Good morning, Feastlings.
I’ve always been prone to biting off more than I can chew. One of my numerous foibles is convincing myself that whatever project I’ve conceived, whatever recipe I’ve made up in my head, and whatever I intend to accomplish on my day off- they’re all things that will pretty much be easily handled. So when we were shut down for dining, it seemed an easy enough challenge to change the menu to something more carryout friendly. In retrospect, I’d no longer call that “easy enough.” Ditto the original remote delivery plan. This week, we’ll be putting my inflated notions of our abilities to the test again. Today and tomorrow we’re going to have Passover food for delivery and pickup after 2 pm. The cutoff for ordering was last Sunday, but if past holidays are any indication, we’ll have a bunch of you calling today to see if they can still get something. The answer is: maybe. We’re still in the thick of preparing it all as I write this, but we’ll undoubtedly have some leftovers. If you want your name thrown in the hopper for Passover food and you’re willing to fly standby, as it were, you can call us at 326-9363 and we’ll put your name on a callback list for what dishes we still have remaining. You won’t see the menu on the website any longer since ordering was over as of Sunday night, but you may still be able to get your hands on chicken soup with matzo balls, braised Spanish style brisket with saffron and paprika, charoset, and gefilte fish terrine. Let us know if you’re interested, and we’ll let you know if there’s anything left.
By the time we end our day today, we’ll have Easter specials posted, and we’ll have a Thursday night cutoff for food to pick up or have delivered on Saturday or Sunday. The menu will include a lamb shank, a Spring tart full of house-made ricotta and shaved vegetables, braised rabbit (we thought it would offend the first time we did it but so many people wanted it that we do it every year now- our apologies to fans of the Easter Bunny,) and a pistachio and strawberry Easter cake. In the continued spirit of being in over our heads, we’ll be changing the monthly menu on Thursday, albeit only slightly, and we’re going to attempt a West side delivery run on Friday, with a Thursday ordering cutoff. Then we’ll all take some deep breaths and hit the ground running again next week. Tuesday will be the day we figure out what supply lines have been cut off, damaged or altered and we’ll aim to get back out to the Northwest, this time with our more effective delivery hub system, on Wednesday, a week from tomorrow.
Meanwhile, thanks for your patience, and thanks for continuing thus far to keep our doors open in a time when we’re watching our friends and neighbors throw in the towel and hope they can withstand this period and reopen one day. And apropos of that, I’d note that today happens to be Arizona Gives Day, so whether it’s one of the scores of non-profits here in town that’s taking a hit because they rely on the businesses like us who normally donate goods and services but have closed or tightened their belts, or whether it’s a small business that you love and hope to see around on the other side of this mess, I’d say this: if you can afford it, help someone out today- a non-profit, a business, a neighbor, a friend, or a stranger. Maybe do it a second time in the name of someone who you know is strapped by this shutdown who you know can’t do it themselves right now. And if you can’t afford it, do something helpful that costs nothing- repost something on social media, or tell friends and family about a cause you care about, or thank someone who’s running an essential service today. Happy Whatever You Celebrate, and thank you.
Love,
Doug and everyone here at Feast