The Weekly Newsletter
Menus and Stories for January 7 - 11, 2008
Our new floor!!!

Hoo boy! Another year. Another floor. The one we had was not installed well and was peeling up and causing falls and was just, well, bad. So this year we're starting off with a brand new, lovely, slip-free, NICELY-installed (by Pearlman's, thank you!!!) and we're all tip-toeing around like it's delicate roses. It's not, but it is a huge improvement.

Thanks to the crew here (especially Chris and his brother and Richard's brother and Andrew) who took everything off all the shelves, moved everything out into the cafe and then, once the floor was in, put everything back. Also big thanks to Karen, building caretaker EXTRAORDINAIRE and the plumbers and the electricians who came in and unhooked everything and then hooked it all back up. Herculean. And beautiful.

2007 - a Review

I've been thinking about all that happened last year. A lot. This newsletter is my chance to tell about some of those things, mostly to remind myself of how we've done, and also to keep us on our toes so that we keep it all going. We're trying to do more than just make food (or money), so we hope that continues to be our truth.

One big thing this year is our five-point Mission star, the main things that drive this whole operation: running and really good business, making really good food (and serving it really well), taking care of each other, taking care of our customers, and taking care of the Earth.

REALLY good food

We continue to search for local products of the highest quality. Our personal eating has changed and we know yours has too. We'd rather eat local food that comes from people or sources we know and trust. We figure you do too. And we like to eat (and make) a whole bunch of different things so we keep our offerings flexible. If it's a cold day, we'll make a rich, hot soup. When it's hot, you get something chilled. And when a farmer walks in with heirloom squash, we buy it and cook it and there you go.

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.

As a reminder, 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.

Maybe you'll win next month.

Order a lot? Enter a lot!
Good luck!!

Here is this week's menu:


Monday January 7 Cider Chicken with Apple Potato Cakes 10.25
Tuesday January 8 Seared Duck Breast with Dried Cherry Compote 14.75
Wednesday January 9 Stuffed Pork Chops w/ Scalloped Tomatoes + Hoppin’ John 10.75
Thursday January 10 Glazed Meatloaf with Parslied Potatoes10.75
Friday January 11 Grilled Lemon Tuna Niçoise 15.25

Our website
Special casserole of the week

We make a special casserole each week, usually on Wednesday. Order before noon and we'll have yours ready to pick up between 4:30 and 6:00 that very afternoon. (Yes, you can order in advance too.) Order a full for 9 portions or, if your gang is smaller, opt for the half-sized one, which serves 4 or so.

Say, we'll happily make a salad and provide bread for you if you like, just let us know when you call and we'll get you all set up.




Wednesday, January 9
Chicken and Artichoke Casserole with Vermouth Cream
Full: 34.50
Half: 17.25

New in our shop


We continue to seek new products made from companies we admire: generally small companies who care about the food THEY buy and the products THEY make as much as we do. We have a limited space, so we buy some things, sell them and then buy some more things. So you just never know what we'll have. We're getting more and more local in our purchases with many things coming from right here. Nice. we like it that way (though we do still bring in high quality, interesting things from other places around the country too (especially if they're from a place we love - like Vermont.)

These new nut butters are made by a gal in Vermont.  They are a brilliant twist on the old peanut butter option.  Zippy, fresh, really good! 

The Nutty Vermonter
Whimsy and good reminders
We find fun toys, magnets, candies, trinkets too. They're in the shop underneath the "Happy Center" sign.

Oh, by the way, the 20/20 show is being aired this coming Friday, January 11th. I think it is on at 10pm on abc but, as they say, check your local listings. The show is the one about Eric Weiner's new book, The Geography of Bliss. The book follows his yearlong search for happy places and happy people all over the world. His path led him to Asheville and to me and it's fun to see his take on this town and our talk. I've been interviewed for 20/20. It'll be fun to see what turns up on the final cut. (Do read the book too. I found it quite thought-provoking)

The Geography of Bliss
You might need this

Oh my hair is topsy turvey today. I'm still a bit in "not working" mode and my generally tame head is kind of wild today, curls here, wisps there. Maybe a magnet would be a good thing. I'd turn to the, um, GOOD hair day (who says tame is the only good way?)

A Note From Laurey
 
January 5, 2008

Let’s see. I feel like it’s been forever since I’ve been at my desk, blank (computer) page spread out in front of me. It feels good to be back. Sometimes it’s like that for me. I’m ready to be back in my swing, my comfort, my little life. Today it feels good to be right here in my red chair writing a new note for the new year. My chair is old and fits me just right. I can hear the vacuum out in the shop as Wendy sucks all the dirt bits from the cracks in our old floor. The kitchen is not bustling today but everyone is taking advantage of the tempo to scrub and sort and assess and put things in order. Last week I saw Adam up on a ladder dusting the ceiling fan blades. Lito has scraped all the dust from the vents above the stoves and things are looking pretty sparkly. (NOW would be a good time for the Health Inspector to come – not in the middle of the hectic rushes of other times of the year.)

I’ve been happy to be home, thinking about home quite a bit lately. Eric’s book made me think about it, what IS home, how much does it matter? I am very sensitive to place. Don’t know if I am more sensitive than others, but I do know it makes a huge difference to me where I am in a big sense and also in a tiny sense. I feel like I’m in the right spot and find myself going back to that spot over and over again. I like one certain place on my front stoop, sitting on concrete steps rather than on a more comfortable chair. The spot is my spot and that’s where I feel I belong when I am out there. I have one favorite place to sit at the dinner table, one special place to put my chair when I build a fire. It’s kind of funny, but it’s also true. One time I took a dowsing class and went home and walked around my house with the rods. Turns out that ALL of those places are where energy lines cross.

These darker, colder times are nice for me because I go outside each night and sit in my hot tub, warming up before going to bed. Sometimes I go out in the mornings too, sitting in the heat in the dark watching stars and satellites and constellations and planets. The other night an owl serenaded me. Sometimes I hear dogs, cows, distant sounds. I like being warm in my body with the chill air brushing my face. A close friend told me a long time ago that a hot tub, though extravagant, would be a fine addition to my life. She was right and I think about that almost every time I immerse myself in its heat.

And at this time of year I build a lot of fires in my blue Vermont Castings woodstove. I have a little green chair that fits me perfectly, just the right height for coaxing the flames, just the right size for me. When I am home alone the dog and the cat pad around with me from room to room, waiting for me to settle down and, as soon as I do, they join in, stretching out in front of the fire too. If I breathe differently they wake up, check in, settle back down. It’s a lovely dance and they are sweet friends on dark nights.

So, welcome to the new year. I hope this new time brings you your wishes and needs. I’ll be in touch after I get back from glass school next week. Bye for now. Laurey

Funky and wonky but fun

Tomorrow I start my personal new year off by going back to Corning for a week of glass classes. This will be my fourth. Fu- UN! This one will focus on putting drawn and photographic images on glass, and then inflating them to become blown glass vessels. Of COURSE I'll bring pictures back for you.

(Say, some of you tell me that you can't see my pictures. If that's true for you, you might explore your computer's relationship with pop-up blockers. I'm not sure how that all works, but basically you need to tell it that you actually want to see what I'm sending you. And if you do that, hopefully you will be able to. Good luck!

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