Dear Feastlings,
I didn’t count how many of you came in a couple of weeks ago, heads hung in shame, as you confessed to ordering a dish you’ve eaten before. It was quite a number, though. I write now to tell you there’s no shame in it. Just because I want to make something new or eat something new, refreshing the menu each month, I make no judgment about those who want to come back to an old favorite. It mostly just speaks to my own short attention span.
It’s been that way for some time time, now- no sooner do I make up a dish or a drink than I’ve forgotten what I wrote down, quite possibly forgotten the dish altogether, and moved on to the next thing. The universe is perpetually dangling a shiny object in front of me, and it makes me an annoyance to my coworkers. There’s invariably something I’ve started and then wandered off from for them to shake their heads at, or more likely complain under their breath to one another.
Every now and again, though, I’ll hang onto something, partly because people enjoy it and want to keep it around; partly because it’s just easier when I’m overwhelmed. So we have a couple of holdovers this month. Usually, apart from the permanent fixtures of the Feast grilled cheese sandwich and the chocolate truffle cookie, a dish at Feast has an arc: three months on the menu, and then it gets the hook. A dish with acclaim comes back, fairly often. Note the roasted strawberry shortcake, which needs to return each summer lest I be harassed and harangued. This month, two dishes who’ve run their theoretical course get a call from the governor: the crabcake, studded with peanuts and scallions and served over pad thai, has has its three months of fame, but it remains for one more month, partly because of its warm reception from the majority of you, and partly because the crab dish I’d wanted to replace it with would have been fried, and we just don’t have enough room in the fryer to offer that fried crab until the squash blossoms fade away; the Exploradora remains for another month as well, due entirely to the fact that I ordered far too many Girl Scout cookies, so we’ll keep making it until we run out.
The July menu is here for your perusal:
https://www.eatatfeast.com/dining/menus/lunch-dinner/
Meanwhile, we’re well prepared as well for this Saturday’s wine tasting, a visit from our friend Megan with some refreshing options for you to drink this summer.
https://www.eatatfeast.com/events/2024/07/livin-is-easy-cotton-is-high/
I’ve also, against my own better judgment but in favor of those who are willing to eat a hearty dish of beans, herbs, sausage and duck despite a hundred and ten degree thermometer reading, assembled the menu for Bastille Day.
https://www.eatatfeast.com/events/2024/07/bastille-day-specials/
We’ll be open on a Sunday even though we haven’t been for over a year now as we continue to navigate staffing a restaurant in an industry that’s been largely abandoned by its most seasoned veterans. But it’s worth it to us to sing the Marseillaise and eat French food and drink French wine. And what’s more, our pal and erstwhile wine director, Megan, will join us for a guest stint as your friendly and knowledgeable sommelieuse. If that doesn’t make it worth a visit on the 14 juilliet, I don’t know what would. See you a week from Sunday, or before. Or after. Or all three.
Enjoy your Independence Day, independent of us here at Feast- we’ll be closed tomorrow but look forward to seeing you whenever you join us.
Your pal,
Doug