Ch ch ch ch changes

All (minor) hitches aside, we've been open for 12 days and we're on the right track. Thank goodness for our crew of bright, friendly, and interesting people. Their many hands make light the work and I am thankful for them. In off moments the conversations run from food to family to food to who has tickets to the upcoming Phish shows and back to food. Always food. It's the one interest we all have in common and so many experiences and so many stories are always interesting.

Rule #1 - pay attention to your customers

We've gotten feedback on topics from coffee cups to wifi to wall coverings. There is no universal theme, no cosmic path revealed, which is both comforting and frustrating. Comforting that we don't have blinders on to a glaring omission. Frustrating that, as with most businesses, we need to continue forward step by step, finding our way amid the landmines. Feedback is the key here, both in what is said and what is not said by our customers. It's fairly obvious when a menu item is popular. But why is it? And what is it that makes another menu item unpopular? Ah, the mystery continues...

Couldn't post without adding some photos. Fancy interior shots coming next time.

Seriously Open

3:48AM Just shy of 2 hours before we open for the first time. An hour ago I parked in my now regular spot (thanks landlord) and started the block to the shop. Realized its my first time here at 3AM. There's a trailer parked next to one of the pawn shops with a neon "OPEN" sign glowing, and painted on the trailer is "Chicken and Waffles". I have no cash and no time. Mental note: leave early tomorrow and bring $. Larimer is quiet except for a few cars several blocks up. Lights are still on in the Whiskey Bar, chairs are up on the tables, and I can see people inside sitting at the bar. They're on the end of one day and I'm on the beginning of the next. Baker is at the door waiting for me. And we're off.

Service time

Another milestone - first meal served. Granted, these people were paid to eat as we sampled the menu with the crew. Several hits, a few misses, some tweaking to be done.

OK, the Wheat Thins in the third picture weren't on the menu. That photo was from a staff meeting. Working backwards, the food shot is a roast beef sandwich on semolina bread, a killer sandwich possible only needing a cheese change. That bread is so good I can't even tell you. The roast beef is perfectly rare, tender, juicy, and sliced thin. We've gone back and forth about using goat cheese or blue, as excellent goat cheese is available locally yet we've tracked down a fantastic buttermilk blue cheese that would be perfect. This version had the goat. The top photo is the front part of the dining room, effectively looking down Larimer from inside the front door. I love the way the view from the entrance includes the different heights of seating along the front windows.

Bread formulation is almost 100% ready with the major exception of bagels. One piece of large equipment after another has had issues, until finally we replaced the faulty electronics on the big mixer Friday night and mixed a batch. That thing makes such gorgeous dough I was beside myself. And with the proper mixing time and fermentation time the bagel machine made smooth, uniform bagels which are now retarding for a test bake this weekend. After seeing how the machiner was screwing up our timing we changed our training plans for next week, and even made a contingency plan to open without bagels on the menu. But now we can get back on track and work things out. We'll mix a couple more batches on Saturday and try out the blueberry and maybe cinnamon raisin. One foot in front of the other.

The Bakers

Baker is a fine word. For our Executive Baker, Jacqueline Blanchard, it only covers part of what she has in her arsenal. Jackie graduated from Chef John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls State University, Thibodaux, LA and founded the Horticulture Society there. She is active in the Slow Food movement and while in school competed and won medals in several regional Jr American Culinary Federation competitions. In school and out, she held positions at restaurants such as Restaurant August in New Orleans, The French Laundry Farm (apprentice), Chez Panisse (stagier), and Bouchon (Chef de Partie), all in CA. Jackie came to Colorado to work at Frasca (Chef de Partie) in Boulder, plus get a little bit of time on the slopes. She is responsible for refining our menu and including some terrific Cajun and international influences to our sandwiches.

Natalia Spampinato is a Denver local whose schooling includes studies at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, OR, and CU in Denver. Her professional career started at Andre's Confiserie Suisse in Denver (Pastry Chef, Baker), then Frasca in Boulder (Assistant Pastry Chef). While excellent at baking bread, Natalia makes mouth watering brioche and to-die-for cookies. I know you'll want to try some (and box up a dozen) when you come in.