Menu

[Highway Star]

Guys, I've found a job cheffing again. There is a joint not far from my house that closed down and has changed hands. It is opening back up as a breakfast/lunch bistro, and I am the chef. The people just love me too. It is pretty exciting, I just wish they paid a little more. They want 'upscale' and 'different'.

Anyways, I've got the menu put together, more or less all my ideas, save for a few, and all otherwise within their (the owners) guidelines, and within my meter of reasonablilty and ease of production.

I wanted to share, so here goes...

[Highway Star]

breakfast

Stuffed French Toast
butter pecan or cinnamon cream cheese filled

Quiche Panini*
lorraine, and du jours

Bonjour crudite
seasonal fruit, berries, flavored cream cheese, yogurt, & house granola


egg in italian toast with romano and marinated tomato coulis/relish


a hash of roast beef, onion, and potato, over grilled toast with fried egg & horseradish-chive sour cream (sour cream and egg won’t contrast)


white hominy grits with tomato and maitre' d butter
-add shrimp


chevre and cream grit cake and poached egg served with caramelized onion orange marmalade




small plates


Crab cakes
with sweet pepper vegetable slaw and creole mustard cream (cold)

Antipasto
olives, marinated mushrooms, roasted peppers and tomatoes,
provolone, ham/proscuitto,

Roasted Vegetables
Balsamic and garlic roasted vegetables served with boursin

Asiago Artichoke dip
creamy rich dip with artichokes, spinach and prosciutto, served with crostini

Cochon Napoleon
pork tenderloin and potato pancakes with rosemary brown sauce

Cheese puff twists
light cheddar pastry with caramelized onion dip



Perfect Deli sandwich
Choice of breads: country white, wheat, rye, fresh croissant, or tortilla wrap
Choice of: fresh tuna or chicken salad, ham, turkey, or roast beef

Muffuletta
Ham/Capicola, Mortadella, provolone, house made olive salad


Roast beef panini on sliced country round w/ house roasted peppers & fontina, au jus

Croque Monsieur
ham and swiss cheese with gruyere béchamel on sourdough


Marinated chicken breast, spinach, bacon, egg, tomato, red pepper aioli on ciabatta

Cochon de lait
Slow roasted, on house yeast roll with caramelized onion spread or apple bourbon bbq


Roasted vegetable and mushroom Panini with boursin or feta relish
eggplant, zucchini, bell pepper, (asparagus?), carrot, etc.

Sliders
hand patted baby burgers, plain or stilton stuffed, with lettuce, tomato, & pickle


Best Grilled Cheese
aged cheddar, fontina, and provolone, swiss



Sides for sandwiches

pasta salad
german potato salad with onions/bacon/vinegar&mayo
centrifuge potato chips (Cape Cod/Block & Barrel)
cup of soup
cheese pastry twists



Soups
Soup of the day (1-3)
Gumbo du jour
Baked Potato
Chicken and Acini di pepe



Salads

Caprese with balsamic reduction
-tomato basil fresh mozz, balsamic vinegar reduction
(we need salt & pepper mills available)

Lettuce wraps
marinated chicken breast with cashew red pepper and sesame chili sauce rolled in crisp bib lettuce leaves

Scratch made caesar
-romaine hearts and traditional dressing/accoutrements
-add chicken, shrimp

Chicken Cordon Bleu
-chicken breast, ham, cubed swiss, toppings and herbed buttermilk vinaigrette

remoulade
Lobster or shrimp with remoulade


Bib lettuce, walnut, fig, feta, & white balsamic ving. (with or w/o chicken)



It is a work in progress, don't mind my notes if there are any in it. Again, just felt like sharing. :D All of these items will be made in house, from deli meats to soups, all from scratch...no shortcuts or premade stuff.

[RBeckman]

Jake, congrats...here is my order

Cochon de lait
Slow roasted, on house yeast roll with caramelized onion spread or apple bourbon bbq

and Diet Coke.

Thanks.
Ric

[Highway Star]

Thanks Ric. :D

You'd love the sandwich, it will be made from boston butt that roasts at 225 for 6-8 hours, nice and slow. When they finish cooking, I can grab the bone with my tongs and just pull it out.

The place is a bakery and bistro. The owner is a graduate of pastry school at the culinary institute of america. He knows his stuff. Between him and me, we'll have this place FULL of awesome food, both sweets and savories. All fresh breads and pastries, cakes, ganache tartlets, croissants, scones, danish, etc etc etc...

They want eclectic and artistic food. They want fresh ingredients. I think I have them covered.

It is a little place, seats about 35 or so. All orders will be placed at the counter. It has a real intimate feeling to it, hand made cypress tables, exposed beams, etc.

Did I mention that it is also a gourmet coffee joint? We'll be roasting coffee, making espresso and all the cappucino stuff, smoothies, ice cream, etc.

The food I am "speccing out" completely matches the european bistro feel of the place.

[grandsport]

I'm real happy you got that job! Good luck,my friend.Make the place go and then buy it in 5 years!

[Warputer]

After reading thru the menu, I just got real hungry! Very impressive.....as a country boy, I'm not even sure what all some of those things are.

[Rank]

Gawd I love hominy grits .... yumm, reminds me I gotta go to Louisianna before too long! LOL

[Hank70SS]

Great looking menu. Congrats on the new job Jake, I'm sure you'll do well.

[BillsCamino]

Jake,
I'll be passing thru BR in about a month.
I'll need that resturant's address. ;) I'm hungry NOW!!!

[Highway Star]

Thanks, thanks. This was always my bag...cheffing, but being a parent made it hard to keep the hours. I left the food business for that exact reason. This place is only breakfast/lunch, and it is probably 10 miles from the house, as the crow flies.

The menu will likely change a few more times, but only get better. :D

[Ms Grumpy]

Jake, the menu sounds delicious and like someplace I would want to eat at. Especially if you have a pastry chef who can add to your amazing menu.

I was just wondering what your average price point is going to be ? Is the location in an area that the demographics will be attracted by the menu ?

[Ms Grumpy]

I love the salads listed on your menu. I am a huge Caesar salad fan. I really like when they make the dressing themselves. I am just not a huge fan of a lot anchovy oil or paste in my dressing. I have tried to make the caesar dressing but was wondering if you have a good recipe. I am not asking you to give away your "secret" recipe, but I still figured I would ask.
Thanks, Nancy

[Highway Star]

These will probably range from $6 to $12 lunches, and the breakfasts will be a little lower.

We're on a busy road, that sees a lot of commuter traffic. There is a nice lounge with sofas and a patio outside, and the coffee bar, and the dining room, and word spreads fast in our little community.

We're hoping the people around here are like us, and waiting for a good place to go get a bite. Everything else around here is the same old thing...plop, slop, next.

[Highway Star]

I love the salads listed on your menu. I am a huge Caesar salad fan. I really like when they make the dressing themselves. I am just not a huge fan of a lot anchovy oil or paste in my dressing. I have tried to make the caesar dressing but was wondering if you have a good recipe. I am not asking you to give away your "secret" recipe, but I still figured I would ask.
Thanks, Nancy


Caesar is easy to mess up. I've done it a BUNCH of times. When it is made from scratch, it is a chemical reaction that binds the ingredients. It is called a cold emulsification. This is best done in a food processor or blender. Even an electric mixer with whisk(s) will work. For an emulsification to take place, you need a fat (olive oil), an acid (lemon juice), and raw egg. It helps if the acid is warmed. To flavor it, black pepper, garlic, hard smelly cheese and anchovies are added.
Then, the oil is added to the rest of the ingredients with the blender going, and with the elements present in the mixture, items that otherwise couldn't blend together all of a sudden are made into a homogenous suspension of scientific marvel.

When they are added in the right proportions, you can't taste one over the other, they all balance out. That is how I cook, nothing really overpowers anything else.

All that being said, start with an egg/vinegar emulsification (mayo) that is already done, and add the rest of the stuff at your house. This recipe has worcestershire in it too, it is pretty decent dressing, and is so close to what I'll be using.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Caesar-Mayonnaise-Dressing-11892

[Highway Star]

Update...

I've hired a few cooks, they are younger guys with limited experience, but already respect me because they're seeing me as someone they can learn from. I have them taste the things I've created and they look at me funny. Example, the pepper slaw for the crab cake...it is kind of loud, and a little strong by itself with the main flavor being the tang of the bell pepper and sweetness of the carrots. It is crunchy, and strange to eat all alone, but when you get a bite of the slaw AND the cold sauce, and the crab cake, it is enough to make you swoon. Deeeeelicious. Warm Maryland-style lump crabmeat crab cake seared in butter, cold dijon mustard cream, and the pepper slaw. Self garnishing food is righteous, and once this is on the plate, it needs nothing.... like something you'd see on TV. Hot, cold, bitter, sweet, spicy, salty, crunchy, soft, creamy, savory... it is all there. There are only 5 ways the taste buds of a human being can be stimulated. All of those elements are in this dish. It is friggin genius. Everything else I created to put on this menu has the same level of technicality and thought behind it.

We're opening this wednesday...

[Hank70SS]

Sounds like you're enjoying this Jake. Good luck on the opening.

[Durand]

Jake:

Best of luck!!!

Durand

[Ms Grumpy]

Everytime I read this post, it makes me hungry. Thanks for the Caesar dressing pointers, I will let you know how they work out for me.

I wish you so much luck on the opening this week. Post the address so that anyone can come that lives close enough.

The menu sounds delicious, everytime I read it. Again, best of luck !!!
And let us know how things go.

[Highway Star]

Gumbo Du Jour (currently chicken)
http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/zz42/jlk72355/PIC_0324.jpg

Lump Crab Cakes
http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/zz42/jlk72355/PIC_0304.jpg

Stuffed French Toast
http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/zz42/jlk72355/PIC_0305.jpg

Handmade Pork Sausage Croissant with aged cheddar omelet on fresh Croissant
http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/zz42/jlk72355/PIC_0307.jpg

Bacon Smoked Gouda Grits with Poached Egg
http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/zz42/jlk72355/PIC_0308.jpg

Kid Pizza
http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/zz42/jlk72355/PIC_0315.jpg

[Highway Star]

Kid Sliders
http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/zz42/jlk72355/PIC_0319.jpg

Muffuletta Sandwich
http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/zz42/jlk72355/PIC_0320.jpg

Balsamic Roasted Vegetables with Boursin, and Crostini
http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/zz42/jlk72355/PIC_0323.jpg


I've been busy guys, we're open. I haven't and won't have a day off for a while. These are only some of the dishes. I'll post more as I take them. No car builds now, I'm building orders and plates and recipes. :D

[grumpy]

Damn it, now I'm hungry. Can I have one of eat to go ?

[chevguy65]

Congrats Jake!!!!!!!

From the looks of your menu and your plated dishes, your going to be a huge success!!!!!

I wish I were closer but perhaps you can start a mailorder business as well and send me a menu.

[Ms Grumpy]

OMG....those dishes look so good !!!

Still need an address...I wanna go.