Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
A Chef Grows Hair In Brooklyn
About 14 years ago I went to the wedding of Erica (aka Wild Girl) and Rich in Iowa. At the time my hair was the longest it ever was and I had a full beard as well. One of their friends had a completely shaved head and I wondered how I would look with a shaved head. I had had buzz cuts in the past but never went that far. I also swore if I lost my hair I wouldn't be one of those guys with a do-wrap or bad hair piece.
When we got back I cut my own hair and then shaved my head and face. I liked the way it looked and being a drummer in a couple of bands it gave me a look or style (especially as a conga player for Voodoo Martini a pop rock latin lounge band). Needless to say I have shaved my head ever day or so since. There are lots of people who have never seen me with hair, including my son.
Well I am about 2 weeks into growing it back, again out of curiosity to see how much hair do I have left. Maybe my son will now stop calling me egghead. If you are curious it yourself come into Little Buddy and request the removal of my chef's hat, with a purchase of course.
When we got back I cut my own hair and then shaved my head and face. I liked the way it looked and being a drummer in a couple of bands it gave me a look or style (especially as a conga player for Voodoo Martini a pop rock latin lounge band). Needless to say I have shaved my head ever day or so since. There are lots of people who have never seen me with hair, including my son.
Well I am about 2 weeks into growing it back, again out of curiosity to see how much hair do I have left. Maybe my son will now stop calling me egghead. If you are curious it yourself come into Little Buddy and request the removal of my chef's hat, with a purchase of course.
Friday, November 13, 2009
MIxed Tapes are BACK BABY!!!
In keeping with the music theme at the bakery I thought I'd let my readers know that a few weeks back I brought in my Nakamichi cassette deck. I bought that tape deck right before I bought into buying cd's and way before the birth of mp3's. It was a very expensive piece of equipment at the time (purchased at Harvey's) and mixed tapes was were it was at.
I had made countless number of compilations, including a series called Crazy Covers, The Good Bad and the Cheesy. As an owner of a 99 Dodge Caravan I actually have a tape deck in the car. I guess the original owner hadn't made the medium move to cd's as yet or was a cheapskate.
When I took my first day off on Columbus Day weekend Jill, Jack and I went upstate to go pumpkin picking and other fall related upstate activities. I grabbed a bunch of my tapes and we spent the almost 2 days driving around listening to music that I have mostly on vinyl, which was converted to C-90 Maxwell's. It was fun to listen to music I don't get to hear much since not only are most of those tunes not on my i-pod but many of them aren't on cd's either.
So if you come into Little Buddy Biscuit Company you might be listenting to a mixed tape, circa 1991 or so. Now how many bakeries in Brooklyn can proudly state that?
I had made countless number of compilations, including a series called Crazy Covers, The Good Bad and the Cheesy. As an owner of a 99 Dodge Caravan I actually have a tape deck in the car. I guess the original owner hadn't made the medium move to cd's as yet or was a cheapskate.
When I took my first day off on Columbus Day weekend Jill, Jack and I went upstate to go pumpkin picking and other fall related upstate activities. I grabbed a bunch of my tapes and we spent the almost 2 days driving around listening to music that I have mostly on vinyl, which was converted to C-90 Maxwell's. It was fun to listen to music I don't get to hear much since not only are most of those tunes not on my i-pod but many of them aren't on cd's either.
So if you come into Little Buddy Biscuit Company you might be listenting to a mixed tape, circa 1991 or so. Now how many bakeries in Brooklyn can proudly state that?
Saturday, November 7, 2009
THE GONG OF APPROVAL
What is the GONG OF APPROVAL might you ask? Well it's quite simple...my favorite Chinese cymbal from my drumming days is in the back of the store with a soft mallet next to it. Whenever something cool or special happens in the store we turn off the music and strike the gong in approval. Customers seem to like being the impetus for the rich and complex overtones of one of my favorite percussion instruments. I admit to being very fond of the whole production as I like both ceremony and bringing a small part of my musical past into the store.
What are some of the reasons the GONG OF APPROVAL was in action? Here is a short list:
What are some of the reasons the GONG OF APPROVAL was in action? Here is a short list:
- First sale of a new product or one of our specials.
- Ordering an ice cream cone at 10:00 am on a Saturday morning.
- Telling the counter salesperson that you do not share one of your cheddar biscuits with your new bride, doing so was not listed in the vows you shared.
- Recognition of the Chinese cymbal and admitting you are a drummer too.
- Coming back for a second order of Daddy Mac (mac n cheese) in the same day.
- Telling us we are the best bakery in NYC!!!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Rain Rain Go Away
Sometimes in business you can plan every detail and have it washed away by things not under your control, like a rainy Tuesday morning. Today is the debut of our lunch menu (see www.littlebuddybiscuitcompany.com for menu) and I am both nervous and excited at the same time. We prepared a beautiful blackboard with our menu on it yesterday but of course the rain is preventing us from putting it outside. Tuesday's can be a tad slow to begin with and I'm hoping the rain doesn't scare away the rushing commuters and parents dropping off their kids at school. Maybe I'll stand outside and encourage people to come on in (not). I kind of feel like I did when I was in bands and getting ready to perform on stage. I hope we get a packed house today.
As a chef that is comfortable in both savory cooking and baking as well (not that common) I am happy to see more savory options for our customers that they can bring to work or home as a meal. Last weekend we did great with our lunch specials, potato caramelized onion and gruyere galettes (free form pies), whole wheat personal size pizzas with roasted portobello mushrooms, pesto and smoked mozzarella, zucchini and provolone frittata and Daddy Mac (mac n cheese). This week I hope the response will be equally as good for the sandwich and soup choices. We are also featuring Balthazar's bread and croissants for sale and they look great in the showcase. We've had lot's of requests for bread and Balthazar is one of the best artisan bread makers in NYC.
Anyway I am happy with the way we are continously growing and diversefying our menu and making it fun for customers to come in each day to see what is new. We've made our dessert menu full of delicious choices and now strive to do the same with savory.
As a chef that is comfortable in both savory cooking and baking as well (not that common) I am happy to see more savory options for our customers that they can bring to work or home as a meal. Last weekend we did great with our lunch specials, potato caramelized onion and gruyere galettes (free form pies), whole wheat personal size pizzas with roasted portobello mushrooms, pesto and smoked mozzarella, zucchini and provolone frittata and Daddy Mac (mac n cheese). This week I hope the response will be equally as good for the sandwich and soup choices. We are also featuring Balthazar's bread and croissants for sale and they look great in the showcase. We've had lot's of requests for bread and Balthazar is one of the best artisan bread makers in NYC.
Anyway I am happy with the way we are continously growing and diversefying our menu and making it fun for customers to come in each day to see what is new. We've made our dessert menu full of delicious choices and now strive to do the same with savory.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Sometimes Cold Pineapple Cake Should Be Good Enough
When it comes to the bakery I have the tendency to be a perfectionist. I literally want everything we make to be fantastic, an experience of pure pleasure mind you. But this business will teach you that sometimes the reality is good should be good enough.
Last week we had a special request for our pineapple upside down cake the raspberries and pecans for Sunday. I made an extra one for the store to sell and one for the customer. When it was getting late I asked my employee to call and as it turns out the order was for the following Sunday. So now we have an extra cake, one that tastes best the first couple of days after it's made.
I like to make good out of mistakes like this so I offered the cake to Jack's old school PS 295. They were having a pta meeting the next day and were happy to have a cake with their breakfast. The school is just a bit more than a block away so the families and teachers that go there are certainly potential customers so this was a good chance to do some outreach for the business too. We are starting lunches next week so Ruth, the pta president invited me to speak about Little Buddy before the meeting and bring menus for the parents to take.
In my haste to get the bakery open and be at the school by 8:30 am I forgot to take the cake out of the refrigerator to get it to room temperature. For most people it was probably no big deal but I was thinking most of the morning how it would have tasted better if it had been not so cold. I hope that all the obsessing I do over my baked goods translates to great product because from a mental health point of view it's probably not such a good idea.
Luckily many customers have noticed the quality and have been very complimentary of our baked goods, so I guess being a perfectionist can pay off. It's a great feeling when someone comes to the store and sends an email later that day or the next day to say how much they enjoyed their treat land that happened twice today. It makes it feel like the hard work we do is worth it and that we are already enjoying success.
Last week we had a special request for our pineapple upside down cake the raspberries and pecans for Sunday. I made an extra one for the store to sell and one for the customer. When it was getting late I asked my employee to call and as it turns out the order was for the following Sunday. So now we have an extra cake, one that tastes best the first couple of days after it's made.
I like to make good out of mistakes like this so I offered the cake to Jack's old school PS 295. They were having a pta meeting the next day and were happy to have a cake with their breakfast. The school is just a bit more than a block away so the families and teachers that go there are certainly potential customers so this was a good chance to do some outreach for the business too. We are starting lunches next week so Ruth, the pta president invited me to speak about Little Buddy before the meeting and bring menus for the parents to take.
In my haste to get the bakery open and be at the school by 8:30 am I forgot to take the cake out of the refrigerator to get it to room temperature. For most people it was probably no big deal but I was thinking most of the morning how it would have tasted better if it had been not so cold. I hope that all the obsessing I do over my baked goods translates to great product because from a mental health point of view it's probably not such a good idea.
Luckily many customers have noticed the quality and have been very complimentary of our baked goods, so I guess being a perfectionist can pay off. It's a great feeling when someone comes to the store and sends an email later that day or the next day to say how much they enjoyed their treat land that happened twice today. It makes it feel like the hard work we do is worth it and that we are already enjoying success.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Daddy Mac Arrives, Lunch to Follow
If you have read past blogs you will remember that Jack, aka Little Buddy himself, was craving my own Daddy Mac (gooey cheesy mac n cheese). Well I thought it would make sense as I was planning our soon to be lunch menu to add Daddy Mac as a special at the very least. Yesterday was the debut and we nearly sold out the first day. Needless to say it will come back again soon and I got to take home some for Jack, Jill and myself to enjoy (win win situation).
We are kicking off lunch at Little Buddy starting on Tuesday, October 27. We will be buying bread and croissants from Balthazaar to sell retail and using the bread to make sandwiches. I am posting the proposed menu below, which will include soups from City Chef and sandwiches we make. On weekends we will have specials like chili and corn bread, personal gourmet pizzas, savory galettes and more. The menu below will be posted on the Little Buddy web site shortly as will our new menu of baked goods.
We are kicking off lunch at Little Buddy starting on Tuesday, October 27. We will be buying bread and croissants from Balthazaar to sell retail and using the bread to make sandwiches. I am posting the proposed menu below, which will include soups from City Chef and sandwiches we make. On weekends we will have specials like chili and corn bread, personal gourmet pizzas, savory galettes and more. The menu below will be posted on the Little Buddy web site shortly as will our new menu of baked goods.
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