Oh, How the Mighty Have Fallen!

Our Wine List is more to us than some catalogue of products we sell.  In its complete form it is a finished piece of art that evolves and changes subtly over time. The individual bottles of wine are the various colors of paint that go into the finished piece and create its vibrancy and character.  Now what exactly does that mean to me when I say it? It means that we go out of our way to present unique wines made by individuals with passion and integrity that are inspired by a natural and healthy respect for the vine. Some guests that frequent Niche ask us why we don’t carry Silver Oak’s, Chimney Rock, Cakebread, and the infamous Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio.  Well, we are also students of wine and as students we have learned quite a bit about the wine business. Let us use the example of Markham Merlot.  Some folks might absolutely love the taste of Markham Merlot. It is a fairly consistent wine, easy on the palate and very food friendly. Also it consistently is one of the top selling wines in the restaurant industry as a whole in this country which places it just about everywhere. In fact, you can even get it in Jewel or Dominick’s which makes it convenient to grab while you are out running errands or just in a hurry.

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A Fresh New Partnership

At Niche Restaurant we support more than just our local growers. We recognize that we are part of a much larger community of surrounding cities and businesses. Valley Air Service (VAS) and Niche Restaurant are excited about a new partnership.

When we began preparations for last year’s James Beard Dinner in New York City, working with VAS relieved us of all the stresses of traveling half way across the country. I spent time with their devoted pilots and support staff going over the details of the trip and was even allowed access to their fleet to take measurements for packing and transporting the Niche team, food and supplies. Careful arrangements were made for all of our travel needs, including ground transportation with incredible service. For more information contact Valley Air Service’s Marketing & Client Services Manager Pamela Meeks.

A May of Morels

Morels, morels, morels are on the mind and the tip of the tongue. While Mother Nature decided to wait a bit before spring this year, just last week I was in the restaurant and was lucky to get a call from a local who brings us the most divine little knobs of mushroom heaven. The moment I heard her voice, my excitement and anticipation escalated. She informed me that she should have some morels ready to deliver the first week of the month. After they’re tenderly transported to our back door in the ever-so-slightly damp brown paper bag, wet from the forest floor, we gingerly lay them out on paper towels and search for the four or five largest shrooms. We always find so many perfect ones that have deep ridges running from tip to stem and are nearly cylindrical that it’s tough to pick a favorite.

As I began writing this column I received an e-mail from my uncle who lives in Ohio telling of his recent luck, after several unsuccessful morel mushroom hunting. While in his backyard he just happened to glance at the base of a short flag stone wall flanking his patio and found his first morel growing out from some river rock spread throughout a bed of ground covering juniper.

Upon finding his first surprise, my uncle gently trimmed it, sautéed it with a little salt and pepper and cherished it with knife and fork. Unfortunately, I found out after the meal, that he had sautéed it in margarine. Had he jumped online to catch his nephew, not only would he have told the world, he could have gotten a couple tips.

There has been limited success cultivating morels, yet mushroom foragers have developed ways to encourage the little gems’ growth for years. Every so often these mushrooms will pop up in unexpected places - some call it anomalies; I call it Mother Nature giving us a surprise.

At Niche, we love to trim the stems and stuff the mushroom with a moist and juicy house made fresh sausage. After gently browning it in whole butter (mmmhhh… Uncle Neil) we roast it and then carve it with a rich and meaty reduction sauce. Keep an eye out on facebook and twitter; I’ll let you know when they come in the door. I think they will be a perfect fit for a Saturday morsel. Until next time… Chef Jeremy

Welcome to the Site

After months of designing, planning and biting my lip as to what this site looks like, I am happy to officially launch this blog. While I am quite green to the process, as a reader you will be able to watch me progress as I have the opportunity to pass on plenty of tidbits from my culinary quiver in the ‘Courses Column’ and through the Archives. Seventeen years of working in a variety of kitchens has provided me with more than a few anecdotes along the way I can’t wait to share with you.

You’ll find recipes throughout that read simply as cook’s notes. Professional chefs aren’t taught to follow recipes, but rather to gain an understanding of ingredients and apply time-tested methods and techniques that have been honed along the way.  I tend to look at recipes as a general guideline and oftentimes, it is from this starting point that my imagination is let loose, ultimately creating something more unique than the original. It’s fair to say that there are more than several ways to cook something, but until you have seen it done or do it yourself many  times and perhaps fail a few, you may never truly understand.

Alongside the blog, you now can connect with us here at Niche Restaurant via the new generation of the information superhighway. I know that plenty of you spend some free time keeping tabs on friends via Facebook and Twitter. With this new platform, I am able to keep you informed of not only upcoming events and happenings around the restaurant, but also the creative process of a dish that will be on the menu that evening, almost in real time. This site will open a portal into the kitchen here at Niche Restaurant and give you access to information most chefs keep tucked away in food-stained notebooks.