Austrian Specialties

I got word this week that an order I placed a while back for some specialties from Austria is almost here. I'm pleased that we're going to have back the Kracher wine gelees and trockenbeerenauslese (TBA) vinegar along with some new vinegars from Staud's.

The TBA vinegar is made from ripe grapes that have shriveled on the vine, which in turn create a sweet, concentrated and complex flavor. Marc-Andre Choquette bought the last remaining cases a while back, so we're happy that this item is going to be back in stock.

The wine gelees will include beerenauslese, eiswein, chardonnay, gewurztraminer and red wine. They are excellent with cheese and pates. You can find Kracher's award winning wines for sale at Marquis Wine Cellars.

Lastly, from Golles we're getting an assortment of their fine vinegars including Pear, Quince, Beer, Tomato, Veltiner, and Apple. We also expect some of their quince jelly.

Expect these items on our shelves sometime in September.

Hastings update

Since the last update, our previous plans for the entrance way got the kaibosh. Luckily John had a plan B ready to go in his back pocket. In retrospect, we all prefer it to the previous design. It's more open and inviting. This ramp means less concrete work, and the front facade has minimal changes to it with this plan. The large windows remain, which we all like.

The planning process is now coming to an end. All drawings are done, with one final kitchen ventilation drawing to be stamped. That took a little longer than expected, but it also gave us some time to line up some trades and get additional quotes. Now we're waiting on a final stamp from the mechanical engineer, after at which point we will submit all of the plans to the city, and then wait for approval.

The last little bit of demolition has been going on, and we've been able to salvage some odds and ends that will come in handy. Next up is the security upgrades, concrete coring, concrete pouring and then roofing.

To catch a thief

The VPD caught a person in the act of trying to break into hastings on Sunday. Do not pass go, go directly to jail! I wonder if this is the same person who broke in before? Good job VPD

Hastings update

Another break in this am...these guys are determined, yet there is nothing to steal.

Final review of the plans this week. There are only a few things to fine tune like hot water tanks, plumbing lines and some minor electrical items. It looks really good. While we wait for the final kitchen exhaust drawings, we can start with security upgrades and the last little bit of demolition.

Scuplinfish (our designer) has come up with a brilliant alternative for accessibility at the front of the store. The design allows for a wheelchair ramp, which also makes it easier for persons with baby buggies to enter. The other alternative was a small electric lift on the side, but I think this will look much nicer. The center of the ramp area looks like a planter, but over the long term, it will have a thick glass window that allows for a view straight down into the cheese caves.

Hastings Update

The climb is slow but steady with all of the engineers and technical design folk. I'm glad someone made us think about the fact that we don't want our kitchen exhaust blowing into the air intake. So just where exactly does one find out which way the winds blow? I found out that the government of Canada has a 1-800 number you can call at $2.99 per minute for all your weather needs. Weather operators were waiting with the answers. Sexy...

We're basically trying to get all of our ducks in a row before we start any work. We've sorted out quite a bit of stuff. During the process we had to flip the design so to speak, meaning the kitchen is now on the east side, and the store is on the west side.

We took a brief trip last week to NYC to check out the Fancy Food Show, and also to have a look at wine bars. Why would we want to do that you might be asking yourself. Well...we wanted to be sure about what we were doing before we committed to opening our own cheese and wine bar at Hastings. 20 restaurants and 4 days later and we were convinced. It will take some time before it is open, but sometime in 2009 you can look forward to Au Petit Chavignol.

Rabbit Confit

I took a break from making pate this week. Last week I picked up a new electric meat grinder. That cut down on a substantial amount of time. It also helped with the overall texture.

Allison made some rabbit confit at home today. The plan is to either add it to the list of entrees, or to transform it into Rabbit Rillettes. Maybe both?...

Trou de Cru

Trou de Cru has a name that sounds a lot like "Trou de Cul", which is french for a certain part of the rear anatomy. Perhaps it is a play on words. This tiny 60 gram cheese comes to us from Burgundy, and is brushed with marc de bourgogne. Essentially this smelly cheese is a baby epoisses.