Hi,

Well being that we were closed last Sunday for Easter, we’ve had to keep our proud buttons tightly closed for an extra week before getting a chance to tell you about the Bloody Mary now featured for $2 during our Sunday brunch. Two loyal recipients of this weekly mail had written in with suggestions: how about discounted screwdrivers and bloodies for brunch was one, the second described, among many excellent suggestions, a spice blend to rim the glass of a Bloody Mary. Long experience has proven the adage “necessity is the mother of invention”, and this proved to be no exception. ‘Cause in order to serve a $2 bloody with the quality liquor we use (nothing cheap in the building) we were forced to start from scratch, making our own tomato juice mixer. Dug out an old recipe from a 1981 stint in the Hamptons, started with that and worked until we got something that was a Good Eat, then got the coffee grinder out and started a blending. Hmm hm hm , insert smile here, have we ever got a treat for your Sunday morning wake-up. Available all the time really, but just two bucks between 10 and 2 on Sundays.

Along with the asparagus we’ve been featuring the past couple of weeks, our local farm source has provided us with arugula, which, starting Friday, we will use to make

Spring Tonic Soup with Arugula Pesto.

Also in the soup will be fresh watercress harvested from a spring deep in my woods. Pristine would be the adjective and enjoy the verb.

Specials will be:

Salmon Oscar

&

Roast Pork Loin with Mushrooms, Pancetta and Tarragon.

Tonight is Date Night (among other selections, Salmon Cakes w/ Spring Greens Salad and Risotto with Roast Asparagus) Friday features half-price bottles of wine, we interrupt this mail to report we’re finally going to get sunny weather on a week-end, (it’s been since the middle of March), we’re wide open on Saturday and Sunday is the brunch.

Thank you for your continued support and

We hope to see you.

Hi,

A most important note to start this mail, Good Eats Cafe will be closed on Sunday for Easter.

Tonight, Thursday, is Date Night. Among other things come to discover a roast asparagus appetizer, crab pasta, and a pork dish that features pancetta (Italian-style bacon) and mushrooms.

Friday and Saturday we will feature the mushroom soup I wrote about (and gave the recipe to) last spring as well as
Salmon Oscar, salmon topped with asparagus, crabmeat and a glaze, honestly one of the most popular dishes we do.

Thank you so much for your support, and

We hope to see you.

Hi,

Ha, so I was walking the dogs last night about 7:30 and a thought pops in, and it’s the scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz, “if only I had a brain,” and I could finish the thought because if I only had a brain I wouldn’t have scheduled two big changes in format for the same week.

Tonight, and every Thursday for as far as I can see, is “Date Night.” At the bottom of this mail is the menu for tonight and the menu also explains the format. This menu will change with great regularity. As mentioned last week, for us this is a teaching and learning opportunity, and down the road it is going to reap huge benefits; you will see.

Our regular dinner menu is also available on Thursdays. We have added Backfin Crabcakes to the menu and removed the fried oysters. We will have Flounder topped with Buttered Backfin Crabmeat as a special, in all likelihood there will be another special and there will be a soup, but I will have to wait until after tonight to access my fresh food situation before a choice is made.

And on Sunday comes a brunch. Our new Sunday hours are 11:00 – 2:30. I wish I could attach a copy of that menu but there have been some problems sourcing ingredients (and now you understand the opening paragraph) but by Saturday morning we’ll know what we have and then so will you. Not to worry, the eggs came in. And the visit yesterday to the bison farm was productive. And Eric makes superb Bloodies and Mimosas.

So here we go. What follows is tonights menu and the template for all future Date Night menus.

Date Night – April 7

Two people choose two courses each and a bottle of wine from this menu for $35.

Starters

Café Salad   Choice of Sesame Tahini or Parmesan Peppercorn Dressing

Bruschetta of White Beans and Grilled Shrimp

Bulgur, Red Lentil and Ginger Soup

Entrees

Linguine with Mussels and Sage in a Red Sauce

Pork Loin with Apricot Compote and Melted Cheddar

Roast Chicken with Cherry Tomatoes and Tarragon

Flounder with a Lemon Dijon Glaze with Dill

The Wines

Forestville Chardonnay

Dominio de Eguren “Protocolo”

Crane Lake White Zinfandel

Sea Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon

Mars and Venus Merlot

Crane Lake Red Zinfandel

We hope to see you