Month One

It’s been a complete and total whirlwind, rollercoaster, time travel, trip of an experience. Still, every once and awhile I look at Joey in amazement and say, “We have a restaurant. That’s totally wild.”

There have been ups and downs. We’re still sorting things out. Lot’s of things on our honey-do list — make those smoothies colder, revamp the brunch menu, streamline kitchen operations, find some extra room in the budget for another worker bee.

Certain menus have made me happier than others. My friend Erin calls me the Mother of the Food. This last week I was feeling like I needed to be a better mother. I’m liking lunches. They’re a little lighter, fresher, bolder flavors, more colorful. I need to find a way to translate that to the brunch menu and still satisfy those hung over hunger pains we all need satisfied on an occasional weekend. But, despite what I try to remind myself are the inevitable growing pains and missteps, I am on a daily basis blown away by the response and how wonderfully supportive everyone has been.

When I went into this I knew that I was going to have to keep a certain attitude about it. I had to approach the restaurant like it was a studio, a place I created for myself to experiment with food. I could go in, make stuff and then share it with people. Like I was sending out an open invitation to the entire city of Omaha for a little lunch gathering at my place, or getting to have an art opening every week. I knew if I went into it thinking of it as something more serious, I’d get stressed out. And then the food would taste stressed out. And then the diners would feel stressed out. It’d be a bummer all round. I’m holding fast to that idea.

A few farmer visits this weekend have got me invigorated going into month two. New fresh green thing deliveries (fluffy, beautiful speckled bib lettuce, thick deep green spinach, French Breakfast radishes in my favorite shade of magenta and dill, dill, dill!) and the sudden warm weather have got my culinary juices flowing in a new, lighter, crisper, direction. Raw is more and more on my brain. AND the amazing Dana Damewood is going to be photographing my food this week. Honored.

It’s going to be a good one! Hope to see you in month two.

Love and waffles,

elle

A PS to readers – I’d like to start sharing recipes. I’m taking requests. If there is something you’ve eaten at the restaurant that you’d like to know how to make yourself, send me a note and I’ll get it up.

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