december

i do not feel like following rules now. that means i am not going to capitalize  or check my spelling!! i am just ;going to type.  I have been sitting here for about 2 hours now. I found this thing to download on the internet a few months back. it is to make a podcast. why would i want to podcast?  I hav no idea.  i think  that it must have something to do with wanting to hear the sound of my own voice, yet i feel uncomfortable hearing my voice.

back to the subject at hand. did you ever want to learn to do someything and tried but just couldn't get it. I can remember learning how to make bread. i just couldn;t get it right. didn't rise high enough it was lopsided, it was un even or to dry. Forget about rolling out a baguette or tieing a not to make a roll. Then one day it just happened. You don't know how, but all of the sudden you are doing it. You wonder what was so hard about doing that.

This morning on my way into work i was talking to my self and thought you have to get a blog out. as i was talking i remembered about this podcast thing. i had tried it once or twice before but it said things that just didn't make sense to me. the site that runs the software is no longer up so i thought oh well it is free i will try anyway, sounds kinda a cool, I can be that talk show host that i always wanted to be.  It was like looking at a foreign language, I would stare at the screen with my mouth open drool coming out and just push buttons. Nothing made sense, what is the point it is just sounds and it doesn't go anywhere. Today was different.  It was like  I could finally see my face in the shirt!!! 

After 2 hours of play ing with it i got it!!! and it is really cool. I feel like i just got my christmas gift and just want to play with it all day. But alas i have spent way to much time on this and now i abslolutely have to start work. If you are curious as to what took me 2 hours to do go here.  I think that i can customize the page, but of course that will be another couple of hours!!

PS  We celebrated six years in business this month. it has been a great six years with lots of changes and growing. Thanks for all of the support we would be nowhere without all of the encouragement and patronage of all. I was thinking about what is my favorite thing about doing this and it is the sounds of a bustling restaurant. While i am cooking and can hear plates clanking people chattering and laughing it warms my heart and makes me know why i am doing this. Merry Christmas!!

To Be or Not To Be

I was watching When Harry met Sally the other day. There were many things that I wondered about when watching this movie. One was, how could this be on ABC Family? Then of course I thought have I turned into one of those prudish parents who likes to keep sexually oriented things away from my kids? Or maybe it wasn't  family time (3:00 Sat. afternoon) the kids should be outside playing, the parents inside watching tv . I just found this to be odd.

What I really got out of the movie was all the people in the background!! It is weird, I think that I have spent the last 20 years of my life figuring out how to do things when no one is around! Before the BBC I would always work nights and weekends. My time off was when everyone else was working. No lines at the grocery store, how many people would go to a matinee on a Tues afternoon!!, when i would venture to the mall there were not as many people and the bars were not nearly as crowded or noisey on a Monday or Tuesday.

Now I am a business owner. My business is nestled between two small communities, I believe the population of the two towns is less than 5,000? I generally think it is the perfect situation. Then I see this movie, I also spent a day in downtown Newburyport MA over the summer, and wow there are people all over the place!! Do I want this? What would it be like to have a business in a place where people hang, not a business where people hang. Don't get me wrong the best part of this place is that people come here to hang. I guess it is just that I keep thinking I need to try hard,to do better and more is better.

Shoot I have only been here for six months. We are doing better than before, we see way more people come through our doors than at the old place 1 block away.

That was last week. I am not really sure where I was going with all that. Here is my re-cap so that I can move on. Seeing people in bustling downtowns over that past few weeks made me wonder, would the Black Bean do well in a well traveled area. My conclusion is that I don't want to find out just yet. We are a great business in a great local. I am a lucky man to be able to do what I do and to do it where I do. When I need a fix of crowds I will take a trip to Portsmouth. Now I will relish my life in the hamlets of South Berwick and Rollinsford.

Shine a Light

So someone mentioned this "contest" to me a month or so ago. I paid no attention. Then I saw an ad for it. Then Alice nominated me. Now I am curious. I think the BBC is a very community oriented place, the kind of place that every community needs.What the hey, I really want to see what happens with this. If you think it is at all worth your time check out the website below and shine a light on the black bean cafe!!!


Now for a brief blog update. Even though I have not blogged here all summer I have kept it up in my head! the summer has gone very well. the move has worked out well, in all ways, so far.

Josh, the cook behind the scene is off to culinary school in CA. I still keep waiting for him to stroll in and start working. We now have Heidi in the kitchen. She worked for us the first year we opened and is giving us another try. The breakfast this weekend and last weekend were amazing. California Benedict, Apple Pie French Toast and of course she has already mastered out famous corned beef hash. Like Owen says about 2nd grade, "if things go the way they have it will be the best year ever"

We have a few things in store over the next couple of weeks. We all look forward to the onset of Fall. the food starts to come alive this time of year!! Orange,greens, red and yellow show up in the food as well as in the trees. Kate, my daughter, will be getting married in October. Family will be around, and I have to get the wedding cake made!!!

I have been trying to ride my bike farther. I went about 12 miles last Monday. And 6 on Tuesday. On Friday I had a fall!! Minor injuries, unfortunately i am the only one who can see them, remember when you see me that the slow movement is from the fall, not age or is the fall from age.

I am not correcting this or anything,, if i do it will never get posted!!!!

I hope to see you all at the bean soon, the soup is on!!!!

Widget

Straight LIne

I have been making it a practice lately to ride my bike more. As it turns out I do not go very far!! While riding home from work the other day I was thinking of different routes to take. As my mind did it's usual meandering I was brought back to elementary school days. My brothers and I were going to go to the high school(which was behind out house at the time) to watch a baseball game. Uncle Joe Pacific came by and said he was going to, did we want a ride. I thought why of course why walk when you can ride? big bro said he would run there and beat us!! Wanna bet I said. Sure, and the race was on. While going there Uncle Joe said he that Johnny would win!! Not if you don't let him I thought. Then the math teacher in him came out. How could he beat us this car can go like 30mph there is no way he can run that fast. Yes but the shortest distance between two places is a straight line. Huh? Well we got there and golden boy was sitting watching the game before us, and Joe got out a paper and pencil and drew me a diagram to show me the straight line rule.

This has fascinated me for the past 40 years. I think from that day on I always looked for the straight line to places. I think it is an obsession when traveling with many people. Then many I heard the phrase you will go straight to hell if you do that! Yikes, I certainly don't want a short cut there!! While riding I think shortest distance, shortest distance, shortest distance... to success is... a straight line? Hmm what does that mean? There has to be a message here somewhere.

Okay this stuff is in my head for a week. Tuesday Becky comes in like usual. We have this sorta bartender relationship. She talks and I listen and talk back with my deep thoughts. Well she mentions how she wishes that she had just gone to baking school right off the bat instead of waiting 20 years. I being in my straight line mode am THINKING yeah then you would have gotten to this point years ago and have a successful baking business, now it will take to long and you may never get there(am I thinking this for Becky or me?). What I said was, "did you want to bake 20 years ago?" "No, it wasn't even on the radar," was the response. The conversation continued us coming up with the whole life is a journey thing and you have to take different routes to find yours blah, blah blah. This didn't really sit well with me, but I had to make breakfast for people and think of lunch specials so it was going to be the end of it for today, or at least till the bike ride home.

On the ride home I realized that there is no way to get from point a to point b in a straight line without cutting through someones yard or even house! I don't think that would be a good idea, Forest!! Now at home I look out the window ant think do I see any straight lines? Yes but not in nature? Or is that what I heard somewhere so that is what I am seeing? The tree trunk starts out straight then branches out? I am supposed to learn something here. But what. Oh well it is bed time, maybe I will figure it out tomorrow.

Okay it is now a month since I wrote this. I am to tired to re-read it and have no idea what it says anymore. Yet I have posted because I have not in so long. I hope it makes sense. I am also going to post one that I thought I posted months ago. What the heck!!

The picture was sent to me by two Black Bean customers. What a shiny place. It is fun to see it from a different perspective.

Off to bed now to read Moby Dick, this time I WILL make it past "Call me Ishmael"!

Not Again

I can't believe it, it has happened again. I set out to write this blog as soon as I got home from work today. The computer was not working properly, Owen was starving, Eliza is in her room wondering about prom, Liz is off working out and I am in charge.
Soup made,Pizza ordered, Eliza hugged (and lectured), computer re-booted. I am in business. We eat and chat. I sit down to do this and of course have to check out facebook and other blogs. Now it is 7:30 and time for me to get ready for bed. Wash up, read and lights out by 8:00.

I am forcing myself to get something written down. Everyday when I leave work I look around me in gratitude. The Black Bean is such a beautiful place. It is not just the space that makes it, it is every person who comes into the space. I thank... , whoever, for giving me this opportunity. I think that when we first re-opened I had reservations about the change in focus. That has subsided and I feel that we are well into establishing ourselves as a destination restaurant. This weekend we had the place blessed and smudged. This was done to bring us and the space's energy into sync. There has been a large amount of craziness surrounding this new space. I hope that this weekends energy work has put it all in its place, the past.

Here is to the future. This week Josh has a few neat things in store for us. Today we enjoyed a Roasted Beet salad. I think that Weds. we will have a grilled chicken with prosciutto and mushrooms. Liz is looking forward to us making her pork and tszaki greek salad. I want the roasted veggie sandwich with pesto sandwich. Also I will attempt to make a Loaf and Ladle bread that I always had a BLT on, Orange Cottage. This week for dessert we will have a peanut butter brownie, chocolate cake Jennifer's Lemon squares and peanut butter and jelly bars!!

Oh yeah it is open studio day on Sat.May 9th. We will be open till 4 !!!. This week also marks the return of Cindy in the kitchen!!! Oh what a wonderful life!!

Check In

I am sitting here with an ice pack on! I think that writing the blog will take my mind off of the throbbing tooth.

It has been 1 month since we re-opened and I have to say I am happy!!! Things are going better than expected and seem to be getting better. We are assimilating in the space. Everyday I am blown away at the space and how it is evolving into the restaurant we planned.

The breakfast and lunch continue to grow and there are new faces all of the time as well as the familiar. I have heard that 5 years is when it will start to happen. Meaning that if you get past the 5 year mark you should start to make a profit. This seems to be true. That combined with the move seems to be working for us. The Black Bean philosophy of fresh made to order real food goes well with the new Black Bean environment. What ever the reason I am slowly learning to accept it, relax , enjoy and not wait for the bottom to fall!!

Speaking of enjoying I think that we have had some pretty great specials. The Sticky Bun French Toast was delicious. We have enjoyed coming up with interesting poach specials too like the one with asparagus, tomatoes and a maple wasabi mustard sauce or Easter weekends with the fennel infused pork tenderloin with leek and mushrooms topped with sage hollandaise and fried fresh sage, yummers!!

I am looking forward to the next month and the years to come. We are slowly working out the kinks of working together and how to make it all flow efficiently in the dinning room. Right now though it is time to take something for my tooth!!

See you at the Bean!! Or see you at the BBC!! What is a better tag line? Should I have a tag line? Am I taking all of this to seriously or not seriously enough?

Are you Happy?

Have I posted this already?


It has been three weeks since we re-opened and it seems like we never closed! The environment has changed tremendously, yet it is still the Bean to me. Liz has walked out 4 times, called me numerous names I can't repeat,and yet still shows up for work everyday at 6:45 or 7 or there about! I have gone in as late as 4 and as early as 2:30. It seems that the work gets done no matter what time we get there, sometimes it is easier that others, getting to work on time helps this!! The responsibility of having a restaurant with matching silverware and chairs is incredible.

When a regular comes in and sees the difference the look of shock is always apparent. Wow this is... nice, beautiful,shiny, clean,different,bigger, smaller, the response is mostly positive. There is no denying that it is not the old Black Bean aesthetically. It is indeed really really nice. I have a hard time having all that I have there. The ability to breathe fresh air by opening a window is so great. The way the smoke just disappears through the hood when I burn something, or washing a load of dishes in under 3 minutes is mind boggling. The counter tops, the chairs, the flatware, the china, the grill, the list goes on and on.When seeing the new Black Bean many people have said Are you happy?

At firs I don't think that I really understood the question. Am I happy? When someone asks that I don't think am I happy now this instant I think am I happy in whole. Then I think why are you asking this, do I seem sad? This seems so silly, but I truly started to think about the whole question. Why would someone want to know if I was happy (with my life). Gosh there are so many things that I worry about and so many things that I would like to control and cannot, how could I possibly be happy. When I asked a few people the question most, if not all, said they were happy with their lives, content. Again I thought wow how could anyone be content with all that is going on in this world? The funny thing is I think of my self as someone who rarely takes anything seriously. Why then is this simple statement/question nagging at me? If I were to say that I was happy would I have to remain happy? Doesn't happiness come and go? Or if I said I was content would it all become boring?

Over the past 3 weeks I have come to view the question differently. "Are you happy" is not are you content, nor does it mean to encompass my life in its entirety. It is simply a question are you happy with... the change in your business? Duh, why would I think that the question had to have such poigancy? Maybe because I am so self centered and think that everyone wants to know about me? Three weeks ago I was in such a state of shock that I was not able to comprehend what was going on around me. So to answer the question, Phil are you happy (with the way it has all turned out? Yes!!Never in a million years would I have thought that I could bring to fruition such a place. It is definitely not the old Black Bean with the living room to lounge in. It is indeed a cafe/restaurant.

To be in the new place is truly refreshing. It is bright and the air flows through it. The counters and tables remind me of an era past. The new equipment makes it seem like I am playing. With all the newness around me it has been hard to remember where I am, at The Black Bean. A cafe we bought 5 years ago on a wing and a prayer. Where it would go we had no idea!! Through those years we did develop a plan. Over this past 6 months we were forced to put that plan into action. If we wanted to survive and continue we would have to change.

In all honesty I was unsure about the change. I miss the old Black Bean. I miss the relaxed atmosphere that it had. I miss the eclecticness of the place. I miss the two separate rooms, one for lounging and one for eating.I miss the peeling floors. I miss the colors. I miss the couch!! I am glad that I have so many Black Bean memories there. Like when my parents came up and blew up one of those giant snowmen in the living room, or Friday night dinners and game night(nor cross buns),open mic and potluck dinners.

I am happy. I am happy

Great Day

The re-opening went really well. Great to see familiar faces. Liz and I are out of practice, though. ( I wonder how Taintor feels? she did prep today) I even had a guest chef!! Evan from Black Trumpet came in and stayed for awhile. He made some mushroom and roasted eggplant soup, then Dad said he had to leave!! Thanks Evan the soup was great. '
Well itis time for the kids to put us to bed!!
Good night.

Hip Hip Hurray We are open!!!!!

It is the eve of the Black Bean Cafe re-opening. We were able to sit down with Phil for a few minutes and finsh off an interview we started last year!! A lot has happened since then, but Phil and family are excited to jump back in and get things rolling.


So how does it feel?

Crazy, we are all so excited and scared. There is so much riding on this and we have been away from it for what seems an eternity, can we do it?


Of course you can. You did it before, why would you be so nervous?


We were all so much younger before!! It is hard for us to believe that Owen was only 2 and Eliza 10, never mind Liz and I.
It is scarier this time because the expectations are different. We established ourselves and now even though we are just down the street the setting is very different. When we set out to do this it was going to be a simple move. One party moves out another cleans, repairs, paints and moves in. It was in no way that simple.


Can you elaborate on that, like why not?

Oh gosh where do I begin? Niether party left when expected, I was hoping to be out by 12/14 and hoping they would be out by 11/1 then 11/14 then 12/1 then 12/5 then...
For me there was the landlord not keeping his word about the price then wanting a temporary lease for 24 days then an ice storm and a week later a snow storm then the Holidays.
Well we both seemed to get out by the end of December. Then it was how long will it take to re-hab Mayo's? She took everything right down to the light bulbs. I would like to say if it wasn't nailed down she took it, but she even did that. She did leave a leaky hand sink, and urinal!! The walk in was left behind minus all of the inards. (One of my favorite things that Police chief Duchane said was, that she probably owned the compressor motor and coolant!) Then of course there was the sink fiasco (again a Rollinsford PD moment, I being accused of stealing,the police taking someones word and then helping to remove the items in question from my premises. When shown proof of ownership it was no longer a police matter!). But we still thought 3 weeks. How naive. Three months and lots of money later we are opening.


What is it like?

Liz and my plan to marry the two places didn't pan out as well as we would have liked. It turned out that the major pieces of furniture and counter would not fit or were just to hard to move. All said and done we are delighted with the final outcome. Tthe old Bean is still there and will be found in the food and company, we hope. Uh it is getting late and I have to get up early, it is Sticky Bun day tomorrow.

Ok. Thank you for takin some time this evening. Your hours are the same?

Yes, Tues -Fri 7-4 and Sat and Sun 7-12. Hey i gotta get to sleep. See ya and thanks for doing this.

No promblem. I will see you at the Bean in the am!!!






Blogger: I want to start off by letting you know how honored I am that I am here to talk with you.
Phil: The honor is all mine.
Blogger: How exactly did you get here?
Phil: I am not sure what you mean by that? Did I walk or drive?
Blogger: No no no. You are 46 years old father of 4 children and owner of The Black Bean Cafe. Was this a long time dream of yours or something that just fell into your lap?
Phil: Oh I see. When Liz and I first "got together" we always talked about having some type of eatery. We met while working at Bob's Clam Hut in the late 80's, so the restaurant business is what brought us together. I could never quite figure out what kind of place I wanted or how to make it work. The last three jobs that I had helped me to realize that I could actually do it. They were Ceres Bakery, The Loaf and Ladle and Flynn's News. Then in October of 2003 this opportunity presented itself to us. We jumped and have been jumping since December 2003.
Blogger: So would you say that you are livin the dream?
Phil: On a good day I would. This is something that we have always wanted and it is what we have always been warned about. It is my life. It is all consuming. Push come to shove I cannot imagine being anywhere else.
Blogger: What is your favorite food to eat?
Phil: I don't really know that I have a favorite. Tonights dinner at home was pasta with a red sauce and sausage. It reminded me of Sunday dinner at Nonnies. That is what I look for when I eat. A memory.
Blogger: Is this what you have always wanted to do?
Phil: Not sleep, worry all the time, not know if anyone is going to come in for coffee or lunch and not spend time with my family? That is what I have always wanted to do.
Blogger: You have a little sarcasm in your voice? Where does that come from?
Phil: See above.
Blogger: Moving right along. The Black Bean Cafe is in a small town in southern New Hampshire. Do you have enough of a customer base to make it?
Phil: You know it is weird, but since we opened people seem to come in. At first it was a good mix of Mill people and towns people. It was a place for parents to come with their kids and the mill workers to meet over a cup of coffee lunch or snack. I think that in the beginning we did not really have a clear picture of what we wanted to do. My thought was a cafe that was more like an old fashioned coffee shop. Liz's idea was a vegetarian restaurant. With those two thoughts we opened.
Blogger: And????
Phil: And we had a wide variety of baked goods and a limited sandwich menu. Soup was a natural addition. Then a hot entree seemed a smart addition. After the first year I think that we had established ourselves as a lunch spot not only for locals but for "out of towners" too.
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We are back with Phil from the Black Bean. We started this interview with him in April. It is now Nov. 9th.

So Phil what has been going on?

Phil: I think the last time I talked to you was in April, right?

Just a quick note

First off I want to apologize for not keeping up on this! I have missed the Black Bean and all of the people that make it what it is. We have made much progress with the renovations and the new place looks spectacular. Unfortunately we were not able to bring any of the decor from the old place and there will be not living room area. There is a waiting area and the dining area. The kitchen area is partially in the open so that you can actually see what Liz and I are doing. This makes us both very scared. Everyone will finally see how mean she is to me!!!

We have passed all the tests necessary to open. We are now awaiting the dishes, glasses and most importantly the gas for the stove and grill! Yes grill, that means burgers!!! The opening day is scheduled for March 10th, a far cry from January 20th as we hoped!!! I will try to scan a new menu over the next 2 weeks.

I have a few things to wrap up at the Lollipop Tree. What a godsend that has been. I will never turn my nose up at baking mixes again!!! It is like having a prep kitchen in a bag!! I have also gotten some great ideas for the BBC, like chocolate peppermint whoopie pies, nutter butter cookies, red velvet cake (messy to make) and I think we will add Raspberry Sauce to the carrot cake center!! I made that for Kathy over the weekend, out standing.

It has been a long time. I am getting anxious just thinking about all that I want to do and all that has yet to be done. We will see you March 10th.

PS. I hope that Josh and Jennifer are ready?

finecooking

Ok I get this magazine Fine Cooking. It is a terrific publication. They have a challenge in it this month, cook the magazine. Great that sounds fun. So I start out and make a sandwich, I take a picture and I go to submit it. I find myself at a different website? Still Fine Cooking but it is like last months issue? I try to get on at work same thing but I am logged in, you know the" Hi Philip" at the top of the page. I can't find where to talk about my experience? I try re-signing in. It wants money? I have been a member for a few months now, I think, I get e-mails, I get recipes so I must have a membership. So I guess the challenge is probably some hoax or a way to get people to spend more money at the site. I am going to do it here.


Turkey Reubens





,,
You can get the recipe, if you like, at their website finecooking.com, I think it is there?
In any case the sandwich was nothing special. The components of the sandwich were all good. I like a sandwich with coleslaw. I think a regular cole slaw would have worked better, I like Kentucky Fried Chickens cole slaw!! The russian dressing used here was great, some sun dried tomato with mayo thing. When put all together and grilled with the mayo on the bread it was somewhat lacking. I have decided that no matter how nicely brown mayo on the outside of a grilled sandwich looks I do not like the taste. I had made an extra sandwich for Dean. He never came by and 2 days later I brought it to work. No mayo on the outside and the sandwich was much better. All in all I would prefer the traditional reuben. IN fact I think Saturday that is what we will have for lunch!
For diinner we will be having the cover recipe Chicken with shallots and Pancetta.

I can't seem to not mention mayo!!

The Work Begins

I have been busy at LTI (Lollipop Tree Inc.)getting ready for trade shows and testing new products. At the same time I work the paying job there is the business to close up and get ready to open.

Much to my dismay none of the furniture or counters are going to work out in the new place. I have been able to disperse the tables to friends. The counters however are being left behind. I tried my best to dismantle and move and came pretty close but in the long run it was easier for all to leave them. The saddest part of it is that they are being left to people who do not appreciate the craftsmanship of it all. They are getting the antique? light fixtures too!! I am sure that it will all be replaced with Home Cheapo shiny new things.

Some of you may know of the trial and tribulations that have been going on at the new place (76 Front Street)for those that don't let me say the previous tenants have been less than kind over the past few months. After putting us through agonizing times they have vacated the premises.

We were able to get in and get a good look at the space for the first time the Monday after Christmas. They took practically everything and the kitchen sinks!! Every light bulb was removed all sinks had been severed from the pipes,the exhaust fan was removed and the walk in was destroyed. They took out the condenser and the blower in the walk in and severed the freon line!! They did leave the big counter for us to remove though.

With all that was done it seemed the best thing to do was gut the place. With one week worth of work done the bathrooms, kitchen and dining room have stripped and ready for the re model. Some sheet rock and bead board have been put up and the design is taking shape. There is one thing that I may have done that seems to be a bit controversial, I removed my sinks from the old Black Bean.

I was not planning on taking them. When we got to the new place and saw that she took everything I wondered why couldn't I take the sinks that I bought 5 years ago? So I checked with a couple of plumbers and they looked and said that they were not attached at the wall and all joints? were screwed on and that since I owned them it was well within my right to take them, so I did. Today they (Cutter Family Properties) started with calling me a thief,liar and an a--ho--. I take that from the source. Where it gets gross is that they made no attempt to contact Elizabeth or I. Instead they went up to the police station and then went to 76 Front Street and took them back. So if I did steal them how come I do not have them now? Were they stolen from me? Why would the police get involved so quickly? Theft, arrest, court and then ownership is determined? It seems that things are different in Rollinsford NH. Maybe the former tenants of 76 Front street should have moved into a Cutter Family Properties store front.

In any case we are still on course and plan on re-opening at the beginning of February. I will try to keep you informed of any other happenings. And if anyone knows where I send my protection money let me know.
Phil