YES - We’re open tonight.  The very talented and good looking Chef Ben (you know how he got that way?) will be doing that voodoo that he do at the stove tonight. So don’t be bashful.  Come join us.  Remember - we’re still on corkage holiday - byob for free!.   Oh, and do listen for us next week as we begin underwriting on KUT and KMFA.   We’re about to get a lot busier, and you know you’ll want to be able to say that you were a regular before we had our own show on the food network and started holding the corner table for Mick Jagger because he happened to be in town and that kind of thing.

Bon Appetite (repeat after me using a very FRONSH accent - Buuhn, Ah pu teeee.)

Murph

PS - Speaking of saving tables - super kudos to frequent diner Andy Roddick for taking it to Andy Murray this morning and advancing to a finals match against Roger Federer this weekend.  Andy - we’re routing for you man.  This morning was huge!

Wow,

I wrote an email yesterday - nothing too exciting - just a quick note to let you know that we will be open Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings of this forth of July weekend - but likely closed on Saturday the 4th.  However, as this email seems never to have left my computer, I tried again today.  For those of you that may not have gotten it - here you have it - plus corrections from my fabulous editorial staff per the comment section below.

First - the produce this week looks great - I’ve been shopping like crazy .  Oh shoot - that was Ben that did the shopping - oh well - I looked great shopping, don’t you think?

Anyway - we’re still getting lots of beautiful tomatoes along with the beginning of the eggplant.  And in deference to the many requests we’ve had for vegetarian items, we will be serving….  Oops.  Wrong shot again - I just can’t seem to get the hang of this photo thing.  What I meant to say was that in deference to the many requests we’ve had for vegetarian items, (and the begining of the eggplant) we will be serving a ratatouille with Ben’s delicious fresh corn polenta.

As for the photo above - let’s see.  I meant to tell you that we are working on a burger.  We really love burgers, and we are going to try our hand at making a really good one.  We’re making a brioche bun and Ben plans to make homemade pickles and chips.

Finally, we our current plan is to be closed on Saturday evening as we assume most folks will be making other plans.  That said, we have had a couple of emails asking about Saturday reservations, so if you’d like to come eat on Saturday before you head out to see fireworks, let us know asap.  If we get enough reservations, we’ll, we’ll go ahead and stay open on Saturday night.

Look forward to hearing from you,

Murph

PS - many of you have written to comment about Ben’s hair - specifically my contention that he had “Flock of Seagulls” hair.  Some of you have even gone so far as to challenge my veracity.  So, in the spirit of full disclosure (hey, if it works for Mark Sanford, why not me) voila:

Just a quick note that we will be open tonight, tomorrow and Friday evenings - the produce looks great this week, and we are looking at trying a couple of things that are a bit more casual for Thursday and Friday evenings - in particular, fish tacos, and a burger - both of which we’ve been very excited to work on. We plan to be closed on Saturday evening as we assume most folks will be making other plans.

That said, we have had a couple of emails asking about Saturday reservations, so if there is adequate interest, we certainly could be open.  If you’d like to come eat Saturday, please let me know asap.  If we get enough reservations by say, Thursday evening, we’ll go ahead and cook on Saturday night.

Look forward to hearing from you,

Murph Willcott

Well Friends,

Check it out - our new website is up, and I feel very powerful.  I mean - I can say whatever i want on here.  Amazing - they put people in jail for stuff like this in some countries.

Anyhow - as you may have already noticed, our site features wordy bios (sorry - that’s how I write’m) for the company, Ben, and me.  It also has a short (for me) history of the company, and an extended explanation of what interests us about our new adventures in restaurant world.  I’d go look at it now if I was you - it’s really easy to update, and if you wait, you’re liable to miss the embarrassing stuff my family will make me take out later, plus I’ll fix at least some of the more obvious editing mishaps, thus eliminating a opportunities for you to make fun of me.  (You guys know I made it through law school right?)

Anyway, I’m still trying to learn how to use all of the new site’s clever little features - like importing embarrassing pictures of Ben with “Flock of Seagulls” hair from 1987 - or transferring the 45 rpm records of his band, The Larry’s, (sitting in my office for some reason) into digital form so we can all enjoy their big hit, twistin’ by the ‘fridge’.  In fact, the more I think about it, the more excited I am about the wide range of things I might post (say if any of my family members weren’t as nice to me as I would prefer) now that I have control of the web editing process - very fun.

On a more serious note - thanks very much to Leslie Williams (www.williams-design.com) for her wonderful design work, Brian Birzer (www.birzerphoto.com) for photography, and Adam Holzband for engineering work.  We really appreciate it, you guys.  I promise to leave you alone for at least a couple of days.

TONIGHT’S MENU

On a less serious note - let’s discuss the menu.  Stephanie made a squash/mascarpone tart that we served with the fish last night.  Everyone said they liked it a lot even though squash was part of it.  And in deference to the heat, we’ve added a couple of new salads and a light vegetarian pasta.

One of the new salads features chick peas (or chic peas as once I mistakenly printed on the menu) with tomato, ricotta salata, and purslane.  The other involves slices of heirloom tomato - are their peak right now - with a side of amaranth greens and lambs quarters (that’s a lettuce, not the animal that goes baaahhh…).

The new pasta also features tons of heirloom tomatoes - at their peak this week, and soon to die off in the heat - along with extra virgin olive oil, garlic and loads of fresh herbs.  (MBB just emailed and said this  - “Just wanted you to know that the pasta with tomatoes last night was probably the best pasta dish I’ve ever had!  Perfect!  And the peach tart was superb!”)

Anyway, Ben bought more tomatoes at Boggy Creek this morning (Michelle - we’re saving some for you) .  Right now these tomatoes are serious better than sex - well, may not better than that one time when…  Oh never mind.  Seriously, we’ve got about one more week where they will be this good, so don’t miss out.  Come join us tonight.

Bon Appetite,

Murph

Hall Sheriff is back from New York City and perhaps he will rejoin us this weekend.  Apparently he was laid over in some exciting city out there in the middle and was not super jazzed about it.

Moving on.  Oh yes, about this week’s  dinner menu.  Ben reports that on his Wednesday morning shopping expedition to Boggy Creek Farm he encountered the largest crowd he’s ever seen there.  Luckily, we are in peak season for just about all local produce - and he got there early (wow, did I just modify my brother with the adjective signifying arival at destination prior to the expectated time???).  I’m sorry - yes, food.  He purchased 7 different varieties of heirloom tomatoes - I’ve been banished from the prep area because I keep eating them - and he’s making a summer gazpacho to go with the lovely August (er… I mean June) weather we’re having.  We plan to marinate whatever tomatoes we have left with extra virgin olive oil and decorate every plate we send out with them (just about).   He also picked up all manner of haricot verts, baby yellow beans, baby chard, sweet onions, freshly dug new potatoes, and figs, alongs with several varieties of squashes and peppers.

So, while the menu is going to stay pretty consistent, we’re going to change up the sides and mix and match the bounty that is coming in during this all too brief window before we are reduced to peppers, squash, ochra and lest I forget, eggplant.  We do plan to introduce a new ravioli - this week’s ravioli will be stuffed with a puree of squash, basil and homemade ricotta.  Finally - I’ve got calls out for sardines and we’re waiting to hear about squash blossoms and some early summer corn (Ben is looking forward to trying a corn bread pudding.)

In closing, I needed to thank a couple of folks for their contributions to our little evening enterprise.  Cindy Keever at Centex was incredibly kind to send over several cases of beer for our Wednesday family happy hour, and I’m very late in thanking her.  Cindy - it’s hot out there and I can’t tell you how much we’ve appreciated the largess of your contribution - thanks very much.  Also - thanks very much to Kara, Austin, and everyone who joined us last Saturday for our cabaret night.  Kara was in fine voice and I think I speak for everyone here in expressing how much we enjoyed the event.

Hope to see you all this weekend - Bon Appetite,

Murph