We Wish You a Speedy Recovery Dr. Manning

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Get well.jpgIf you frequent Tucos, chances are you've seen this distiguished, silver-haired gentleman, and his wife, sitting at table at Tucos with several opened, partially drunk bottles of wine in front of him- he's not drinking them so much as tasting and evaluating them.  That's Dr. Manning, perhaps the most passionate wine afficionado I've ever met (and an all around great guy). 

Recently Dr. Manning had to undergo some pretty heavy medical things and we've all been praying for him at Tucos.  Rumor has it that he went home today and chances are we'll soon be seeing him seated at Tucos with a whole bunch more open bottles....

We wish you a super speedy recovery JaRue!!!

Larry and Ros.jpgIt's official, 2009 will be closed to all commercial king salmon fishing- again.  We've all been reading about the economy, the layoffs, the furloughs, the bailouts.  Imagine a two year furlough with little or no bailout- that's what our local salmon fishermen are going through as they brace for yet another year without work. 

"Many of the little guys won't make it through a second year of closure.  For us, we have a retirement (from a previous career) to carry us.  If it weren't for that (and the small fish distribution business that we operate) we wouldn't make it either", says Larry Mayamuro, our local source for California king salmon.

The local king salmon population faced a disasterous fall runover this past year due to a triple whammy of factors: fresh water being diverted to cities from the delta, poor ocean conditions causing poor food source (crill) for the small salmon fry when they go to the open ocean, and a large proportion of hatchery fish which increases the salmon's vulnerability since the hatchery fish tend to migrate at the same time (and as a result are exposed to the same poor conditions) versus wild fish that migrate at different times throughout the run (and might find better conditions depending on the time they migrate).

As for the prospects for 2010, Larry says it looks like it will be a good season. "The salmon are very resilient. In 1983 we went through a similar situation only to see a record catch in 1988".  Hang in there Larry (and all of the Califonia king almon fisherman), we can't wait for 2010 to put our local king salmon back on the menu at Tucos!

Let's Talk About Fun, Baby

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The Sac Bee's service comments on Tucos got me thinking on a bigger scale- about folks going out to dinner, the role service plays, and where we weigh in. When folks go out what are they looking for? I see two basic camps: 1) need to get something in my stomach (grab-n-go), 2) let's go enjoy ourselves (full service). We'll spend our time in this article focusing on #2.

 

"Let's go enjoy ourselves"- I can't think of a better measure of enjoyment than fun.  The more fun something is, the more one enjoys it. So how do we define fun at Tucos?  Great company. Feeling very comfortable and relaxed. A belly-rolling, out of control laugh. Lots of flirting and storytelling. Food and beverages that delight. A mind that's totally stimulated experiencing new things that are slightly outside of the comfort zone. Time that has passed oh so quickly. People all around you also doing the same. Leaving feeling like you want to go home and make passionate love to your partner.  I think that pretty well frames our view of fun.

 

Notice what's missing in our definition of fun?  Stuffy, polished, impersonal attitudes.  Food creations designed to impress you with their sheer creativity and aesthetics and at the same remind you how distant you are from our greatness. A quiet, cerebral encounter with dressed-to-impress people all around you.  Proper etiquette that is so proper that you are in full etiquette mode for fear of offending others or embarrassing yourself.  I imagine there are some folks out there that crave this type of experience (and they pay out the nose for it).  But as for me, no thanks.

 

So where do things at Tucos fit in the fun camp?  We've built a place, menu, and recruited a team that tries to create these relaxed, comfortable, slightly out of the comfort zone experiences while delighting your palate with delicious food and beverages.  Anything we do that takes away from the fun, whether it's mediocre food or beverage, poor service or an uncomfortable environment needs to be priority numero uno to be addressed.  If we do these things right, I believe we'll deliver on that fun and in turn make our community's lives richer, fuller, better. Not a bad thing.  It's what I love about Tucos!

Except for the disappointing service comments, the review we recently received in the Sac Bee is the single best review I've ever read for any restaurant in any paper (and I've been reading reviews in the SF Chronicle, LA Times, and NY Times every week for the past two years).  The review begins with the title "On the Road to Greatness".The place is described as "a magical place", the food is described as "ranging from good to great to ridiculously wonderful". A review just doesn't get any better than that, and guess what, as objectively as I can be, I totally agree- including the service comments.  There were some basic, unacceptable failures on our part, and a little bit of structure and discipline was missing....my bad..  This has been corrected and I'm extremely pleased with how we've been doing since.

 

Thanks Blair for taking the time to check us out.  We're so pleased with the review!

 

Vuelve la Vida- Venezuelan Seafood Cocktail

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Vuelve la Vida.jpgAbout 15 years ago, during a weekend stayover on a business trip to visit my top distributor in Venezuela, I was invited on a trip to Morrocoy National Park for a weekend of boating, sun, and fun.  The weekend was a picture-perfect caribbean beach vacation, complete with pristine white beaches, calm seas, tiny cays and beautiful tanned bodies.  But what most stands out from that trip was when a small wooden boat pulled up to ours with a fisherman selling vuelve la vidas- a venezuelan seafood cocktail- mind-blowing!  The ones that day had freshly-caught shrimp, octopus and oysters with a spicy cocktail sauce.  We've brought this moment back to life with our version- wild caribbean shrimp, calamari from Monterey, Washington Manila clams, diced tomatoes, sweet onion, and cilantro, and our spicy cocktail sauce.  We just put them on the menu and you can hear the gentil caribbean waves lapping on the fine white sand as eat you this.  This dish is probably the perfect bar or picnic food (tailgates too).  Come check it out, or better yet, book a trip to Morrocoy!
Pizetta.jpgSince the early days when I was planning what eventually became Tucos, I wanted to serve pizza. Since opening we've become more confident with our various doughs and thought we might have an interesting pizza dough. We made a few test batches and confirmed that we have a wonderful pizza dough.  So what kind of pizza do we want to serve at Tucos?  I didn't want the typical american style pizzas, instead I wanted the wonderful, artisan pizzas that I remember eating at the Hotel Tamanaco in Caracas, Venezuela.  Thin, hand-made, fresh mozzarella, and sublime (technically these are neapolitan-style pizzas).  A few places I frequent serve pizzas with fresh toppings, like arugula, that are tossed on after baking.  I love this fresh, crunchy, cold contrasting with the hot strechy pizza.  For ours at Tucos we decided to go one step further and serve a full salad, complete with salad dressing, on top of our pizzettas (small pizzas).  The result- the best damn salad (and pizza) you've ever had.  Two versions debut- Prosciutto, Arugula, and Nicoise Pizzetta and the Bacon, Spinach, Apple & Blue Cheese Pizzetta.  You gotta check em out.

Our Latest Addition- Pot Roast

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Pot Roast.jpgIt's the farthest thing from fine dining, but that's exactly what we want-  something hedonistic, uncerebral, primitive that connects us to our heritage and that's absolutely delicious.  Think of it as a dinner at grandma's, minus grandma. For our version, we take our grass-fed beef tri-tip cuts and braise them long and slow in our favorite red wine for cooking (a Negroamaro from Italy) with bay leaves, garlic, onions, salt & pepper.  Once the meat's done we make a red wine sauce by adding more of the Negroamaro wine, portobello mushrooms (just a little bit for flavor and texture) and reduce it by half.  We finish it with a healthy dose of our favorite sweet butter, and emulsify the sauce with a tad of dijon mustard.  I just tried it today and, honestly, I could eat this every day.  We serve it over our mashed butternut-potatoes and twice-cooked vegetables.  Comfort food as old as this country is and wonderfully delicious and soulful. 
Pork Hash Cakes.jpgI just finished tasting our newest creation- Berkshire Pork Hash Cakes with Dried Figs & Poached Eggs.  Oh my God!  These things are dangerously sexy.  The sweetness of the fig with the pork on a hash cake make the perfect taste & texture pairing for the poached farm-fresh, free-range eggs.  This new dish is part of our new brunch-all-day-everyday program.  It's part of our effort to celebrate life (given the less than optimistic news we've all been hearing & reading about our economy).  It's a celebration of our great traditions (hash is a wonderful creation from our South).  It's a night with your favorite person next to a roaring fireplace, on bear-skin rug in each forkfull.  Come in and see for yourself if I'm exaggerating.

It was a very difficult task to plan a New Year's Eve Dinner menu this year.  The thought even crossed my mind that maybe folks were really not in the mood to celebrate.  Gasoline prices hit $4 a gallon, the housing market foreclosure crisis, bank crisis, US auto industry crisis, local & state goverment budget deficits, and on and on. 

But then I thought wait a minute,  it's a beautiful day out there and we're surrounded by the ones we love.  The best things in life are free. We've been through tough times before- these things are cyclical, meaning that soon enough, we'll figure out how to fix things and then we'll get back to our super optimistic selves again. 

 

So with that in mind, I've come up with a soulful evening- much like a Norman Rockwell painting, to celebrate the things that matter most- our planet, our nation, our family, our friends, and our spirit.  Things very worthwhile celebrating!  If you're curious how this translates into menu, here it is:

 

On Arrival:

A Shot of Tucos' Mulled Wine

Wild Mushroom Hash Cake

 

Soup:

A Shot of Cream of Penn Cove Mussels

 

Salad:

Apple & Bacon Salad with Watercress & Fresh Goat Cheese Dressing

 

Entrée:

(Choice of)

 

Pasture-Raised Beef Tenderloin with Red Wine Sauce, Mashed Root Vegetables, Twice-Cooked Veggies

 

Seafood Risotto

 

Dessert:

Sweet Potato Pie with Whipped Cream

 

 

Introducing Our New Blackberry Float

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Blackberry Float.jpgWe're always on the look out for new ways to show off our local fruit- presenting our most recent "show-off-our-local-fruit" innovation, Tucos' Blackberry Float.  This dessert came together when the blackberries began to show up at the market this season.  We love to make them into a compote and usually serve them over our house-made vanilla ice cream (delicious).  This time though, we had a hidden agenda- we've been anxious to get our favorite dessert on the menu (that is, Pru's favorite dessert)- Molotov Pudding, a portuguese merengue that is baked soft and spongy in a water bath and is usually served with a caramel sauce similar to the sauce on flan.  It is extremely difficult to find on menus, even in Portugal and Brazil where it originates.  We took this spongy merengue and "floated" it over a creme anglaise, similar to a floating island dessert, and then topped it with our wonderful blackberry compote... the results are magic!  We're so proud of our new dessert and Pru's extremely happy to have his favorite, hard-to-find dessert available to him any time at Tucos.