Marla's Blog

Cocktail Menus

We've been working on a new fall cocktail menu.  I remember when I didn't have to bother with these things, but when I  introduced our first list about 2 years ago, our liquor sales went up by 30%.

So each day, my manager and I have been making and drinking cocktails.  Lots and lots of cocktails.  It sounds like fun until you are trying to differentiate between 2 and 2 1/4 oz of pomegranate liquor and fiddling with different amounts of cointreau.  We scribble out one measurement and replace it with increasingly illegible notations.  If this were food, we'd just be getting fat, but now we're getting loaded. 

One time I did this, I go so blitzed I had to ask my husband to come pick me up from work.  Now we just start around 1:00 pm so we get drunk, struggle through the afternoon and sober up in time for service.   It really is work.

It took us over two weeks.  But we're done!

Flowers anyone?

My manager wants to suggest the following when having flowers delivered to a restaurant:

• A tall arrangement is fine if it's the last celebration before your divorce, but otherwise you will not be able to see your loved one over the flowers.  It will take up too much space on an intimate table for two and looks kind of funny.  She suggests letting the florist know that it's for a dinner table.  We've seem some beautiful arrangements come in the door.
• We use Foxgloves and Ivy on St Charles Avenue in the Highlands.  Their number is 404-892-7272.
• Avoid the Stargazer Lily unless it's your favorite.  The scent is deadly in a restaurant and will have other patrons complaining and asking to move away from your table.

An Afternoon in the Country

Last Sunday I joined many other chefs and participated in Les Dames d'Escoffier's annual fund raiser out at Serenbe in Palmetto, Georgia.  I prepared Duck Confit Hash with Dried Cherries.  These fund raisers are a lot of work but good for the soul.  My daughter came to help and I also enlisted Kelly Kline, who was my chef de cuisine for 7 1/2 years.   She is currently a stay at home mom and I think she enjoyed getting out as much as I enjoyed having her with me again.

Wow....time flies

Business has been very good.  Several parties have happened, the wine tastings have been sell outs and the weekends are jammed. 

Repairs have settled down to routine now.  We have found a great oven repair guy and a new refrigerator man who both did a great job.  A couple of my guys (who are terrific painters) and I painted the kitchen. 

The Point of Sale system has smoothed out.  I did have to call a head honcho in Boston and suggest they pull the system out of my shop before they sent someone down to fix the last few things.

Somehow I managed to get sick again.  Sick enough that I missed a lot of work and even blogging time.  Stress will wreck havoc on your immune system I guess.  But I've had a nice rest.  Ginny, my manager would not let me come to work for several days.  She even came by my house Sunday night very late and taped an envelope to my kitchen door.  Inside were the time cards and papers for payroll.  On the outside was a note to not go into work.  She knows I would have stopped by the restaurant to pick up the payroll info and end up spending the day.