Chocolate Fantasia

For the first time in eight years--a long story--I will be participating in the Mimbres Regional Arts Council (MRAC) fundraiser called "Chocolate Fantasia." On Saturday February 9th from 11am to 4pm you can go around to various places in Historic Downtown Silver City and for a $20 ticket taste chocolate from various different venues. I will be serving my 'Dark Chocolate-Caramel-Lavender-Fleur de Sel Mousse" made with 60% cocoa solids Belgium chocolates. I hope you help this worthy cause since this event helps fund the Blues Music Festival that occurs each Memorial Day weekend; which our late friend Jason Hammond started.

A Sexy Valentine's Dinner

Online now at the Shevek & Co. Restaurant website is our menu for our Valentine's Aphrodisiac Tasting dinner. We are serving it on Thursday February 14th and Friday February 15th to allow folks the option of avoiding the crowds as well as to have the next day be a weekend after their celebration. You will have a choice of a 4 or 5 course dinner that will include a complimentary toast--choose either sparkling wine (Cava or Lambrusco), beer or nonalcoholic sparkling apple cider. Reservations are highly recommended!

Cooking Classes/Wine Tasting Dinners

The Cooking Class and Wine Tasting Dinner schedules are now online. This year I'm trying something very different--I've, in all but one case, have scheduled a Wine Tasting Dinner and the weekend after a cooking class where I will be teaching each of those dishes. (The one exception will be the cooking class which will be two weekends later due to the scheduling of the SRAM Tour of the Gila Bicycle Race.) Each class will feature dishes I've never taught before. And both the dinners and classes will also introduce new dishes I've never offered at the restaurant.

Dinners will be six courses with the option of matching wines. They will each follow a theme of a country or region of food we do:

Iberian Peninsula--Spain and Portrugual
France
Italy
Greece
Middle East--Turkey, Lebanon, Israel and Egypt
North Africa--Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia

The above list is in no particular order--which will be on the Shevek & Co. Restaurant website under our "Calendar and Special Events page. There is also a link for the Cooking Classes there as well or you can go to The Kiss Method Gourmet website--both links are at the top of the blog.

Long Time No See

I've been busy due to an abbreviated staff during a real bad year in Silver City. Between the recession--which always lasts longer in small towns--the loss of tourism due to the national media talking about, "The largest fire in New Mexico's history," constantly even though it was 100+ miles away, the usual 4 year downtown in retail and restaurant sales starting the July before every presidential election and the terrible holiday season via the national media constantly yelling, "Fiscal cliff!" We are down to our dishwasher Zach, Amberwind and I as the only full time employees and part time Chef Cody--who I share with Diane's Restaurant--and part time waitperson Dan. After six years of having her smiling face and beautiful singing voice we lost Teresa to her preferred  job working at Mis Amigos Kennel--which has inspired her to go back to school to fulfill her dream of becoming a Veterinarian Tech. Scott left us after three years to pursue his dream of building a business of creating websites. We miss them both, though they have each jumped in to help us on holidays when we are too busy for such a small staff.

In other news, we are still working on a plan to be announced soon, both here and on Facebook.

Talking about Facebook--at this point I'm ready to  keep it strictly for the business and ignore my personal site over privacy concerns. If your on Facebook and have a question for me please use the messenger service since it will preclude--at least until they change that as well--the whole world being able to read our exchanges. Anyone want to tell me if Google+ is any better on privacy? I've been reluctant to join since it could also turn out to be as bad as Facebook is.

Wishing all a Happy, Healthy and more Prosperous New Year.

Restaurant Owners Beware!

AVOID US Foods New Mexico, especially those out of the El Paso office- particularly the rep named Jeremy Wolff- my whole experience has been my being ripped off! Call the restaurant for details.

Special Event Planning

Today we put together the menu for our "Oktoberfest in August" on Friday the 31st. Most people don't seem to know the the Germans' actually celebrate it in September so we'll be a day early this year.

We also scheduled a North African Tasting Dinner featuring wines from the Mediterranean region to match each dish. This will be on September 21st instead of our usual last Friday in the month since we will be closed that week to have water damage in the bathroom and the alcove outside it repaired. We are hoping the contractors succeed in their one week estimate to complete the job.

Finally, we will be posting for those who like us on Facebook only a special event on the exact date of our Lucky 11th Anniversary- which is Saturday September 8th. Join us for complimentary wine and appetizers. That day we will not only have something special for those folks but we will be drawing a Facebook only gift certificate for Cooking Classes, as well as a drawing for all guests who are submitted in the drawing for a Complete Dinner for 2 minus gratuity.

With all that- Be well and Dine well.

New Menu and Other Musings

Friday 8/10 is the beginning of a new menu. I've added 7 new items as well as brought back summer favorites. It takes us about five days to get the new menu in place- between prep and computer work. Its a process, but we have it down to a science as long as I don't make too many last minute changes. This cycle it was three minor ones, two of which was only an elaborated description for the menu. The last was a change in a cheese which means a scramble to change the prep only slightly.

Business has begun to pick back up again- between the national news scaring people about NM's biggest fire ever by Silver City- when it was the next county over- and the normal drop of spending the summer before a presidential election and the temporary loss of local business as 3 new places opened or were under new ownership and everyone had to check them out. The recession is far from over in Silver City. Historically they linger much longer in small towns and at 11,000 pop. we ARE small, though not tiny. We are also 45 minutes to an hour of of Interstate 10 which makes us a distinctive destination. Personally I'm very tired of it and being broke due to lack of business. We are surviving, but at 58 I no longer want to be just getting by- I'd like to be making it and this depression/recession is keeping that from happening. Next week I will share my plans here on how we are going to try to change that. It's very big news and I know we can make it happen. So until then- be well and dine well.