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The Weekly Newsletter |
Menus and Stories for October 16 - 21, 2006
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Jacque's Door |
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We decided to be a part of Neighborhood Housing Service's "Door" fundraiser this year which means that we get to have one of the doors on display here in our shop for the next few weeks.
I specifically asked to have this one, since it was made by my friend Jacque Allen (whose work I like VERY much!) If you peek insider her door you will see scenes of Asheville in the fall, images by Ann Vasilik.
Come by to see it for yourself. It's tucked into our newly rearranged shop (we wanted to make room for Jacque's door and then, next thing you know, we'd re-organized the entire joint!) Once you're here, pick up a card featuring Jacque's door and listing all the locations of all the doors all over town. Visit a certain number (be sure to ask the merchants to punch your card proving that you were there) and you will be elible to enter a drawing to have a door commissioned just for you. Sound fun? We thought so.
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A change of plans |
Ah me. What a busy time of year it is!
The time just caught up with us and we have decided to change the date of the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Projects Farm Dinner until another time. Emily and Charlie, the ASAP directors, are on their way to Italy for the Slow Food Worldwide Colloquium, one of our chefs is about to have a baby, it got cold(!), and, well, for a number of reasons it seemed like a better idea to move this dinner to some other time.
Fall IS a great time for Tom Sherry's garlic, however, so do come here to see it and pick up a box of his heirloom varietals, all tucked into this lovely straw. Tom was just featured in "Our State" magazine, so do feel free to browse through the article, which we have displayed right next to his garlic.
About the farm dinner: we'll let you know when we choose a new date - maybe in the spring when the Garlic "scapes" (their wildly odd shoots) are popping out of the ground.
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New from Madhouse Munchies |
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Here's something new for your Sunday football afternoons:
Madhouse Munchies, the folks who make some of the potato chips we carry in our shop, have a new blue tortilla chip. We devoured our sample bag in a VERY short time - and we get to sample a lot of things and there really ARE times when we bite into something and immediately discard it. Not so with these fellows.
We've placed them right next to the Xochitl salsas. By the way, for a terrific treat, pick up a jar of their cheese spread, pop it into your microwave (take the metal lid off first) and you will have the most perfect time - if you don't, let me know.
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Dinners to go |
Dinners, as you know, come with a freshly-made green salad, salad dressing of the day, and made-right-here bread of the day. We take reservations until noon or so. Please order by phone (252-1500), by FAX (252-02002) or stop in to speak to one of us in person.
Here is the menu for this coming week:
Monday October 16 Chicken and Chevre in Corn Crepes with Portobellos 9.95
Tuesday October 17 BBQ Ribs with Sweet Potato Salad 10.25
Wednesday October 18 Coffee-rubbed Flank Steak with Potato Fritters 11.50
Thursday October 19 Garlic Pork Loin with Sour Cream Gravy 10.25
Friday October 20 Coconut Shrimp with Fried Plantains 12.25
Every time you order a dinner to go you are eligible to enter our drawing. Just drop a card in our drawing jar (a business card works or fill out one of the cards that we have right here) and, at the end of the month, we'll pull one card which will be good for two free dinners-to-go.
(This really works! We have had one fellow win three times - which makes him very happy, though I think he is the perfect winner, since he orders three or four times each week.)
Maybe you'll win next month.
Order a lot? Enter a lot! Good luck!! |
Our website |
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Special casserole of the week |
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We make a special casserole each week on Wednesday. Please give us a call by the end of the day on Tuesday and we’ll fix yours for you. Come by between 4:30 and 6:00. Get a half (for 4 appetites) or a full sized pan (for 9 or so.)
Wednesday October 18
Shepherd’s Pie
Full 35.00
Half 17.50
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"Low Key" Breakfast |
Yesterday, as I was puttering around in the shop (I'm so pleased with our rearrangement of everything I can't stay away from all of our shelves and displays) I was pleased to see a group of folks who were stopping by for a quick breakfast after an early-morning workout. They had some coffee and some muffins and some juice and some fruit, piled around a couple of our tables that they pulled together, and that was that.
We're seeing more and more quiet groups in the early hours. We'll give you what you need and will stay out of your way the rest of the time. The sun pours in, the kitchen purrs along too, getting the day's orders ready. I like it very much, and I'll bet you will too.
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A place for "stuff" |
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Another reason for our shop redo was a comment from a regular guest.
"There's nowhere to put my STUFF!" she complained. "When I'm trying to pay for my lunch it's a big, crowded mess! You need to figure something out."
She was right. We HAD noticed a clumping bottleneck during busy times, and so we ordered a new shelf unit, pushed some things around and made way for handbags. We'll still need to do some tweaking. This picture, for instance, shows a piece of marble that does not fit on our new shelf, but it is standing in for the time being. We're going to get a new piece made, and it'll be here soon, but in the meantime, I, for one, am happy about this new surface. (Thanks for the suggestion Andrea!)
If there is a change you think would help, do mention it. We do listen.
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Dave's Honey |
Dave recently brought us some of this year's crop of Sourwood Honey. He's a quiet sort of fellow (see his picture in the background?) I like to imagine him talking to his bees as he moves their hives around the area, placing them near the season's blossoms.
Sourwood Honey is a rare thing. We're lucky to have it. Here's thanks to the bees, and special thanks to Dave for figuring out how to get this elixir into the jars and into our shop.
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A Note From Laurey |
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Oh it is a gorgeous day here today! Chilly, yes, but that’s what is supposed to happen at this time of year. Last night I built the year’s first fire in the wood stove at home and we turned on the furnace too. I took a bath and rinsed off all the week’s accumulated drivel and detritus and happily padded around, warm and clean and easy.
This morning all the fields near home were frosted and silvery and lovely in the morning light. One neighbor has black Angus cows and they steamed, black clumps of warmth against the frost and fall color. I used to think that fall color was the special gift of Vermont alone, but the longer I live here the more I see and appreciate what we have.
Last week my sister visited. She has just moved from Vermont to Kentucky, where our other sister lives. I’d always longed for our Vermont color whenever I had talked to her on the phone in the fall.
“It’s PERFECT today!” she’d crow from Vermont. “Can you come up?”
“No, I can’t,” I’d say, wishing I could, wishing I could be there to rake and jump in the bright red Sugar Maple leaves. “Maybe next year.”
As we drove around here last week, we talked a lot about fall color.
“It’s not as dramatic as Vermont,” I’d say with an apologetic tone, pointing out a flash of color on a tree or two, “but we DO have a long season, and it IS nice enough, if a bit more subtle.”
The more we talked, however, the more I realized that here, with a long, slow crescendo of color, which builds gradually, I have come to appreciate what we have. The color in Vermont is much much more dramatic, no doubt about it. The colder temperatures make it possible to have brilliant reds and spectacular yellows which stand out against dark green pines. The blinding flashes of color don’t happen here, but if I look with less judgement, I see that our show is perfect in its own quieter way.
“Your foliage is really very nice,” Heather said, appreciatively. “After all, Vermont’s surges in, grabs everyone’s attention, and is gone, completely gone in a couple of weeks.”
So yes, ours, here, is in its own full swing. There might be a flash here or a pop there, but, more importantly, underneath it all, a slower, more reasonable change draws me in. It’s not very loud, but I like it very much.
I'll jot another note next week.
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Thanksgiving is coming |
We've heard from lots of you, wondering what our Thanksgiving menu will be this year, wanting to make plans and reservations.
Here's what I can tell you right now: 1. Yes, we ARE going to have our Thanksgiving Dinner to Go 2. Yes, once again it will be ready for you on Wednesday afternoon (11/22) 3. I'll tell you the menu next week, okay?
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Contact
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Laurey's "Gourmet Comfort Food" Eat In - Take Out - Catering 67 Biltmore Avenue Asheville, NC 28801 828-252-1500
Hours: Monday - Friday 8:00 - 6:00 pm Saturday 8:00 - 4:00 pm
"Don't Postpone Joy!"(tm) |
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