What we’re serving w/ our fish this week – nice colors…

Ok – I know – I need to update the menu for those of you linking from Groupon. So I’ll just say this  – first of all – thanks for taking a look.  Secondly, those things above are the cucumbers that Carol Ann at Boggy Creek calls “chubby blondes”.   We make a mean chilled cucumber soup.   And finally – we’re hoping to introduce some of you who haven’t been in yet, to our bistro dinners that we began serving in August of 2008.  We serve dinner Tues – Sat from 6p-10p.

Our menu features almost exclusively local and sustainable foods, and as I jotted down a few months ago – the big animating ideas go something like this:

We aspire to nourish and sustain and revere every person that walks through our doors to the very best of our ability.  We will do our best to consciously choose each other in our TFB family.  In short we will strive to and craft relationships with each other that are healthy, sustaining and communicative.   And we hope that in this process, we might achieve some clarity, that will – with a little luck – be available to our customers, suppliers and larger community.  We seek to build a business that supports other local folks (and of course us) who are raising plants and animals with love and consciousness.  As we do our best to pass all of that lovely bounty through to you – hopefully adding some art of our own along the way – we strive to do and give our best, using our highest intention and attention.  We look to create and participate in soulfulness, authenticity and love in all of our choices as they relate to our work here.  And we give thanks – each in our own way – in reverence for all that comes to us – for the marvelous plants from our local farmers – and for the generous and wonderful animals who give up their bodies in sacrifice and service to sustain and feed us.

Yes JL, it true – I am he is you are he as you are me and we are all together.  Or as Karl Wallinger once put it – Thank You World. So let’s do this right.

Hi guys – we’ve got a whole big bunch of juicy squash growing in the tfb garden – planted by my nieces, Lucy and Talia.  We’re going to stuff them with goat cheese and do that thing that we do that you love.  Come get them tonight.   See you there.

Hi everyone – just wanted to give you all a heads up that we will be CLOSED ON WEDNESDAY EVENING (5/5/10) so we can host a wedding reception for longtime TFB friends Kim Tills & Lance Hooton – congrats ya’ll. Please join us this evening or later in the week for your fix of fresh from the farm dinner.

best,
murph

ps – Spike Gillespie (who’s name I was sloppy enough to misspell in my latest email blast) has written a terrific tout for us in her on-line Jet Blue column – thanks Spike.

James James
Morrison Morrison
Weatherby George Dupree
Took great
Care of his Mother,
Though he was only three.
James James Said to his Mother,
“Mother,” he said, said he;
“You must never go down
to the end of the town,
if you don’t go down with me.”

James James
Morrison’s Mother
Put on a golden gown.
James James Morrison’s Mother
Drove to the end of the town.
James James Morrison’s Mother
Said to herself, said she:
“I can get right down
to the end of the town
and be back in time for tea.”

King John
Put up a notice,
“LOST or STOLEN or STRAYED!
JAMES JAMES MORRISON’S MOTHER
SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN MISLAID.
LAST SEEN
WANDERING VAGUELY:
QUITE OF HER OWN ACCORD,
SHE TRIED TO GET DOWN
TO THE END OF THE TOWN -
FORTY SHILLINGS REWARD!”

James James
Morrison Morrison
(Commonly known as Jim)
Told his
Other relations
Not to go blaming him.
James James
Said to his Mother,
“Mother,” he said, said he:
“You must never go down to the end of the town
without consulting me.”

James James
Morrison’s mother
Hasn’t been heard of since.
King John said he was sorry,
So did the Queen and Prince.
King John
(Somebody told me)
Said to a man he knew:
If people go down to the end of the town, well,
what can anyone do?

The sun was shining on the sea,
Shining with all his might:
He did his very best to make
The billows smooth and bright—
And this was odd, because it was
The middle of the night.

The moon was shining sulkily,
Because she thought the sun
Had got no business to be there
After the day was done—
“It’s very rude of him,” she said,
“To come and spoil the fun!”

The sea was wet as wet could be,
The sands were dry as dry.
You could not see a cloud, because
No cloud was in the sky:
No birds were flying overhead—
There were no birds to fly

The Walrus and the Carpenter
Were walking close at hand;
They wept like anything to see
Such quantities of sand:
“If this were only cleared away,”
They said, “It would be grand!”

“If seven maids with seven mops
Swept for half a year,
Do you suppose,” the walrus said,
“That they could get it clear?”
“I doubt it,” said the Carpenter,
And shed a bitter tear.

“O, Oysters, come and walk with us!”
The Walrus did beseech.
“A pleasant walk, a pleasant talk,
Along the briny beach:
We cannot do with more than four,
To give a hand to each.”

The eldest Oyster looked at him,
But never a word he said:
The eldest Oyster winked his eye,
And shook his heavy head—
Meaning to say he did not choose
To leave the oyster-bed.

But four young Oysters hurried up,
All eager for the treat:
Their coats were brushed, their faces washed,
Their shoes were clean and neat-
And this was odd, because, you know,
They hadn’t any feet.

Four other Oysters followed them,
And yet another four;
And thick and fast they came at last,
And more, and more, and more-
All hopping through the frothy waves,
And scrambling to the shore.

The Walrus and the Carpenter
Walked on a mile or so,
And then they rested on a rock
Conveniently low:
And all the little Oysters stood
And waited in a row.

“The time has come,” the Walrus said,
“To talk of many things:
Of shoes—and ships—and sealing wax—
Of cabbages—and kings—
And why the sea is boiling hot—
And whether pigs have wings.”

“But wait a bit,” the Oysters cried,
“Before we have our chat;
For some of us are out of breath,
And all of us are fat!”
“No hurry!” said the Carpenter.
They thanked him much for that.

“A loaf of bread,” the Walrus said,
“Is what we chiefly need:
Pepper and vinegar besides
Are very good indeed—
Now if you’re ready, Oysters dear,
We can begin to feed.”

“But not on us!” the Oysters cried,
Turning a little blue,
“After such kindness, that would be
A dismal thing to do!”
“The night is fine,” the Walrus said.
“Do you admire the view?”

“It was so kind of you to come!
And you are very nice!”
The Carpenter said nothing but
“Cut us another slice:
I wish you were not quite so deaf—
I’ve had to ask you twice!”

“It seems a shame,” the Walrus said,
“To play them such a trick,
After we’ve brought them out so far,
And made them trot so quick!”
The Carpenter said nothing but
“The butter’s spread too thick!”

“I weep for you,” the Walrus said:
“I deeply sympathize.”
With sobs and tears he sorted out
Those of the largest size,
Holding his pocket-handkerchief
Before his streaming eyes.

“O Oysters,” said the Carpenter,
“You had a pleasant run!
Shall we be trotting home again?”
But answer came there none—
And this was scarcely odd, because
They’d eaten every one.

This weekend – the beef tenderloin from Bastrop Cattle Co is back – it get’s served with frites and greens – we like it – we’re going to keep it on the menu headed into spring. One caveate – Patti hasn’t been able to supply us with enough – so come in soon if you want it. Once it runs out, we’re opting for a natural product that we buy through Central Market – but the BBC beef is really special.

You know when I think bison, I can’t help but remember time spent in Pawnee TX a number of years ago – my (former in-laws) had a couple of these magnificent animals on their cattle ranch – Buffy and Buffalo Bill. My dog Fender used to play chicken with Bill – he just couldn’t get over that such a creature could exist in a universe that he presumed to RULE over. Anyway – our Thunderheart Bison pot pie (ok it’s really a tart – we even use the same savory tart dough that we use for the rustic apple and cranberry tarts) is on the menu for a couple of more weeks while this cooler weather continues. We feel like we’ve really go it perfected now, and we’re excited about this final version – served with au jus and salad greens.

Likewise – homemade spinach pasta is going with some terrific mixed gulf seafood – shrimp, squid, fish, and maybe some scallops. It’s almost a cioppino, but better, because it’s got pasta too.

A final Dinner Menu will post on this site late this afternoon.

ALSO – and perhaps most importantly – our new faves, the Inheritance Trio, formed by Bruce Salmon (TFB alumn) – will be here this evening to play 20s and 30s era klezmer music and traditional Eastern European jewish folk songs. They are terrific and we’re excited to have them on a Friday – plan on me hitting you up for tips so I can try to keep these terrific musicians coming back for some return engagements in the near future.

Dear Friends,

SUNDAY NIGHT UPDATE
When we first planned Valentine’s Weekend, I assumed that pretty much everyone would want to celebrate the holiday on Saturday evening – Sunday is a school night. So I when Kara and I discussed booking them to sing, Saturday night seemed the logical time. But, I figured I’d send out an email just to check for interest about serving a few dinners on Sunday evening, though I doubted there would be enough response to justify opening. Boy, was I ever off base on that.

We have a few reservations for Saturday, but we’ve been inundated with requests for Sunday evening. Given that this is the case, Kara & Austin have been nice enough to play a second evening. They will sing songs of love, loss, and absurdity – which puts me in mind of the limo driver in Spinal Tap. I believe he said something like – “these kids today…. you know, they haven’t loved and lost like Frank.” If I’m not mistaken, K&A may sing a song or two that Frank used to sing. They’ll start about 7pm and there there will be no cover – it’s our Valentine’s gift to you. (So – that’s 9pm on Saturday, $10, and 7pm on Sunday, no cover.)

MENU
We’ve got a couple of new things on the menu that are cold weather and Valentine’s inspired. First – we do plan to offer a prix fix option. As it stands now, this will include a salad (featuring, if I understand this correctly, mesclun mix, romaine, parsley, mint, and fresh celery leaves), a second course of wild mushrooms with thin sliced parmesan, a main course of that will be a mixed seafood (gulf shrimp, pei mussels, drum, and maybe squid…) pasta dish, and a choice of desserts that will include our butterscotch budino, a warm strawberry shortcake, and a new chocolate mousse tart that we’re working on.

And/or come in tonight and try a couple of new items. Out bison pot pie is a response to Matthew Lee’s request for “shepherds pie” – eating ours last week, he looked rather disappointed and asked where were the peas and why didn’t it have a crust? Uhmm, I don’t know Matthew – and I certainly don’t want to get in the middle of all this, but – Ben Willcott says that’s not shepherds pie at all – if it has peas and a crust, that would be pot pie. I don’t have a dog, er.. pie in this fight, so I’m staying out of it. BW says he hates peas, but he will make ONE pot pie with peas that he is saving for Mr. Lee. The gauntlet is down, Matthew. But I do believe that shepherds pie is the one with the potatoes on top – pot pie has the crust…

Tonight’s menu will post about 5:30pm – the final menu for Valentine’s will post on Saturday afternoon after Ben has a chance to shop the markets.

Come join us,

Murph