Brain FoodAll hail, Fall! We awoke this morning and E headed straight to the cafe to grab our "hunkering-down" supplies. He came back with bagels, lox, cream cheese, thinly sliced red onion, avocado, CCR's Ethiopian Sidamo Koratie (grade three, roasted 10.16.08, 55grams French pressed @ 196 degrees for 3.5 minutes), organic o.j. and peppermint tea. We built a fire, turned on music, made breakfast and began to plan out the next week of our lives. You see, we're leaving tomorrow. We're going to NYC to be witnesses to one of the greatest events of our lives, the growth of our family. Our family is getting bigger because my only sister and best friend in the world Tara Leilani Jepson is going to marry Daniel Alexander Eckstein and we have the great fortune to be present for their celebration.
We dream about fall time in New York. We dream about sleepovers and professional "get-down-on-it" dance parties, fanatical photobooth sessions and emotional outbursts of joy, about sister-girl-time and dude sessions, about meet and greets and cocktail hours, and family. We think a lot about family during this time. We also dream about real antipasti, Florentines at a late morning brunch, espresso at Cafe Grumpy, Pearl lobster rolls, custards in the park, and Indian food. And I mean REAL Indian food.
However, in order for us to have these dreams and eventually act them out, there is an awful lot of planning needed in the meantime. Keep in mind that this will be the first time ever the cafe will be operating when my mother, Evan, and myself are absent. This is both an exhilarating and terrifying thing. There is that deep resonating fear that something will go terribly wrong while we're away. Not to mention that undeniable realization that there are few problems we can fix from all the way across the country. But not if we're prepared. Not if we plan ahead and get everyone on board. It is times like these when we are grateful to have such good people who work at the cafe. If it weren't for them I fear Evan and I would be missing my big sister's wedding. For the past two months we have been planning the schedule for these next six days. You wouldn't believe how much work this actually takes to figure out. Shifts need to be covered (thank you everybody!); emergency and vendor contact lists must be created; weekday and weekend menus have to be created, printed, and shopped for; recipes, par lists, procedures, and standard protocol has to make its way out of our brains and on to physical paper; and at the end of the day there is still laundry and packing that has to be done. Even today, approximately 18 hours before we have to be at the airport, we're still trying to figure out how it's all going to work. But we will figure it out. We have to. So we're holding on to Tara and Dan and to New York and we're NOTGOINGTOLETGO.We recognize this once in a lifetime opportunity and the only way to go from here is full speed ahead.
And even in the wake of all of this craziness Fall keeps marching along, the presence of her golden glory nothing short of breathtaking. Hold on New York. We're coming...we're coming.
We dream about fall time in New York. We dream about sleepovers and professional "get-down-on-it" dance parties, fanatical photobooth sessions and emotional outbursts of joy, about sister-girl-time and dude sessions, about meet and greets and cocktail hours, and family. We think a lot about family during this time. We also dream about real antipasti, Florentines at a late morning brunch, espresso at Cafe Grumpy, Pearl lobster rolls, custards in the park, and Indian food. And I mean REAL Indian food.
However, in order for us to have these dreams and eventually act them out, there is an awful lot of planning needed in the meantime. Keep in mind that this will be the first time ever the cafe will be operating when my mother, Evan, and myself are absent. This is both an exhilarating and terrifying thing. There is that deep resonating fear that something will go terribly wrong while we're away. Not to mention that undeniable realization that there are few problems we can fix from all the way across the country. But not if we're prepared. Not if we plan ahead and get everyone on board. It is times like these when we are grateful to have such good people who work at the cafe. If it weren't for them I fear Evan and I would be missing my big sister's wedding. For the past two months we have been planning the schedule for these next six days. You wouldn't believe how much work this actually takes to figure out. Shifts need to be covered (thank you everybody!); emergency and vendor contact lists must be created; weekday and weekend menus have to be created, printed, and shopped for; recipes, par lists, procedures, and standard protocol has to make its way out of our brains and on to physical paper; and at the end of the day there is still laundry and packing that has to be done. Even today, approximately 18 hours before we have to be at the airport, we're still trying to figure out how it's all going to work. But we will figure it out. We have to. So we're holding on to Tara and Dan and to New York and we're NOTGOINGTOLETGO.We recognize this once in a lifetime opportunity and the only way to go from here is full speed ahead.
And even in the wake of all of this craziness Fall keeps marching along, the presence of her golden glory nothing short of breathtaking. Hold on New York. We're coming...we're coming.
five days later
You're such good Jews eating your bagels and lox! Wish I could be there to assist your exit. Loving fall and all your themed menu items and blog posts!
ReplyDeleterelax and trust in your beautiful staff. no problem will arise that can not be fixed, I PROMISE!
ReplyDeleteok, i was slightly jealous about the whole autumn thing, but N.Y. ?!? where my baby sister's livin? I WANT TO BE THERE SO BAD!!!!!
HAVE A BEAUTIFUL LOVED-UP FAMILY JUBILEE!!!
axx
Had to comment because I recognize the dishware--Ahwahnee Hotel! I think we have a couple of those mugs packed away somewhere ...
ReplyDeleteMariko,
ReplyDeleteI am told that my great grandfather actually had a lot to do with the building of the Ahwahnee. Sadly the hotel changed hands many years ago, and nobody in my family sees any of the royalties. We had to buy the plates retail. FYI, just today I went to a place in NYC called Fish Eddy (sp?) and they had a lot of Ahwahnee dishes, all cheaper than what the hotel sells them for.