Ah Restaurant Week... It is the best of times, it is the worst of times. It wrapped up last Sunday, and I am officially exhausted.
It all began about a month ago at Harvest on the Hudson for the kick off party. This gorgeous event is something I look forward to all year. Its hosted by Harvest on the Hudson and they put out quite the spread of yummy passed appetizers: salty, earthy country pate; a crunchy, tangy, pork taco; and an assortment of cheeses and charcuterie.
Besides the yummy treats, I get to mingle with Westchester's restaurant industry elite. I was happy to chat it up with some of the people in my industry who I've known and worked with for years and never get to see anymore. Mingle and swap stories with vendors who's wares I sell on a daily basis, but don't often get to see. I get to talk to those who admire and aspire to like Chef Peter Kelly. This year the keynote speaker was especially exciting, Kevin Zraly. Studying wine has always been a passion of mine and one of the first books I read that peaked my interest into the world of wine was Windows on the World. Wine can be intimidating and pretentious, Kevin is neither of these things. Getting to shake his hand and talk to someone who makes the world of wine very accessible is something I won't forget.
This year coupled with the party was a photo shoot. Taking pictures of the food 3 weeks early was not as easy as it would seem. Swapping of ingredients was necessary for the pics as everything had not yet been ordered, or was not yet quite in season. This was stressful on us as the owners in particular my brother and my staff, but did it gracefully all for the glam of a photo shoot. Oh and surprise they wanted an owner pic as well. I was flattered, but not prepared.
After the party it is crunch time. This week is what those in the acting field would call hell week. Many of the restaurant week items are exclusive to the restaurant week menu and aren't carried by our distributors so going directly to the vendors becomes necessary. Travelling all over the Hudson Valley for specific ingredients has become a ritual for Keith, Kara and I. I enjoy it, but it is time consuming and puts a stress on my personal days. I even had plans to attend a bachelorette party and ended up at the same vineyard that I to pick up some wine at for our menu bringing multi tasking to a whole new level. Thank goodness for forgiving friends.
The toughest part of the whole two weeks is that the whole hustle seemed to be lost on many of our guests. I thought the menu was well thought out and the work that went into it was enormous, but there were guests that had it that just didn't like it for one reason or another. Don't get me wrong there were people who enjoyed it as well, but for the effort and time there should have been more positive feedback. I don't think I'm alone in thinking that the crowd this week brings in is definately quantity over quality.
With restaurant week thankfully behind me I'm happy for the opportunity, but also very happy to look forward to the spring season.
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