A flour superior to King Arthur?

One of the interesting discoveries at the Specialty Food show was a excellent new line of flour. We will be test baking this new flour against King Arthur to see each flour properties and how the new flour works in the kitchen. If we find that this new flour is a better product we will be carrying it in the MarketCafe and it will be incorporated into Sam's signature cookies. You have not heard about Sam's cookies? You will love these cookies.

conduit, glorious conduit

If we were to take a step back, and just watch ourselves doing a little jig as we watch the electrician installing conduit, we would laugh, but we would keep on doing our jig. Progress is a good thing. A weekend of menu development is planned as well as prep work for the Specialty Food Show that is coming up. Finally, we have forged a relationship with the Spice House, and will be offering a range of their products as well as our own spice blends using their spice as our raw material. The Z&H crouton mix is incredible (I find myself using for other purposes).

Team Tati

Had a nice exchange with the fine folks over at Tati Cycles. They have a new space and are developing a new Team and we are going to try and work with them however we can. Hyde Park is a small town that happens to be located in a big city, and we need to be supportive of the quality that we have in our midst. And who doesn't love a fine bike?

Z&H website..."Coming Soon"

We had an excellent meeting last night with our website developer and were able to refine our ideas into practical concepts that will be reality on our site. Functional, infomative, clean, and attractive. So, another coming soon, www.zhmarketcafe.com

Electricity...a fine thing

Such a simple thing, such a good thing. Our electrician was in today; we have many electrical needs. I can't really believe I use the term "three-phase" conversationally. I much prefer to talk coffee, cheese, or even Parma ham. We have begun interviewing for our staff positions and welcome applications if you know of anyone with a love of food, beverage, service, and hard work.

Zoning, and why it is important in everyday life

Today, Monday, was a break-through day. We have been fencing with The City of Chicago Department of Zoning for a few week. It is a medium-long, incredibly crazy (seemingly typical) story of how Chicago works. The sort of it is that we were able to finally get zoning stamps on our plans so that we can move forward. The core of the issue was that the City did not understand that retail commerce had been occurring for more than 80 years in a retail storefront
at 1126 East 47th Street. Hmmmm. Well, at about 10:50AM this morning something happened in the Zoning office and our (need I say fantastic) architecture plans were given the red stamp of approval. On an even more positive note is that our major equipment was delivered this past week and it is terrific to see the equipment in the space. 16 feet of deli case, multiple refrigeration and freezer units, sandwich table, and all the rest. Additionally, we presented at a community meeting about our plans and concerning our seeking a license to sell wine. The meeting went very well and we are excited about the interest in the MarketCafe and the relationship we are developing with our neighborhood. What a great day.