APRIL 2009 ARCHIVES
This week's email
Tuesday, April 7, 2009 by Ben
Hey everyone. Have you been enjoying the sun, or what? I had forgotten how good it felt to throw on a pair of shorts and some slippers and hit the streets. Of course, now it's cold and gusting outside - but I enjoyed it while it lasted. It's a good reminder of what is to come. Yay, Spring!
Speaking of Spring, Easter is this Sunday. What better way to celebrate the holiday than at Simpatica Brunch? People usually get scared away from us on Easter, figuring we're totally buried, but that's generally not the case. Come see for yourselves. No promises, though. Also, be sure to take advantage of those Saturday brunches while you still can - they may only go until the end of this month!
By the way, you have all been very patient regarding information about our new restaurant, and I really appreciate that. In only a few short weeks I will divulge all of our information about it - the name, location, concept - everything - heck, maybe I'll even tell you when we're opening (once we figure that out for ourselves...). I will say this - I am crazy excited about everything that's been happening over there - we finished painting the exterior of the building today and we are painting the interior over the next few days. It's really coming together and I can't wait to share everything with all of you.
But on to the meat of the matter - this weekend's menus. Simpatica Dining Hall is full steam ahead under the watchful eyes of Scott Ketterman, and we couldn't be happier. Come see what Scott's got up his sleeves - you won't be disappointed. Check out this weekend's menus, they are no joke. On Friday night, Scott manages to capture the current bounty beautifully, featuring nettles, Oregon black cod, and upland cress. And on Saturday night, just to get the Easter holiday started, nothing says "Hi, Spring!" better than a nice lamb leg. Right? Oh, I'm right.
Friday, April 10th
Calamari a la Plancha with Rouille and Baguette
Nettle Soup with Creme Fraiche
Cedar Plank Roasted Black Cod with Grilled New Potatoes, Endive, Olives and Upland Cress
Rhubarb and Vanilla Panna Cotta
Price is $35 perperson plus wine and gratuity. Dinner begins at 7:30 pm. PleaseRSVPor call the kitchen at (503)235-1600 to make reservations.
Saturday, April 11th
Early Morel and Leek Tart with Fromage Blanc
Arugula, House Cured Tuscan Pancetta, Red Wine Vinaigrette and Pecorino Romano
Herb Roasted Leg of Lamb with Gathering Together Farms Spring Kale, Phipp's Heirloom Cannelini Beans and Natural Jus
Warm Rhubarb Strudel with Mascarpone Ice Cream
Price is $35 perperson plus wine and gratuity. Dinner begins at 7pm. PleaseRSVP or call the kitchen at (503)235-1600 to make reservations.
If you find yourselves without any dinner plans late in the day on Fridays or Saturdays, it doesn't hurt to give us a call, we sometimes have some last minute cancellations or spots open up, and we'd love to have you come in and eat with us.
Saturday and Sunday
Brunch
Brunch is served from 9am to 2pm, and no reservations are required. We are now accepting reservations for parties of 8 or more people. To make reservations, call the kitchen at (503)235-1600 or RSVP with your name, party size and the time you would like to come. Your reservation will be confirmed by phone or e-mail.
I hope all of you have a great week. For those of you planning to celebrate Easter, Happy Easter! I'll talk to you folks soon - until then, take care
This week's email
Tuesday, April 14, 2009 by Ben
Howdy! I hope this email finds all of you well. I've got a real short one for you this week - there's just not a whole lot I can talk about. Next week, I'll have a small announcement for you, then the week after I plan on telling you everything there is to know about the new project we've been working on. So be sure to read the email on the 28th for the full run down. For now, we have the food.
Scott Ketterman continues to rock it at the Dining Hall, and this weekend's menus should be a good example of what he brings to the table (all puns intended). Seriously, though, knowing he's got everything under control allows me to sleep at night. Lovely. Here's what's up:
Friday, April 17th
Housemade Mozzarella with Prosciutto, Gathering Together Farms' Arugula and Saba Dressing
Tuscan Kale, Phipp's Heirloom Cannelini Bean and Tomato Soup
Slow Roasted Pork Shoulder with Carrots, Fennel and Creamy Polenta
Pineapple Upside Down Cakewith Ginger Gelato
Price is $35 perperson plus wine and gratuity. Dinner begins at 7:30 pm. PleaseRSVPor call the kitchen at (503)235-1600 to make reservations.
Saturday, April 18th
Frisee and Fingerling Potato Salad withCreamy Lemon-Caper Dressing and Chicken Liver Bruschetta
Tagliatelle Pasta with Sheldon’s Rapini, Chiles, Garlic and Toasted Breadcrumbs
Chicken Cooked in White Wine with Early Morels, Dijon Mustard and Roasted Asparagus
Rhubarb Semifreddo with a Butter Almond Cookie
Price is $35 perperson plus wine and gratuity. Dinner begins at 7pm. PleaseRSVP or call the kitchen at (503)235-1600 to make reservations.
If you find yourselves without any dinner plans late in the day on Fridays or Saturdays, it doesn't hurt to give us a call, we sometimes have some last minute cancellations or spots open up, and we'd love to have you come in and eat with us.
Saturday and Sunday
Brunch
Brunch is served from 9am to 2pm, and no reservations are required. We are now accepting reservations for parties of 8 or more people. To make reservations, call the kitchen at (503)235-1600 or RSVP with your name, party size and the time you would like to come. Your reservation will be confirmed by phone or e-mail.
All that's left to say is, Go Blazers!
This week's email
Tuesday, April 21, 2009 by Ben
Hey! I just got back from the Blazers playoff game against the Houston Rockets (which Portland won, by the way!). And now I'm writing this email; how's that for dedication? You would know how much dedication that was if you could see how much I need to hit the delete key (stupid fingers!). So excuse me if this email isn't as tight as most of them, I'm riding aBlazers high..
First off, I want to mention that we are rapidly running out of Saturday brunches over at Simpatica Dining Hall. Our last Saturday Brunch will be May 2nd. I'm telling you, Saturday is the way - if you want Simpatica Brunch with little to no wait, then Saturday is the answer - until the 2nd. So get your butts in here, before it's too late!
Okay - I want to talk about the dinners this week. For Friday, Scott Ketterman, Dining Hall Chef, has put together a really cool menu. To kick the new sunny season off right, Scott has put together a really fantastic Cuban menu for you -Scott will be busting out the rotisserie and doing up some goods, seriously. I might be there just to eat - no lie. Or I might just show up in the kitchen for the pork scraps and some Tres Leches Cake (one of my favorites - the cake, I mean, but I love pork too!).
And on Saturday, we have a kind of a new face presenting a dinner for you. I would like to take this opportunity to introduce Will Cisa, our new Chef de Cuisine at our new restaurant (which I'll be spilling the beans on next week - pinky swear!). Will Cisa joins us most recently from Urban Farmer - but Will goes way further back than that with us - he's been working for us off and on for a while, now. Hailing from the Southeast, Will brings one of our favorite cuisines to us, and judging from his menu for this coming Saturday, you can see why... I just have to say, Shrimp and Grits? Come on! Preceded by housemade Pimento Cheese? Dang, pulling out all the stops! This should be great - maybe I'll have to come to both dinners.
Anyway, here's the menus. They're fantastic. Like a game of poker - read 'em and weep...
Friday, April 24th
Cuban Fiesta Dinner
Scallop and Shrimp Ceviche with Avocado and Yucca Chips
Your Kitchen Garden Arugula with Grapefruit Segments, Red Onion and Cilantro Vinaigrette
Cuban-Style Spit Roasted Citrus-Glazed Pork with Castro Spice Rub, Phipp's Heirloom Cranberry Beans and Rice and Fried Plantains
Tres Leches Cake
Price is $35 perperson plus wine and gratuity. Dinner begins at 7:30 pm. PleaseRSVPor call the kitchen at (503)235-1600 to make reservations.
Saturday, April 25th
Low Country Dinner
Charleston "Antipasti" with with Housemade Pimento Cheese, Deviled Eggs, Spiced Nuts and My Mom's Cheese Cracker's
Semolina-Fried Oysters with Watercress and Housemade Pancetta
Shrimp and Anson Mills Grits
Pecan Sandies with Butter Pecan Ice Cream
Price is $35 perperson plus wine and gratuity. Dinner begins at 7pm. PleaseRSVP or call the kitchen at (503)235-1600 to make reservations.
If you find yourselves without any dinner plans late in the day on Fridays or Saturdays, it doesn't hurt to give us a call, we sometimes have some last minute cancellations or spots open up, and we'd love to have you come in and eat with us.
Saturday and Sunday
Brunch
Brunch is served from 9am to 2pm, and no reservations are required. We are now accepting reservations for parties of 8 or more people. To make reservations, call the kitchen at (503)235-1600 or RSVP with your name, party size and the time you would like to come. Your reservation will be confirmed by phone or e-mail.
I'm spent - sorry for any typos I didn't catch. Have a great week, everyone - I'll be talking to you next week.
This week's email
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 by Ben
Okay, today is the day many of you have been waiting for. If you didn't see the article in last Friday's Oregonian, the word is out. And the word is... Laurelhurst Market. That's the name of our new restaurant/butcher shop that we'll be opening in a few weeks over on the corner of 32nd and East Burnside. The exact address is 3155 E. Burnside St.
We will have a butcher shop located within, open 7 days a week from 10am to 7pm. The restaurant will be open (as of this writing) Wednesday thru Monday from 5pm to 10pm (that's closed Tuesday...). The butcher shop will have the usual (for us) selection of top notch pates, handmade sausages, natural meats, dry-aged beef, house cured deli meats, etc. Also, we'll be crafting sandwiches for sale during the day at the butcher shop. If you ever had any of the sandwiches we made over at Viande, it'll be like those, with a few additions and variations. If you haven't had any of our sandwiches, then this will be your chance to get one of the finest deli sandwiches available in the city.
At the restaurant, the theme will be... umm... kind of classic steakhouseishwith Pacific Northwesty flair mixed with our own personalities. How's that for a definitive answer? Basically, we love that classic Steak House feel, with things like French Onion Soup and Steak Frites with our own hand-cut fries. But we don't like being just a steakhouse. I mean, don't get me wrong, we've got our own butcher shop in there - there's gonna be some meat. But we'll also really be working closely with our local farmers to display what's fresh and awesome that day - between the salads and the sides there will be a lot of veggies to keep you strong and healthy. Also, we've really built a name for our cedar plank-grilled salmon and black cod, so we'll be grilling our fish to order on a cedar plank just for you. With Dave Kreifels as head chef, and Will Cisa as our Chef de Cuisine, and there's me kickin' it over in the butcher shop, and Jason Owens running the floor, there are really a lot of culinary personalities to choose from. Hopefully we'll be able to come up with a combination that you like. This whole rock, paper, scissors thing better work...
Seriously, though, we're all very very excited to be presenting this project for you. I can't wait to share our new baby with the world. I'm not going to commit to an opening date just yet, but expect to see us in the next few weeks. I'll be sure to give all of you a head's up when the time is right. If you like, check out our new website (it's
very simple) - we'll be throwing updates on there occasionally. The address is
www.laurelhurstmarket.com.
For now, though, and for a long time to come is Simpatica. This wonderful part of our business won't be going anywhere. Under the guidance of "rising star" (to quote The Oregonian...)chef Scott Ketterman, Simpatica will still be one of our most important projects. I will still be doing these emails every Tuesday, dinners will continue to be Friday and Saturday, Brunch on Sundays. Why fix it if it ain't broke?
On that note, let's talk dinners for this weekend. I'm sitting across the table from Scott right now, and it's been fun watching the culinary thoughts start to bubble and percolate up and out of him. He works at his computer, head down, thinking about food, when there's this kind of "Aha!" moment, where he sits up in his chair and gets a big grin on his face saying, "I've got it, I'm really feeling it now!". And then I have the honor of passing his inspiration on to you. It's really a pleasure.
The local farms are finally starting to produce in quantity - our menus are primarily farm-based now, whereas before we could just plug in some things here and there. Nice.
Friday, May 1st
Wood Grilled Prawns with Chick Peas and Mizuna
Gathering Together Farms Leaf Lettuce with Breakfast Radishes and Lemon Vinaigrette
Oil Poached Halibut with Sorrel Sauce and Viridian Farms Asparagus
Warm Rhubarb Crisp with Cinnamon Ice Cream
Price is $35 perperson plus wine and gratuity. Dinner begins at 7:30 pm. PleaseRSVPor call the kitchen at (503)235-1600 to make reservations.
Saturday, April 25th
Cardoon and Potato Soup
Proscuitto-Wrapped Belgian Endive Gratineed with Gruyere Mornay
Grilled Piedmontese Flat Iron with Seared Asparagus and Broken Potatoes
Chocolate Souffle Cake with Hazelnut Ice Cream
Price is $35 perperson plus wine and gratuity. Dinner begins at 7pm. PleaseRSVP or call the kitchen at (503)235-1600 to make reservations.
If you find yourselves without any dinner plans late in the day on Fridays or Saturdays, it doesn't hurt to give us a call, we sometimes have some last minute cancellations or spots open up, and we'd love to have you come in and eat with us.
Saturday and Sunday
Brunch
Brunch is served from 9am to 2pm, and no reservations are required. We are now accepting reservations for parties of 8 or more people. To make reservations, call the kitchen at (503)235-1600 or RSVP with your name, party size and the time you would like to come. Your reservation will be confirmed by phone or e-mail.
By the way - this will be our last Saturday Brunch! Come and get it!
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