Hooray for Indoor Plumbing!

FINALLY! We finally got our plumbing permit and Scott (Traditional Plumbing) and crew are happily drilling holes all over the place. The refrigeration guys are in the basement scratching their heads over how to build a walk-in in a 66" high basement, and the electrician is trying to work around it all. Meanwhile at RCC we are struggling to unload and shelve hundreds of bottles of bubbly in anticipation of NYE. Struggling meaning it's hard not to "remind" ourselves of the variety of Champagne styles out there via constant sampling. Good thing that magnum of Lassaigne Blanc de Blanc doesn't arrive until later...

Secco Winter Menu Trials

Last night we took a break from construction and holiday madness to indulge in some necessary bacchanalia: testing out dishes for Secco's opening (winter) menu. That's as close as I'm going to get to naming a date ;)

Chef Tim blew us away with just a handful of creations. Obviously I'm biased, but there are going to be some very happy foodies in RVA in a few months! Here's a sneak peek at the preliminary round (iPhone take it away!):

Roasted almond & garlic soup with roasted grapes, chanterelles, creme fresh & almond oil.



Amuse of Gravlax with slivered red onion, fresh dill, creme fraiche.



Mackerel escabeche.



Duck terrine with sultanas & pistachios, wrapped in prosciutto di parma, with gala apple compote & toasted baguette.



Squid ink colored cappelletti stuffed with baccala montecato; romesco sauce and crushed toasted hazelnuts.



Fonduta: Comte & Tavoliere with kirschwasser.



Duck confit, sauteed brussels sprouts, battered/fried cippolini, duck gelee with verjus.



Finally: Catalan bread pudding with caramel sauce & fleur de sel. Paired beautifully with Jorge Ordonez Malaga #1. Heart!

Baby Got Back(bar)!

Some beautiful things are taking place next door: Tom, along with his helper Eric, got the back bar installed today! It's an arched soffit with recessed lighting and a big mirror behind it. Plenty of wine-by-the-glass storage and space for delicious draft beer! So exciting. Also new is the final color choice: silvery mauve during the day, shimmery bloody red at night (technically it's RL Metallic Regent Dewdrop Pink). Starting to shape up...Feel free to pop in and peek next time you're in Carytown!

Sheetrockin' Out!

WOW! Secco is really starting to look like a place and not a spreadsheet!

The guys got the whole place rocked in yesterday, and should finish skim-coating the east wall today. That means soon we'll be painting...

In these photos Chef Tim looks on at his new "home" and Tom watches the progress.

The windows are in and the door will be installed soon, more light than I've seen for 11 years in our "cave" at RCC ;)

In order...

(Used) Hood parts.

Spatial relations.

Sheet rock.

Reality embraced.

City Girl, Country Girl

Julia with Beatrix

I finally visited Sara while she tended to cheese making and goat herding at Caromont Farm in Esmont, VA. It was a quick jaunt doubling as a cider bootlegging/leaf peeping road trip, but it was great seeing my goat girl in her element. Here are some iPhone shots of the critters. Sara will have real photos to upload soon. Cheers!



Sara with her flock (herd?)





MudPig!











Baby boy goat greeters.












Sparky the Key Eater

Relentless Thirst Beer Tasting

(RCC Beer Guy David Garrett's notes)

A collection of beers were put together on a roof in downtown Richmond last Saturday. Some of these beers dated back to 1987, some were the most sought after microbrews made. I brought two bottles of British ale that I had had the luck of retrieving from south eastern England. Within moments these humble beers were consumed and for a second the thought of "whats next" crossed my mind. After this point the overwhelming bounty became, well, simply that, overwhelming. There was a true embarrassment of riches. Beautiful beers being pushed aside for even more ridiculous and obscure offerings. There were "Decadence" and "Dark Lord" along with incomprehensibly sour lambics from the '90's. There were high alcohol pilsners, bottled in 750 ml bottles, from the Czech Republic. And there was a bottle of BFM's Abbey de Saint Bon-Chien aged in Bourbon barrels. The crowd of beer enthusiasts casually made their way through all these crazy, mind bending elixirs with the non-challenge of a professional...

Thanks to the host Eric, author of the Relentless Thirst Blog !
Pictured here are (in no particular order, to protect the innocent):
David, RCC
Matt, Wine & Beer Westpark
Ron, B United
Chris, Loveland
Eric, Relentless Thirst
Dan, Left Hand Brewing
Lincoln, Capitol Ale House
Emily, OUAVN