   As you will read, local product prices are already being affected, and my suppliers are unsure of how much product might be “in the pipeline” and when supplies and therefore prices will significantly rise.

Be an educated diner, realize that Chefs and restaurants want and need you to be happy.  For Chef Tony’s, I only buy fresh product, don’t freeze any fish, and keep my supply low to ensure quality…the occasional drawback is I’m out of a menu item, BUT…I’ll guarantee you that I’ll break my back and make sure what we do get  you is the BEST quality of what I have that day..

Take care, eat well, and in case you haven’t seen our new menu…Hope we see you soon and hope this helps you a bit…

__________________________________________________________________________

Louisiana extends areas closed to shrimping; half of state waters now closed

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS [seafoodnews.co] May 10, 2010 – The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries announced Sunday it will be closing recreational and commercial fishing in further areas of state waters as a precautionary response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

This action expands the previously announced emergency commercial and recreational fishing closure to include an area of the state’s territorial sea west of the Mississippi River to Point au Fer and the beaches that border any of the closed areas.

This means that part of the area scheduled to open May 10th is now closed.

A map of the closed area is here:

LDWF Secretary Robert Barham announced the closure of both recreational and commercial fishing in the state territorial seas, and the bordering beaches, extending from the eastern shore of South Pass of the Mississippi River westward to the eastern portion of Atchafalaya Bay at Point au Fer at 91 degrees 20 minutes 44 seconds west longitude. This closure will take place at 6 pm, May 9, 2010.

Louisiana’s shrimp fishery is divided into three management zones. Currently all of zone one and half of zone two are closed, meaning that about 50% of the state’s waters are now closed to shrimping.

There has been no expansion of federally closed areas at the moment, beyond what was announced late last week.

So as many people start to hear about Visions upcoming name change, I owe my network an explanation and want you all to know about what to expect coming into my place.

Long story a little shorter, Visions was named due to a childhood “dream” I had, as well as some ideas relating to my friend Iddis involvement in the restaurant when we started, although we never really promoted too much about “why name it Visions”..

Fast forward to about six months ago…had a conversation with a patron at our bar about the place, and after our conversation, I started really looking at how we “represent” to the public and realize that we really were not shining to our strenghts…

• We’ve always been a SEAFOOD focused restaurant
• I love to dine and share flavors and tastes..I’m always the last to decide on what I want for my ONE entree
• I want more people to be able to come and enjoy my place, regardless of their dining wishes or budget
• after 2 1/2 years almost, it’s time to shake it up a bit and refresh…

So, I have been going through my plans to “re-launch” Visions as “Chef Tony’s” and focus the menu on Mediterranean Seafood Tapas.

The menu in it’s current state is HERE and I’ve been hard at work with some interior changes, I want people to feel wam, comfortable and cozy..

We’ll CONTINUE to offer Bethesda a great place to dine on a primarily Seafood menu, served fresh only, with the best ingredients, with a new focus on..

• Locally sourced ingredients (produce, cheeses and seafood)
• Organic where possible and tasty
• Specialty dinners for small causes (Celiac sufferers, private wine dinners, fund raising, networking get togethers)

New website will be ChefTonysBethesda.com (currently redirects to Visions site) and the menu will be live on the site today.

I hope you find the changes fun, and help me spread the word, I’d really appreciate your help…

Like many local restaurants, we’ve had a challenging last couple years, but I’m so excited to have these changes taking place, excited to meet a whole slew of new guests, and hope to see you soon.

Write me anytime, and I hope to see you at the restaurant!

Love, love , love Softshell Crabs !!

We’ll start seeing them here in the next week, and I’d love some feedback how you have enjoyed them and what your favorite preparations are?

Generally here, we’ll either do them crispy fried with a light Basil Aioli or Pan Sauteed with a Shallot Lemon butter sauce…either way …WOW!

Also, working with Gary my fishmonger to get some great deals on Hardshell Lobsters…

it’s time for LOBSTERPALOOZA again here at Visions ….
with what I’m seeing,

TWO 1 1/4 lb Lobsters, Corn and Red Potatoes for $24.95…a great value and amazing succulent Lobster Meat for you and friends…pair with a great Pinot Grigio or Fume Blanc?? You’re set…

See you soon…

We upgraded to Comcast Business Service, and after a few hiccups, we are back up with our always FREE wireless at Visions. My trusty Apple Base station is running like a top so far, and you have a great back dining room for a quick meeting, presentation or just surfing for fun.

Also, wanted to remind you about our 5 for $5 promotion at lunch…
You get a great 5 item menu of freshly prepared lunch specialties including

• Half Pound Cheeseburger
• Linguine Bolognese
• Chicken Tender Basket
• Ham & Cheddar Paninni
• or
• Grilled Chicken Caesar

All only $5! PLUS this includes TAX and an Iced Tea or Soda (beverages not available for carryout)

This deal starts this week on Wednesday, and we hope you stop in and take advantage!!

Lastly, new Spring Dinner menu will start Tuesday, April 27th and you’ll love what we’ve come up with…

A Mediterranean inspired Seafood Menu that is served in smaller, easy to share portions to encourage you to try a lot of our menu without breaking the bank!

Lots of work to do…

Thanks for listening…

Chef Tony

Thanks for reading, I’ll keep it quick…

The blog here for Visions has not been nearly as active as I’d like, but before laying into a new post flurry, I wanted to make clear why I write this blog..

• I love keeping in touch with my clients of the restaurant
• I love to give out helpful tips for cooking, food facts and help people to enjoy cooking with family and friends
• I want to continue to offer a platform for restaurant related interaction (I’m a fan of the industry and love it when people know more about the way our business works and why we do this)

So, if you’ll continue to read (and pass it around to friends), I’ll continue to write.  Realistically I plan to write a post a week of “commentary” and maybe a few more posts to keep you up to date on fun menu changes, new wines or maybe a new staff member coming on board.

Keeping in the theme of “communication”…I’d love to see our treasured friends and clients of Visions post up positive reviews of our restaurant online.  It helps us grow, it helps us compete in this ever changing restaurant marketplace, and it helps more people to dine in Bethesda in general, which is good for everyone down here.

So…please visit our Social Media page on our website, and just take a few moments to review us either on Yelp, Urbanspoon, Google or somewhere else.  I PERSONALLY appreciate your time and thank you for your help.

Another day…

I’ve put plenty of warnings on this, but please read carefully…the recipe is easy, but this can get VERY DANGEROUS…DO NOT COOK WITH ANY YOUNG KIDS AROUND…AND YOU BE CAREFUL TOO! 

This is the exact recipe I use for our in house caramel that I remember you liked so much,
PLEASE BE CAREFUL, but the recipe is really easy, just follow it and be careful both when you add the butter AND when you add the cream.
THIS MIXTURE IS EXTREMELY HOT, AND MAY SPUTTER A BIT WHEN YOU ADD BUTTER AND LATER WHEN YOU ADD CREAM.

You don’t need extreme heat, so adjust if you feel its getting too hot.  In the case that you end up with chunks of sugar in the caramel, just strain after you’re finished.

This should hold at room temp for a couple weeks, just fine.

Feel free to let me know how it works for you!!

Caramel Sauce Recipe

(Courtesy of SimplyRecipes.com)

Method

1 First, before you begin, make sure you have everything ready to go – the cream and the butter next to the pan, ready to put in. Making caramel is a fast process that cannot wait for hunting around for ingredients. If you don’t work fast, the sugar will burn. Safety first – make sure there are no children under foot and you may want to wear oven mitts; the caramelized sugar will be much hotter than boiling water.

2 Heat sugar on moderately high heat in a heavy-bottomed 2-quart or 3-quart saucepan. As the sugar begins to melt, stir vigorously with a whisk or wooden spoon. As soon as the sugar comes to a boil, stop stirring. You can swirl the pan a bit if you want, from this point on. Note that this recipe works best if you are using a thick-bottomed pan. If you find that you end up burning some of the sugar before the rest of it is melted, the next time you attempt it, add a half cup of water to the sugar at the beginning of the process, this will help the sugar to cook more evenly, though it will take longer as the water will need to evaporate before the sugar will caramelize.

3 As soon as all of the sugar crystals have melted (the liquid sugar should be dark amber in color), immediately add the butter to the pan. Whisk until the butter has melted.

4 Once the butter has melted, take the pan off the heat. Count to three, then slowly add the cream to the pan and continue to whisk to incorporate. Note than when you add the butter and the cream, the mixture will foam up considerably. This is why you must use a pan that is at least 2-quarts (preferably 3-quarts) big. (Check here for an explanation of why adding the cream makes the mixture bubble up so much.)

5 Whisk until caramel sauce is smooth. Let cool in the pan for a couple minutes, then pour into a glass mason jar and let sit to cool to room temperature. (Remember to use pot holders when handling the jar filled with hot caramel sauce.) Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Warm before serving.

Makes a little over one cup of sauce.

Below is an audio player (just click the triangle) for my Podcast, just a quick listen…anyone who has any topics of interest, questions or comments, just email me and I’ll work ya into my show!

Thanks for your support, talk soon…

Intro to Visions New Podcast for 2010

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