Penny Profiler #11

Sue Stronk.  Sue is my mom’s sister’s husband’s sister.  I don’t get to see her as often as I would like and when we do, something good is brewing with the family, usually centered around the dining room table.

 

Her laugh and warmth fills a room.  The impressive home she’s created is a lovely extension of her personality. Her adoration of golden retrievers, the warm sun and her garden make me happy. 

My earliest memories date back to when kids actually went door to door selling things.  My merchandise ranged from candy bars, Christmas wrapping paper, canned food drive, etc.  Sue always hooked me up and single handedly helped increase my sales by a large margin.  Her recent penny donation gives me nostalgic flash backs to yesteryear even though I’m not trying to make a sales quota or compete with my classmates for the most raised this go around.  This penny collection mission is far more personal.  Heartfelt thank you Aunt Sue.

Penny Profiler #10

Katherine and Jeffrey Bergman.  Katherine (aka Kathy Reinys) grew up about 15 feet away from me.  Neighbor to the south with two other siblings and lovely parents in the aforementioned Newport Woods.  We were far enough apart in age as kids that we didn’t spend much time together.  We are close enough now to have wonderful life parallels and things in common.

Our social lives have collided with our mutual interests in great food and beverages.  Katherine and her husband Jeffrey are two of the most gracious hosts I’ve ever met.   Their pups Max & Lola did their part too (their enthusiasm was such I couldn’t even snap a shot without them wiggling).  On a recent dining adventure and storytelling evening we burst at the seams both from the A-M-A-Z-I-N-G food coming out of their kitchen, to the stories they have from their travels.  Look out Jane and Michael Stern!  Katherine and Jeffrey are the West Coast versions and I could listen to their stories all night long.  Delighted to reconnect as adults. 

Penny Profiler #9

Kevin Kato.  I grew up in what is now called Newcastle.  Back in the day it was unincorporated King County.  Back then an inordinate part of the area was undeveloped and it was a great place to be a kid.  My neighborhood specifically, Newport Woods, had gaggles of kids fairly close in age, growing up together.  Kevin and his family lived eight houses away.  My first memories of Kevin date back to Kindergarten and we’re still close today. Separated by only eight houses, there are many memories of childhood antics, turned teenage, then collegiate, and now adult are a loving testament to our friendship.  There are countless stories I’d love to tell you about Kevin, some of which would thoroughly embarrass my dear friend.  I’ll just give him a virtual “wink, wink, nudge, nudge” on this one.  He did contribute pennies after all.  

Penny Profiler #8

Anne Nisbet, her husband Mark Cooley and their adorable, hunk of a pup Wilson. 

Anne and I met when I debuted at the Wine Commission way back in 1997.  Anne is an event planner/facilitator extraordinaire.  She is the Culinary Director to IPNC (International Pinot Noir Celebration: http://www.ipnc.org/) and owner of the Cookie Box (http://www.cookieboxseattle.com/).  She knows how to juggle a lot, and well!  Her background is impressive to say the least and I’ve appreciated being witness to her professional trail blazing.  Mark and Wilson are the two men in her life that while I don’t know very well, I adore.  On a recent field trip to their home to collect their generous penny collection, Mark had his beautiful homemade cheeses ripening on various counters.  I would turn into a wheel of cheese if I had that kind of gourmet distraction within reach.  I hope Malcolm isn’t reading this, but I must proclaim my crush on Wilson.  Big time.  Wilson is 160 lbs. of drooling, mush face, love.  I know he didn’t have anything to do with their lovely penny donation but he’s so cute I had to give him a shout out.

Lessons from the Floor

I have been mostly working lunches at Taste these days during the Gauguin exhibit.  To be expected, I’ve overheard a few stories and been a part of a few memorable ones.  So far some of the things that will stick with me from these walls include:

Table 31.  A two top, one elderly woman and man.  They paid separately and she stayed a little longer than he did.  As I was checking back on her to refill her coffee she inquired if I was single or dating or married.  I let her know that I was single and taking applications. She told me the man she was with is her ex and what a pain the ass he is.  She encouraged me to take my time and really know what I was getting into.  I thanked her for the advice, it certainly made me smile.

Table 32.  Three generations of women sit down in my section and the hostess has already rolled her eyes at their commentary as she seats them and gives me a “good luck” as I approach.  I try to ignore those comments and form my own thoughts.  Seated is the granddaughter, her mother (I come to find out is born and raised in NYC) and her mother born in Ireland.  They fussed over trying to understand the menu and picking out something they might enjoy.  They weren’t mean, maybe a touch snarky but pretty funny and certainly direct.  I just kept my cool, smiling and explaining the menu and coming back to check on them.  They liked me.  I liked them.  The daughter explained that despite her mother’s tough exterior, she’s a softy at heart.  We joked, the grandmother told me a few stories and her daughter often interrupted.  The granddaughter looked on with mild curiosity.  In the end, the daughter expressed that she just wished people were okay being direct, happy, sad, pissed off, whatever they needed to be and that others wouldn’t be so caught up in it.  Everything passes she says and if people weren’t so worried about having to be “this or that”, I think we’d all get along just fine.  I can’t argue.  I happen to like knowing where I stand with people, where ever that might be.

My time is limited in this restaurant due to the show wrapping up at the end of April and I’m looking for the next learning opportunity.  I am thinking of another restaurant or a beer focus, any ideas?

Penny Profiler #7

Elizabeth Galla.  The Tasting Room was an amazing vessel for meeting incredible people. I can point to a handful of you that came directly or by association.  Elizabeth is one of them who I happen to call one of my closest friends.  We’ve laughed over countless things and shed a few tears together.  She is funny as hell and one of the most capable and humble human beings I’ve ever met. 

Much to the chagrin of her Seattle fan base, she moved to Arizona for “the winter” or longer.  On a Seattle visit not too long ago she infused a few dozen pennies into the collection and the first real monetary investment of my business. 

These few little paragraphs could never summarize my appreciation.  Thank you for the pennies and believing in me Elizabeth, with or without signing on the dotted line.

Construction Speak

I am in the process of interviewing contractors right now, assembling my dream team for erecting my first bar.  Contractors or builders come in all shapes and sizes, literally and figuratively.  Normally I wouldn’t endorse a triangulated relationship but as one builder fondly referred to it as a three-legged stool, and this makes perfect sense.

In one corner we have Jen Doak (that’s me), the one with only a few absolutes in this design process.  There are several ideas and “feelings” in my head/heart that I anxiously await to bounce off the professionals. 

In another corner is the architect Shed Built (www.shedbuilt.com) and lastly the builder (unknown at this point). 

There is a new vocabulary to learn, spreadsheets to analyze, and questions to ask.  Here are the questions I have so far:

·         Are you licensed?

·         Do you carry general liability insurance?

·         Do you have workers comp insurance?

·         Do you guarantee your work?

·         Will you provide me with written lien waivers?

·         Will you be in charge once the project starts?

·         Do you pull all the required bldg permits?

·         What professional organizations are you a member of?

·         Request references from several suppliers 

·         Request references from several subs 

·         Have a detailed conversation on how billing & verification of invoices, hours, etc. will be worked

·         How will you perform quality checks, re-do's (get this in writing)

·         Make sure I am the one who picks out the materials. Let them know I want to be very involved in picking out hardware and paint and flooring and everything else. 

·         Make sure they won’t be taking any vacations mid-job 

·         What type of deposit do you require?

·         How do you stay on schedule or to a specific timeline?

I am excited and nervous for this component.  It will complete the design team and I know how important it is.  Not to mention, it makes this dream more of a reality.  I bet the food and drinks will taste better when I’m not just thinking about them but seeing them and experiencing in a real space, with real smells, and real people.

Viva la Daiquiri

Rum is quickly becoming my little darling.  I hope we see a resurrection for this classic drink. 

2 ounces Light Rum
1 ounce fresh lime juice
½ tsp. simple syrup

Put some Cuban music on and shake like you mean it.  Strain into a cocktail glass & garnish with a lime.

Like any good story there is controversy over the details of origin on this drink.  History and the dictionary point to lemon being the citrus of choice.  Blasphemy! 

The record states an American gets credit for this but I’m guessing the same people declared Columbus discovered America.  In any case history states that an American engineer by the name of Jennings Cox went to the little island off Cuba to work in the iron mines with his fellow comrades.  It was created after Mr. Coxs’ beverage of choice - gin - diminished and rum was added in its place. 

Regrettably, the Daiquiri’s reputation and good name have suffered since the emergence of happy hour Slurpee’s across the U.S. (no offense Elizabeth).  The true, more subtle frozen version was invented at the La Florida in Havana, allegedly inspired by Ernest Hemingway.  There is a place for in my heart and tastebuds for both versions.  

1875 Madeira

Seriously.  1875 Madeira.  18-freakin-75.  Now this is bar research I can really wrap my head around.  I have a dear friend Stewart Todd who is a Port/Sherry/Madeira geek, and that is putting it lightly.  Stewart is a contributor to the beloved website www.fortheloveofport.com  and that is just a hobby.  One that he happens to be really good at.  Recently he and his lovely wife Jody invited me over for dinner and towards the end of the night as we were sitting around, Stewart poured me a mystery taste.  The acidity and wonderful aroma jumped out of the glass and wrapped itself around me like a hug.  I am not skilled in the department of estimating wine age but I promise you, that even the best of them would not have ever accurately guessed.  If I hadn’t known better, Stewart might have swapped out what was inside with something brand new.  This Madeira was 137 years old and tasted amazing.  I’m not sure when/if I’ll get another opportunity to taste something like that.  Clearly I need to stay in the good graces of the Todd's.  He is of course is trying his best to convince me to have something like that behind the bar to have available for other eno-nerds.  We’ll just have to see about that.

Penny Profiler #6

Kathleen & Brian Kemly via their dog Luna.  Their pup deserves the credit on this one.  If it weren’t for her, we might never have met. Neighbors can be a delightful experience, especially those with outgoing and charismatic personalities, not to mention chickens in their backyard with fresh eggs!   We’ve been known to float a river together, take hikes, drink vino, and picnic in the backyard.  Kathleen is an amazing visual artist that has a business illustrating children’s books (www.kathleenkemly.com) and Brian is a talented electrician whose fleet can be spotted in and around the greater metro area (www.kemlyelectric.com).  I’m not sure if its part of the job description, but Brian is one of the best dirty joke tellers ever.  Kathleen is likely shuttering at the thought of me posting this but coming from someone who can barely remember them to tell, Brian recites them as though it’s a performance with perfect pitch and captivating authority.  All joking aside, I look forward to many more shared memories.  As neighbors and friends, my life is fuller with them a part of it.  Thanks for the sweet jar of Lincoln heads!