I really like the taste and look of this stuff, it grew wild everywhere in San Francisco. They used it on the menu at Coi and would pick it fresh everyday from around town.
It tastes sour and fresh, and so do the flowers which you can eat as well. It is also called Oxalis. I’m not sure if it grows here or not but it seems like it should.

This is an amazing room, it’s got character and all the details that make it lovely. The light in the restaurant is stunning during the day, it’s like getting drunk in a solarium which is my dream come true. I love a dark dank bar more than anyone but feeling the early afternoon sun on your back and a cold beer in your hand is so good and relaxing. It’s so bright and happy in there that rainbows appear out of nowhere if you’re there at the right hour. There are always people coming and going, saying hello, making their daily Gastown rounds. I love the antiques, like the bar stools and the server stations. At first I wasn’t sure about the mirrors on the ceiling but now I love them. They are all tilted different ways and when you are sitting at the bar on a busy night and you look up you don’t see mirrors, you see a sea of people. You can also see what the table way across the room is eating , the mirrors show off the food really well. You can sneak peaks at other tables without being obvious, it is quite entertaining when your sitting there with a cocktail. One time when I was skimming a stock I was staring off into space and I looked up at one of the mirrors and I was surprised to see raindrops falling into a puddle on the street, it looked so beautiful, you never know what you’re going to see in them. It’s also good for the cooks that the kitchen is in the big beautiful room, it can be very visually stimulating. I guess the people make it too, the place is full of good people. I’m very happy there.

I thought I’d be living the life of a glamourous vampire during my olympic graveyard shifts, but I’m a haggard zombie. I start work at midnight and finish at noon, then I have a beer and a bourbon and stumble home through the busy streets. I fall into bed and sleep fitfully until the olympic fireworks wake me up, then I stumble back to work. My skin is grey and bumpy and flaky, I have hangnails on all my fingers, and I’m grumpy. Life’s been pretty dark and grey, but the other morning the sun came out and when Scotty and I went to take out the morning garbage we were blinded and then so grateful to feel the sun. That day when we got off we smoked out of an apple bong in Blood Alley (it helps us sleep). We joked and smiled and felt the sun on our skin. It’s so funny how grateful you can feel when you take things for granted.

I’m not going to have much time to write blogs, I barely have time to shower. Things will get better as my body adjusts. It’s crazy to see the sunrise in through the steamy windows in the morning, when we take 5 minutes for breakfast. Must go sleep now, my throat hurts.

I love masking tape and sharpies, they are how most restaurants label mise en place. I also love labeling. I have been changing my label style and trying to find what I like. At Coi they cut the tape with scissors instead of tearing it. I got so used to doing this that I still do it at Boneta. Some people say that it is a waste of time. They say in a business where you make barely any profit you can’t waste time doing shit like that. I think this is a good point and a good balance needs to be found. My obsessive compulsive ways have helped me and hurt me in the past and I am forever trying to balance myself. I also really hate colored sharpies, I think they clash with the prep and they are silly. I need to chill cooking should be fun, but I only like black sharpies. I take pride in my prep and I want the labels to reflect that, but how embarrassing would it be to be in the shit because of fancy little labels. I think that the small things matter and that if a guest sees in the kitchen and everything is labeled, organized and visually appealing it looks good. I also do it for me to amuse myself, finding my label writing style and it takes no time at all to do it really.

Before I left for San Francisco I shredded up the inner parts of the cabbage that we have left over from one of the garnishes and set it upstairs to ferment while I was gone. When I got back I had a successful batch of sauerkraut. I made choucroute out of it and we ate it for staff with pomme puree and left over blood pudding. I’m going to make a bigger batch this week.

I have internet today but I haven’t had it in a week so I’m posting all my blogs that I haven’t been able to post. Hopefully the internet will stay strong so I can post once every day or two instead of this crazy bombardment.

I had a bad attitude at work today. I felt like I’ve seen shit and I have my own ideas. I forgot that I’m just still learning how to cook and that I should be honored to be taken under the wing. Mistake. I have the regret. Thank god I have a clean slate on Monday. I just have to try and be better everyday and not be afraid to make mistakes. Again I’m really sorry.

When I was at Coi it was super cool that they filtered and carbonated their own water. I loved drinking glasses of sparking water during service to cleanse my palate, fucking fancy. When I arrived back at Boneta they had just gotten their water system installed. I’m not sure if it is the same water company at both places, or if there is lots of companies. The company provides the bottles and dishwasher racks for them. Its really beautiful.

My first day back at Boneta I was lucky enough to accompany Jeremie to a party to raise money for Haiti. Lots of chefs volunteered and it was interesting to see how each team would put out their coarse and how they would organize themselves. Our coarse was so smooth, it was quiet on the line and the plates looked beautiful. Ours was cauliflower puree, cauli florets sauteed with mitake mushrooms, blood pudding (Jeremie’s grandmother’s recipe), fresh local scallops, mustard micro green and red wine jus. There was also a rock star serving crew.

Earlier at the restaurant:
“Do you have the mise en place for the party for ‘aiti tonight?”
“Party of 80 tonight!? No one told me about an 80.”
“No, the party for ‘aiti.”