Wined and Dined Continued...

Okay (So THAT was FUN!)---where was I?
Happy Hour at Pescara. Pat came and met us while were we enjoying their crab cakes and Ahi Tuna tartare.... I was formally introduced to him by my Aunt, and as we shook hands he asked if I'd been shown around. I knew what was coming, and could barely hold back my eager excitement, "Nope, we've just been gawking at the bar and the interior design."

"C'mmon, I'll show you the restaurant." With that I was given a thorough 20 minute tour of the floor and kitchen. New state of the art 30 ' hood over the line, saavy space saving and storeage decisions. This past Saturday was their first full weekend. Apparently it was a mongo big night of Saturday business, but their staff looked alive and alert, and everyone paid their respects to Pat when he walked by or approached them. "Hi Pat" "Hey Pat" " [head nod], Pat" .

Watching him walk through his kitchen was impressive. He tasted the soup, he scoped out one of his cooks prepping steaks, he hand pressed the dinner rolls waiting to go into the oven, and everytime he was greeted by an employee, I was introduced and paid the same formalities. It was a prime example of "The Hierarchy." ----> "A friend of the owner's is a friend of mine" mentality....."A guest of Pat's is a guest of mine." I felt like royalty. It was a real solid kitchen, and reminded me a lot of the floor plan from the kitchen at the Hotel Winneshiek where I formerly cooked. The walk-in coolers, prep areas, office space, everything...it was a great tour. Fine dining, fresh seafood was their pitch, and I can only hope they continue to deliver as well as they did during our time spent at Pescara.

The night was young. Somewhere between 5:15 and 5:30 we finished jabbering over how great the crab cakes and tuna tartare was and Pat led us over to Chester's Kitchen and Bar. The location didn't matter---all staff members looked him in the eye and addressed him by name, no matter what they were presently doing (Hosting, bartending, cooking, prepping, waiting, serving, cleaning, etc.). Pat ordered up a couple of their signature martini's, a fresh pineapple infused vodka base. Their drink menu was curious and their wine selection formiddable, but I was immediately drawn to the fact that both places had Stella Artois on tap. (Major BROWNIE POINTS from Jackson)

Pat grabbed me and said, "C'mmon, you being a restaurant and food guy, I think you'll really appreciate this..." Off we went towards the back of the dining floor, where the open air kitchen was bustling! Signature racks of local rotisserie chickens turning over hickory wood burning roaster...the kitchen area was compact. That's the best description I can give, everything was tight, close quarters--and they moved like lightning. It was like being given a tour of a bee hive. Every one was moving, communicating in one form or another, visually/verbally, and they all knew their roles. "Like a well oiled machine." Senior staff, the best combination of kitchen employees, was working on a Sunday evening (a privilege) and they were in the ZONE. Pat showed me their walk in coolers, prepped from floor to ceiling [practically over prepped....in a space that small you can't possibly afford to even come close to "running low, let alone running out" of an item.

Let's put it this way: last year Chester's raked in about $4 Million. A staff of 100. They do business. They do good business. Lots of it. I suppose being 240 yards away from Mercy Hospital and the University of Minnesota Rochester Nursing schools has a lot to do with it....

Translation: like 35,000 people 250 yards away at any given moment. Yyyyeah. They do good business. Their service was top notch (perhaps because Pat was sitting at the table with us, either way, I don't mind being the beneficiary of such treatment.) Pat orderd us 4 appetizers to try, and an hour after that...we were so full, and Pat had to go....but we thanked him, groaned once he'd left...and ordered some of the entrees. Good Gracious. The night was just awesome. Wonderful man to meet, so warm, so personable, such an incredible grasp on the restaurant industry.... in the meantime, I'll keep getting my ducks in a row.

http://www.hazellewoodgrill.com/

http://www.joeynovas.com/

http://www.chesterskb.com/

Wined and Dined

Sunday was "full" in every sense. A busy brunch crowd had me at work from 7:30-2 p.m.

33 minutes later my parents, a friend, and myself were on the road to Rochester. I had made the conscious decision not to eat anything all day other than a piece of toast before the shift got crazy---although I took part in the kitchen staff's weekly Sunday-Red-Bull-Slam-Off (which I win every week thank you very much).

We met my aunt and uncle downtown for an early Happy hour and Appetizers at the Radisson's (soon to be a Double Tree) newly opened Pescara. Co-owned by Pat Woodring and Scott Foster. Names sound familiar? Hello Twin Cities black hole---> the guys also have opened Joey Nova's and Hazellewood Grill and Tap Room.

Pescara's drinks were solid, Sunday business was minimal and we basically had the place to ourselves. Everything was that brand, spankin' new, sparkling, clean lines....very chic, modern interior design by a New Yorker who has helped Pat with all of his restaurant endeavors. Pescara sources their menu by flying in fresh seasonal fish, as well as local and regional markets. The Ahi tuna tartare was ridiculously good....roasted sesame oil, fried wantons (for texture), soy sauce, red pepper, and avocado.... Texture was SPOT ON. So much balance, pickled ginger to cleanse the palate, wasabi on the side....who needs it. The plate itself was molded into a tower of 5 distinct layers (likely with the help of a cylindrical biscuit cutter as the mold) three layers of the tartare symmetrically split by 2 layers of diced avacado.

I'd have no complaints if I was forced to eat it every meal for the rest of my life. That good. That Fresh.
Plating--> elegant.

** more to come on my dining adventure!!!!!!---> off to a wine and cheese tasting....

A Rochester Dining Experience for the Ages

OH DEAR. IT was surreal.

My mouth's still watering, my mind still racing, and my appetite completely full....

wow. wow. wow. wow. WOW. And I'm tired...and can't even muster the energy for a post beyond this. Recollections of the night to come tomorrow...

"Good Friday"

Some days you simply can not top.

They are their own entity. Their own day in history. Truly. Awesome. A single speck against the enormous timeline of existence, but still there none the less. Still incredibly real. Unique.

So here's to you, who have had a "Good Friday!" Hopes are fulfilled, good news is spread, and tomorrow we can rejoice in our victories.


But why wait.
:o)

Such a terrifically surprising and happy Friday. Inforeseeably, unpredictably entertaining, educating, and enjoyable. New friends, great food, great occassions, and connections for life.

Wowzerz.

Some days I just wonder about the absurd encounters my life presents me with. You ever have those days, those CRAZY ODD days, where someone from like 9 years ago just waltzes back into your life; you cross paths at a coffee shop or happen across a news clip about them..or you get a postcard from....Trenton, Italy.... !?!?! Or an email out of the blue.

If you think about it too long, your brain will hurt. A lot. Which is why I sort of just smile through it [in disbelief] and enjoy these days of unforeseeable encounters and random acts of kindness.

Really though---the probability of some of these things is like.....INSANE! JUST INSANE ODDS!!!

I suppose it's time to go lay awake in the dark....completely stuck on the mind-blowing-weirdness-far-out-ness-surreal-improbable-ridiculous-ness that I find myself in every now and again....

Blogging Drought

Wow--- 2 weeks slipped by unblogged... Blogging and I are such a weird pairing.

If I don't blog for awhile, it actually feels really nice (because an absence is generally due to chaotic work & thus over-all fatigue which diverts me from the mental strain of putting up a coherent post). But then, I feel bad, guilty even, for Not blogging. It's like those first couple years of not putting out cookies and milk for Santa Claus on Christmas eve. You've developed these routines/traditions/patterns and an awareness that it's not a necessity makes their absence a big freakin' relief, but at the same time you feel like you're an idle, stagnant, being.

Okay perhaps that was a bit excessive, but the general analogy applies.

Spring is creeping up, and I can't wait. I had a date with Hot Stones last Wednesday, and it was possibly one of the best 2 hour segments of my life. My recipe book is steadily amassing.

Work has been...mmm..lucrative. And my boss at the restaurant threw out the word Salary to me the other day. And I froze. *It is tempting. And extremely frustrating.*

My desire to move, explore, travel, and continue learning has basically climbed out of my stomach, out my mouth, and now follows me around daily. But the thought of a steady income (that of which is much higher than my combined hourly Wages---which presently aren't anything to gripe about either) and Kitchen hours basically say "Promotion" to me. Meh.

Lastly, I'm not Irish. Happy St. Patrick's Day.

Hump Day

Today my family ate a blue collar dinner to die for!

Split pea soup, hard crust white bread, and a vegetable frittata (which while humble in preparation, was KILLER on flavor and taste!!!!)

Don't mess with mom's split pea soup.....recipe coming from Grandma, who got it from her mom..who got it from her grandmother....who got it from her...yeah, it's THAT good! Translation: 5 generations worth of passing down.

After talking with a Culinary School Admissions counselor for 90 minutes today, I feel super relieved in my planning and preparations for going to a culinary school. I am totally cut out for it. Denver....Denver....oh Denver. Are you ready for me??

Sharpening my knives..

P.S. As mentioned in a previous post--- enter Strawberries: