Pop-Up is Coming

We have a pop-up happening at the end of this month. Possibly. It was supposed to be this weekend but we were are so unprepared it's pushed to the next available Sunday. Decided to stick to my original idea and do simple dishes, executed well. I decided to toss out the 18-course tasting menu and do a prix fixe with 10 dishes. The past month of planning and re-planning the menu was taking me nowhere. Without noticing it at first, I was being guided by fear again. Fear that it would bore the foodie folk. It's impossible to please everyone and I need to do what feels right to me. You do you, I do me.

It's going to be prix fixe. No artisan craft this or other micro gastronomical what-nots, at least not for now. Eventually, it would be awesome to work with local foragers and get some fresh matsutake or jellify things that aren't naturally jello-ed. But for now I want the dishes to speak fresh, subtle, lingering.

My decision was reaffirmed when Julius (a family friend, mentor, and amazing sous chef of Myopia Hunt Club who will probably be mentioned here a lot) came over to cook lunch for our restaurant family. A week before, he brought in huge brick of ribeye from Fowles. The thing was legit 4 inches thick!

 Seasoned with just salt and pepper! Should've done a size comparison to my fist (which would be dwarfed by this monster). This thing could fill 2/3 of that saucepan on the right in terms of height

 The ribeye, I thought it couldn't be med-rare. Half of it is going to be too well-done and tough. But he did it! Grilled first, being careful to not touch it at all aside from turning and shifting when necessary, and finishing it in the pan w/ oil (we didn't have butter). With the fond, he made gravy and brightened it up w/ a dash of fresh lemon juice. Finishing it with a layer of pepper jelly, it was hands down the best steak I had ever had in my life.

This week he made watermelon-octopus salad with feta and lemon vinaigrette, sausage and brussel sprout pasta, and roasted then fried chicken wings

No, I don't know the exact recipes for these guys and can't post them, but I'll say that I remember thinking, "What...that's it? Where are all the other seasonings‽". But because he understands food and techniques, he really brought out the personality of each ingredient so damn well. And he told me, "It's not about shocking the tasters with strong flavor that disappears right away. You want it to be subtle, and linger, so they want to take another bite, and another to explore the tastes and textures." It becomes an experience.

I'm more sure now that I'm on the right track, and can't wait to get back in the kitchen tomorrow!