6 Months and Counting...

(or life and the state of me)

It's been the most insane experience of my life. So much more than I expected... deeper, richer... a rush like nothing else.

We continue to get busier and we continue to learn and grow. We raised our menu prices slightly and that has helped a lot to assuage my fears that we would be slammed busy and continue to barely break even. I still have yet to start paying off friends who gave me money to get started and this is really important to me.

We have so much going on now. Lots of catering and I am REALLY excited about my first teaching and wine pared dinner with Sommlier Sean (Andrade of Andrade Wine Group). He selected Spanish Wines to go with a five course tasting dinner http://www.compassstarcatering.com/to_spain_with_love in mid June. Getting to talk to people about food makes my little black chef heart so happy!

We started a Friday Happy hour on May 25th. Our customers wanted us to stay open late one night a week and we choose Friday because it was Lita's Bocce night.  The picture to the right was the Chiccetti (Venetian Finger Foods) from last Friday. Bacon Freak with Crostini, Chicken Apple Bourbon Sausage Hand Pie, Meatball Slider, Pancetta-Sage and Orange Crostini, Soft Boiled Egg with House Made Andouille, And Smoked Eggplant Caponata on Crostini. It was a holiday AND raining (so no bocce) and kind of slow, but so much fun!

It's been a crazy few months... I split from my long time significant other and I feel like being single, 42 years old and autonomous has been an lusty distraction. It is a strange rock-star life of Caligula-like proportions... cook all day and obsess about food, hang out in my kitchen with two fantastically talented chefs that I adore (Stein and Haley), chat with customers all day, then roll out still smelling like blood and cinnamon with my room mate Mary (Chef at Pizza Antica) to Creek Monkey to drink amazing beer and hang out with the fantastic crew there, watch Matt and Jim Brew, then collapse in bed, sated. Wash... Rinse... Repeat.

I went and hung out Monday in Port Costa at this ancient bar/restaurant called the Warehouse down by the water. It felt so good to just be in the sun with an amazing beer, a beautiful man, and low key down to earth  people. I watched the river flow by and felt the bay breeze on my face and tasted the marrow of life.

I feel like there is so much more I want to write. My life is insane and scary right now, but so amazingly fulfilling.