Dearest Feastlings,
Dangers abound in my business right now. Of course, we in restaurants and hospitality are hanging on by a thread- we all know that. But of the daily dangers to Feast- more dangerous than airing my personal grievances in a probably-too-often email, more than emptying a sack of fragile emotion into your inbox each day, more than letting my personal politics spill through my missives like a pachinko ball- the most serious is having nothing new to say. And so, yesterday, I said nothing, and that seemed just as bad.
Today, then, I repeat much of what I had to say Tuesday, and I’ll reach a desperate reach for one or two new tidbits to share. The new menu remains fairly new, and while there aren’t more than a handful of new dishes, we’re happy with it, by and large. There were some smallish cream puffs made (the choux au craquelin,) but we’re making up for it by throwing in an extra one until we’re through the little ones and they come out nice and plump beginning soon,
https://www.eatatfeast.com/dining/menus/lunch-dinner/
There are the philanthropic bits for those of you with Covid relief checks burning a hole in your pocket,- one for Nourish and whatever local restaurants you favor
A fundraiser for Nourish AND your favorite restaurants, whichever ones they may be
and the other for the people volunteering their time to help get Pima county vaccinated.
There is, of course, this Saturday’s wine tasting
and in an effort to make it look like there’s more in today’s email, there’s an answer or two to the questions that have already been trickling in: Yes, there’ll be a special Valentine’s Day menu, available Sunday the 14th, but also Saturday the 13th, in case you’d prefer to have Sunday to recover from whatever indulgence requires recovery before a work day, if you’re someone who works on Monday. The menu will be posted by tomorrow.
And yes, there’ll be crawfish etouffee, in copious supply, come Fat Tuesday, which is only two days after Valentine’s Day this year. We’ll even pack a good-sized chunk in cryovac, since it’s a dish that people seem to like to keep handy in the freezer.
Another yes to the fact that we’ll be putting our briskets in to corn them for a solid three weeks so we can be ready for you on St. Patrick’s Day, and while it won’t be like the corned beef and cabbage you grew up with, it will be moist and tender and subtle, and many of you have come to love it for its own tender brown merits every bit as much as you loved the bright-red, nitrate-laden version you had in your youth.
Yes again to our having some serious French Onion grilled cheese sandwiches with smoked tomato soup at the ready come February 23rd, since some of you will have chosen to follow along while I make those dishes through the magic of video and internet for SAACA.
https://www.saaca.org/local-food-heroes-cooking-classes.html
While cooking as you watch is a nice idea, by the time you smoke the tomatoes and simmer the vegetables for the soup, you’ll be frustrated that I’m well on my way to caramelizing onions for the sandwich before you’ve even got your celery diced. Munching along is so much simpler than cooking along.
So there’s more to come, obviously, I’ve opted to risk disappointing you with a recap rather than risk your forgetting we’re here and waiting to feed you or someone dear to you. And with any luck, I’ll have some fresh new things to tell you tomorrow. In the meantime, be well and happy.
Love,
Doug