February
20, 2011
We
are just getting our feet beneath us from the Oyster Bar Expansion;
an amazing process. Chef & I so enjoyed the creative and complex
world of construction, and let me tell you, we gained a lot of
respect for the trades, noted their hierarchy and watched them
put together this amazing space. We are so fortunate. And, Chef
Klein now has a real kitchen to work in.
Speaking
of which - there are a lot of requests
for our new Chef's Table cropping up. We have a waiting list going
for when we open it up for reservations. Chef wanted some time
in his new diggs and to become acclimated to a restaurant that
is now 1/3+ larger than we had before. We'll keep you posted on
updates for the Chef's Table (a great space we put some thought
into for a real-time true-voyeur experience. Guests will be mere
feet from the line and can watch all the action as Chef personalizes
tasting menus and talks food with our guests, all while Nicolas
pours the wine and pairs it with the courses.
Chef
Klein was just notified of his status
as a semi-finalist for the James Beard Foundation! Such a
huge compliment. And, such good company. It will be some tough
competition, and rarely does a first time nominee make it to the
finals, but we're not taking that to heart - to win you've got
to be all heart. And, one of these days if Russell makes the finalists,
it would be a pretty sweet homecoming for him to New York.
We
have had a pretty amazing run lately - Thank you ... Thank
you... Thank you... to all of you who voted in MSP Magazine
for their "Best of" edition - we are truly humbled.
If you don't know already; we were placed as the Top 3 Restaurants
for the following; Service, Special Occasion, named on the Best
Restaurants in Saint Paul, Chef Klein was announced as one of
three for "Chef of the Year", and we took 1st place
for French. Like I said... Thank you!
One
final thing for this post - I'm gonna have to keep up now that
the dust is settling -
Heavy Table did this really cool piece on our oyster program
and oysters generally, if you missed it we want to be sure to
share as it was really well written. And, if you haven't already,
check out our Oyster Hunt 2011, as
we travel the coasts and beyond to directly source our oysters
and learn. Watch for upcoming announcements for two new adventures
for us: