Dear Feastlings,
Today was it: we went to the Sister Jose Women’s Center and the Primavera Men’s Shelter, and one of the 280 people we brought food to today was the ten thousandth recipient of a meal donated by the community of Tucson: by each of you, by us here at Feast, even by some total strangers who don’t even live here. Scarcely could I be more proud of what we’ve all accomplished so far, and scarcely could I be more exhausted. We did this today with a catering production manager out with Covid, a gaggle of inconsistent dishwashers, a chef de cuisine who’s been thrown into the position after our former one took a job in the burgeoning industry of medical credentialing, and a last-minute discovery that we didn’t have the desserts lined up. The kitchen crew here, a frenetically assembled band of years-long and days-long employees (and one who worked here fifteen years ago and magically reappeared this week) pulled out a small miracle this morning, and they’re nothing short of heroic.
It took us a little longer than we’d expected, but May 27th will be a day we’re proud of.
We handed out our ten thousandth meal at noontime, and since then I’ve been back getting this weekend’s two wine tastings in order. There’s one tomorrow, a tasting of Cabernets (Cabernets Sauvignons, I’m thinking, since the adjective must agree with the noun, even though the jury is out as to which is the noun,) at 2:00 pm, both here at Feast and in your home if you so choose:
And I just finished typing up the heating instructions for the food pairings for the Sunday tasting, which will only take place in your home, since we’re still struggling to get the new folks trained here and still can’t open up on Sundays for another two weekends. You can pick up samples and food pairings tomorrow, and the tasting promises to be more than a little bit delicious, a sampling of wines made from old vines. There’s something to be said for age.
Mercifully, it appears the majority of you are on a beach or a mountain someplace, so we’ve been able to keep on top of our other responsibilities, but payroll is this week, and the dearth of visitors is making itself felt in my nightly insomniac episodes. So I propose a solution: Starting on Memorial Day, or more accurately, the day after Memorial Day, we’ll kick off our customary summer wine deals:
-first, rather than offer a ten percent discount on a mixed case, we’ll offer it on a mixed half case- any six bottles gets you a ten percent discount on any bottle not already on sale. Find a sale wine you want? No worries; while it won’t be further discounted, it’ll count toward that six-bottle box that earns you a discount on the rest of them.
-second, if you’re the sort that generally buys by the case, we’ll make that discount a fifteen percent discount instead of the customary ten. The same rules apply regarding bottles already on deal.
-third, if you’ve fallen in love with the bottle you had at dinner and treat yourself to a second one to take home, we’ll waive the built-in corkage on the bottle you enjoyed here, so you’re drinking for retail price rather than restaurant price. I don’t reckon you’ll find a better deal anyplace in town.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to have a coffee, which I hope will lift me over the dinner rush and set me down gently on the other side of it, whereupon I’ll have my own wine bargain and raise my glass to you all. Thanks for everything, you kind and lovely people.
Your buddy,
Doug