February

Wow! February is already upon us and boy am I glad it is!  I hope that we, as a country, manage to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and drag ourselves, kicking and screaming, out of this recession/depression.  I must say that despite the economy, we are getting many requests for private parties, which is SO marvelous I can't even explain. And they are fun, as we get to work closely with people that love us, what a bonus!  Like this Sunday, a couple that is in regularly that are the greatest, nicest people are having a baby shower brunch.  Yum!

A New Year

So it is 2009 and I have to admit that I am excited.  I am looking forward to this year, for a lot of reasons. I am glad that we have this restaurant even though this economy stinks. We still have so many regular customers and marvelous people that come in the door every day, that it really makes me so happy that we can serve them regularly. Really sitting at the bar tonight with a customer that lives right down the street was a great deal of fun. The people that come to our restaurant are really the kindest, most lovely people that I have ever found to frequent a restaurant! Sounds cheesy, I know, but I really believe that.

So thanks to everyone!

New Year

Wow! It's 2009 already and I have to get back to work (at school) on Monday and my break is over and a fresh new year has begun. I look forward to this new year and have great expectations. (As a teacher I have learned that having high expectations earns better results and that is what I am hoping!) I think this next year will bring lots of change, stronger relationships, more love both at home and abroad, and higher sales...hee hee! We wish everyone a wonderful 2009 and hope that we have the opportunity to serve you great food in a place you love.

Thanks,

Liz & Craig

Sun Times Article

I found it!  Here is the link to the article in the Sun Times.  Thanks Pat Bruno :~)

http://www.suntimes.com/restaurants/reviews/1348306,WKP-News-brunoBESTLIST26.article

The caesar

So, I have been busy-tis that time of the year!  We were in the Chicago Sun Times again yesterday!  They had a list of the 12 best things of the year by the dining guide guy Pat Bruno and our caesar salad was in the article as something not to miss! Awesome! Actually what is super cool about it is that the caesar is good, but it is different.  We take a half a head of organic romaine lettuce and slather it with caesar dressing then we throw the half head right on the grill.  This creates some smokey flavor and a bit of caramelization with the dressing. Then we add a bit more dressing and serve it right on a plate. Over the year and a half that we have been open, some people were surprised by the caesar because a caesar is fairly standard wherever you go, so they aren't expecting it to be different. We have gotten better about training our staff to warn them so that the customers know it is different but give it a try because it is so yummy!  The smokiness really lends a lovely flavor layer to the traditional caesar flavors.  Anyway, I wanted to make it so you could read about the article in the Sun Times but I can't find it right now...working on it and will update it when I get it!

Music and the holidays

Yesterday was Friday and it was the 3rd Friday of the month, so we had a band. It was Compass Rose, and they are just so good.  They have fun while they play, they put forth a beautiful sound and they love to perform.  if you can, you should come out the third Friday in December-the 19th. Compass Rose will be playing again from 9-11 and it is such a great time. The audience is appreciative, the wine and beer are tasty and the atmosphere is fun, casual and pleasant. We are going to try to get some more musicians in here, as it is so fabulous, so we'll let you know as we book them!

So the holidays are coming...Thanksgiving is only 5 days away and the end of November is only 8 days away.  Are you ready? I haven't even thought about it! I do think you should come on in and enjoy some great food, wine and company this holiday season. Plus we are doing this fabulous gift certificate promotion where if you buy $100 you get a $25 gift certificate FREE! How cool is that?!?!  Hope your holidays are joyous and bring you peace!

Liz

Yipee!

As you may or may not know, I am a teacher as my full time job and help out at the restaurant in my free time. This past year, in addition to helping out here, I also tried for national certification of teaching, which was a rigorous and sometimes arduous process. Most of the work was done from Dec-june and only yesterday did I get my scores...I passed!  This, right now, is more of a relief than a joy, as I have been rewriting my work, thinking about all the things I could have improved but simply didn't have time to do right...ugh!  But now that is all behind me. BIG SIGH! And I am a NBCT!! That feels pretty good, really.