Hello,

This post will be short, as I (and the rest of the staff at the restaurant) am exhausted. Restaurant week is over, well, kind of. We are joining the large group of restaurants extending the deal another week, though it seems it will be much less busy than the first. Restaurant week is such a bittersweet thing, great to have the business in what would be one of our worst months out of the year is great, though difficult to pull off. Averaging over 200 covers a night (we did three hundred some Friday), each eating four courses, that's upwards of a thousand plates a night, maxing out at about 1300.

With that kind of volume comes a lot of difficulty, trying to maintain ordering pars to cover what you need, while not keeping too much of any product on one hand, finding not only motivation for yourself but also to inspire your staff after cooking hundreds of the same dishes over and over and over, maintaining sanity while spending your time with the same people (none of whom have any days off, and usually end up spending time together after work) in the same building night after night, trying to maintain the standards of the regular menu for the few who do choose to order off of it, creating a menu that is cost effective, able to be executed in high volumes and above all still delicious. It's not easily done, to say the least, and the week offers a unique challenge as a chef, but those challenges (and meeting them) are what make a chef. I suppose the point is that I'm exhausted, as most restaurant employees in Denver are, but it's good to be busy. Really Good to be busy. I'm glad I've survived (though I managed a pretty good burn on my left forearm) this years Restaurant Week (knock on wood for part two), and look forward to next years being even better.

Here's to the future.

L

I apologize it's been a while since I've last posted on the blog. It's been nothing but busy times at Strings. The Valentines day menu was a huge success, one of the busiest ever at Strings. The night went smoothly and all of the guests enjoyed their experience. After a few days of recovery we are now gearing up for restaurant week, expecting to be filled up every night of the week!

In the Kitchen we have also been making strides to make the kitchen more 'green'. Some of the changes that will be made first are going to be using sustainable and compostable to-go containers, and to-go bags.One of the smaller things we'll be doing is energy management, simply making sure that we're not leaving equipment turned on while it's not being used, or sharing ovens during slow periods in business. It may not be saving the world, but we're at least trying to do our part.

As far as food is concerned look for Strings to begin using more and more sustainable, local, and organic products. Some of the products we're using now are Red Bird Farms Chickens, that are free of hormones, steroids, antibiotics, or saline solutions in packing (they are packed here in Englewood, CO), Colorado Raised Lamb, Morning Fresh Farm Eggs (Platteville, CO), Haystack Mountain Goat Cheese (Boulder, CO), and 'Ranch' Steaks from Niman Ranch. This is only a start and look for the list to grow soon, probably starting with Colorado Clover Honey from Douglas County, and then moving to either free-range Colorado or Niman Ranch Pork.

All this talk about local food has me excited for the opening of Colorado's biggest farmer's market in Boulder, April 4th can't come soon enough!

Lance

Every Sunday at Strings I have the opportunity to run a tasting menu of four courses. This is one of the things I look forward to every week, as a lot of my Sunday before service is spent playing with my food. Sometimes this is me (and our cooks) trying out whacky (See: Dessert) ideas, playing with a new technique of Molecular Gastronomy, or developing a recipe/technique for an upcoming menu. Here's a rundown of last weeks Menu. Oh yeah, one more kicker, the menu's only $26.40 per person (plus tax and service of course).




The Salad Choice on the first course was inspired by the salad of Haricot Verts By Thomas Keller of the French Laundry. Roasted Tomato Tartare, Creamy-Dressed Haricot Verts, Grilled Frisee, Chives, 20 Yr. Old Balsamic Vinegar, and some Haystack Mountain Goat Cheese we smoked with Canadian Oak, Froze and grated finely into 'Snow'.




The other choice for the first course was simple, yet delicious. Felipe's Clam Chowder with Bacon. A Crouton made from our house-made Focaccia and Chives finished the dish.



The pasta course was a dish that will be altered and end up on the winter menu. Butternut Squash and caramelized Fennel stuffed Cascionelli, Honey Candied Pancetta, Beurre Noisette, and Micro Sage. I'd bet it ends up with Walnuts, maybe even plumped craisins.



The first of the two entree choices was a Sous-vide Pork Loin. Underneath the Pork is a Pistachio Puree, and Spaghetti Squash. On top of the Pork is a Riesling Demi-Glace, Crispy Arugula, and Smoked Salt.



The second choice for an entree was a salad featuring some beautiful Yellowfin Tuna. Behind the Tuna is a salad of Arugula, Red Onion, Red Pepper, Carrot, and Radicchio dressed in a Green Curry Vinaigrette, on the side is a crispy cigar of those same vegetables, minus the Arugula. The Sauce is a reduction of Soy, Mirin, Lime, and Hoisin. Dolloped on the Tuna is an Edamame and Wasabi Puree.



Lewis and I had a brainchild for the Dessert this week,and with permission from the Pastry Chef we were allowed to dabble on the sweet side for a night. The idea: Deep-fried Cookies. After some basic research we figured that cookie dough wouldn't hold up in the fryer alone, so the answer was obvious, let's batter it! Upon realization that the batter worked, we weren't satsfied, we wanted Ice Cream too. We rolled the cookie dough thin, and deposited little scoops of Butterfinger Ice Cream made by the wonderful DBar, into the cookie dough. We then wrapped the dough around the ice cream, formed it into a ball and refroze the whole thing. The frozen Ice Cream/Cookie Dough balls were battered, fried, tossed in powdered sugar and served atop Salted Caramel Sauce, Raspberry Coulis, and Vanilla Creme Anglais. Aside the Dessert is some Ice cold milk. Labor-intensive? Yes. Less than Elegant? Yes. Delicious? More than you could imagine.

So, I have to thank all the Cooks, and Chef for the help with the menu ideas, and development.

Hello! My name is Lance Barto, I am the Sous Chef at Strings and have recently become a new contributor to the Strings Blog!
I will be blogging about the creative process that Aaron and I go through to develop menus and help explain how the food at Strings comes to be. There should also be plenty of photographs, videos, upcoming menus and the occasional recipe on the way!

Chef Aaron and I had a good chance to sit down today and discuss some ideas for the new Winter Menu (which will hopefully be out next week). I thought I'd give you all a little insight to some of the ideas we're tossing around.

The first two dishes that are relatively solidified are both Entrees for the dinner menu. A dish featuring Duck Breast inspired by Southern Cuisine, and a Seafood (Scallops, or White Fish) dish inspired by some of our favorite Thai flavors.

The Duck will be a seared Muscovy Duck Breast, resting on top of Black Eyed Peas, and wilted Mustard Greens. The Black Eyed Peas will be cooked in a broth of Ham Hocks and Mirepoix (Carrot, Celery, and Onion), the leftover broth will be emulsified with Foie Gras, and act as the sauce of the dish. There will certainly be some fresh herbs and garnishes with the dish though they are yet to be specifically determined. One garnish in particular we have yet to work out the details for will be cornbread or corn in some form. This is a dish meant to warm your bones through the cold of winter, and remind you of some good old Southern hospitality.

The Thai inspired Seafood dish will revolve around either a piece of pan-seared white fish (Haddock, Alaskan Cod, or True North Atlantic Cod) or Scallops Brochette (Sea Scallops Skewered and Grilled). Underneath the Seafood will be a Gingered Carrot Puree, and a broth of Lemongrass and Coriander. The Broth will also probably be used to emulate 'Sea Foam' on top of the Seafood. Once again some of the smaller details are yet to be worked out, but I'd say you can bet on seeing some Micro Cilantro, some form of citrus, and something crunchy.

Keep your eyes open in the next few days to look for a few more of our ideas and experiments!