8 Layer Cakes

Morning!  Er, almost afternoon!  Yesterday was my first long day and let’s just say it’s been a little slow going this morning.  Even though my mind thinks I am 25, my body is feeling otherwise!  Although in the whole grand scheme of things, it’s all good.  I bought a pair of Dr. Scholl gym shoes and my feet felt fine even after being on my feet for ten hours yesterday.

First off, THANK YOU for all your wonderful comments, emails, texts about my recipe contest win!  I haven’t even been on any social media since yesterday morning, but I plan to catch up with you all tomorrow while Tony watches his beloved football.  Hugs!

My food was a bit different yesterday.  No real pics actually – I left my good camera at home and my iPhone didn’t charge the night before.  I had to pick up coffee creamer for the office, so I picked up a cranberry nut muffin and some string cheese.  I ended up eating half of the muffin because it was as big as my face, and had two pieces of string cheese.  I meant to bring Tony’s pasta fagioli for lunch, but completely forgot it.  I had to be at the restaurant at 1:00 to set up for the dinner service.  I know that I would be getting something for dinner, so I ended up eating two soft beef tacos from Taco Bell on my drive to work.

I’d have to describe my first day at the restaurant as  . . . chaotic.  Not in a bad way, but typically if I start at a new restaurant that is already in business, I shadow a server for a night, get the lay of the land and off I go.  But this was totally new to everyone.  We didn’t even get the condensed menu we were serving last night until about an hour before we opened. 

Here’s the deal about a soft opening of a restaurant.  Typically the first night is invited guests – mostly family and friends and it’s a way to let the kitchen operate without people complaining about wait times.  The only cost to the patron is alcoholic beverages and desserts – each person got an appetizer, chopped salad and an entrée for free.

Here is the bar area:

Here is the actual bar – its really nice.

The computer system was completely new to me, but luckily I only had a  three table station to start out with.  Only one slight problem – all three of my tables were sat within minutes of each other.  But, like I thought, my server experience kicked in and all was well.  The only problem was that the kitchen was completely backed up – and at one point, one of the servers said “I’d just fire everything for your table at once so it gets in line.”  Bad advice.  Some of my tables got salads before apps, others got entrees before appetizers.  But realizing that there were going to be hiccups, everyone was fine with it and most importantly, everyone loved the food.  Although one table waited nearly an hour and twenty minutes for their entrees – luckily they were friends that hadn’t seen each other for a while so they didn’t mind the wait at all.

So the GM is known for his 8 layer cakes.  Holy shizz.  An 8 layer carrot cake, an 8 layer canoli cake, an 8 layer chocolate cake and . . . an 8 layer Oreo cookie cake.

One slice of each layer cake costs $14, but it’s big enough for 4 people.  I think my blood sugar spikes just looking at that cake!  And I liked this bottle of wine someone gave the GM – love Julia Child’s quote!

My shift was supposed to be until 9:00, but with the kitchen backup, tipping out the servers, and the drive home, I didn’t get home until 11:45.  So I have no expectation of when I’ll get home tonight.  We have a paying party of 60 people in the private dining room, and actual reservations tonight, even though it’s still a soft opening.   Hopefully the kitchen will be a bit more efficient tonight and I will only fire my other courses after they have been served the one before.  Lesson learned!

Tony made me another of his wonderful breakfasts – a potato crusted egg dish that he made in our six inch cast iron skillet.  The crust was amazing, the eggs are always so fucking fluffy – I have watched him do it hundreds of times, but I can never replicate his eggs.

Look at the crispy crust!   After tonight I don’t have to work at the restaurant until Thursday.  It will be nice to be home with Tony after being at the restaurant for the last six nights, and I look forward to getting Bizzy in my Kitchen.  Tony bought a whole chicken yesterday at the store.  I am brining it overnight like I did our Thanksgiving turkey and plan to roast it tomorrow night for Sunday dinner, using the same mayo herb rub over the top.  I don’t know why I’ve never thought to brine a chicken before!

Look forward to catching up with you guys tomorrow – have a great Saturday!