It's a big week in town: Homegrown Music Festival is in full-effect.
But this isn't a music blog, so let's stay on-track.
A changing of the guard.
We're going to bloody miss this one.
Another month has gone by, and that means it's time for a new Sandwich Lab special. On Monday, May 6th, the warm, buttery aroma and savory goodness of the Bloody Mary is leaving our deli to make way for our first ever avocado sandwich, the Wallaby.
Enjoy some different angles of the Wallaby.
Framed with our haus-baked Prince Myshkin rye, the Wallaby also features fresh tomato slices, ramps, lemon pepper, and a balsamic reduction.
Ironically brought to our collective attention by Michael, who is allergic to avocados, the sandwich is inspired by the best-selling sandwich at Creekside Coffee in Sedona, AZ, where he worked for a time.
The Wallaby's run will span from May 6th to June 3rd.
Beer and wine.
If all goes as planned—which seems to be the case—come Summer, we'll be licensed to serve beer and wine. This is big news for us. As a company forever growing in our hearts, expanding our business to accommodate such a popular commodity can only be a good thing. While nothing is set in stone, the conversation has revolved around a curated selection of beer in cans and boxed wines.
We hope you'll join us on our patio this Summer and enjoy an appropriate amount of buzz with your sandwich.
We packaged 150 lbs of smoked bacon.
In individual pounds, to boot!
An online food retail service—which I'm not going to name, since I believe there is an amount of surprise/secrecy implied—has selected our smoked bacon to be a part of its monthly subscription box that may or may not be called "The Best of the Best." We're honored that our bacon has been recognized as such, just as we're stoked every time anyone tells us (or their friends) that one of our offerings is their favorite.
Lamb taco pasties.
Tuesday's tacos were in a class of their own. Taylor whipped up some Lamb Birria—an adobo sauce originating in Jalisco, Mexico, traditionally served in a soup form, but adopted as a style of taco—which we served on corn soft-shells with pickled red onion, cotija cheese, cilantro, and salsa verde. This savory and mildly spicy delight blends guajillo chiles, ancho chiles, garlic, cinnamon, Mexican oregano and bay leaf, and slow-cooks all those flavors into tender shredded lamb shank.
Patricia, never missing a beat, apportioned some of the special for a limited run of pasties.
Yes, imagine all of the above ingredients packaged together inside a folded and rolled masa pastry, available to be heated in our deli, or taken home and prepared on your own time.
If you love or even casually enjoy stuffed pastries, check our meat case when you stop in for the latest pasty selection.
Workplace drama.
Work. I don't know who invented work, but I'd like to have a word with them. It typically makes up anywhere from a quarter to just over a third of the hours in the day—unless I'm really out of touch with whom is reading this blog—and oftentimes you're seeing the same rotation of people when you work. It's sort of like a family. Needless to say, things can get a bit tense, and even blow up, as they did in this case.
When I sat down at Leif's desk—which is my favorite place to write the 5 Things™ blog, due not only to the fantastic natural light and eclectic decorations, but equally to the risk of needing to move all of my mess when Leif needs to write a schedule or print a sign—I was appalled, though not surprised to find this remnant of an interpersonal clash.
I'm gone one day and this happens.
Please remember that every person you meet and each of your coworkers is following their own personal path, and struggling with all of their own issues which are not only valid, but also impossible to fully comprehend unless that person is you, and even then those struggles may not be fully comprehensible. Look for the goodness in others and be a mirror to reflect back that goodness. And lay off the demerits.
Bonus Things™.
Mother's Day is coming up soon and we have a great Mother's Day Box at a nice price. It features our Smoked Sockeye Salmon and Hausmade Boursin Cheese.
Happy Homegrown.
Bruno says, "Happy Homegrown from Hemlock Preserve!"
It feels like it has been forever, but we’re back on our pop-up game. Tonight, from 5 until we run out of food, we’ll be serving up brats at Hoops Brewing. On the menu, we have Italian sausage with roasted red peppers and onion and beer brats with sauerkraut, with potato salad and creamy Koolslaw available as sides.
Patricia, a new member of our team, has been blowing our minds with a variety of cookies and pastries, and we threw a dozen of them in the grab & go case this week: carrot cake cookie sandwiches with honey cream cheese.They went fast, but I doubt this is the last we’ll see of them. See, part of the vetting process is that we all have to test them. And, um, we're going to want to test them again pretty soon here, I'd imagine.Basically, here is your reminder that stopping into our deli and seeing what kind of new flavor-of-the-day/week/month specials and deals we have for you is not a terrible idea. We’re always coming up with something new.
