Won’t you meet our neighbor? (continued)

March 13th, 2010

Meet our neighbor, La Bona International Boutique. It’s a place for innovative women, of all ages, seeking definition and style. This warm eclectic shop is filled with clothing, shoes, purses, scarves, jewelry, perfumes, and soaps. La Bona offers one-of-a-kind looks that are on trend but never trendy. Drawings, paintings, and plaques adorn the walls and ceramic finds rest on shelves. What a wonderful, exciting mix. One visit will result in a familiarity of what waits inside that will always prove to be unpredictable.

We left three gift certificates in unmarked envelopes in the boutique.  While they last, each envelope contains an amount that you are welcome to use at the fish house or Atlas Oyster House.  There only three envelopes so don’t wait too long!  La Bona’s hours are: Tuesday – Friday - 10 am – 6 pm & Saturday  10 am – 5 pm  -  http://www.labonaboutique.com/

Join us next week when we go visit our neighbor and friend, Shannon Pallin owner of Fiore.  We will check out her new shop and find out about a fun sale she has on the 20th in Fiore’s warehouse.  http://www.fioreofpensacola.com/

Until next time, thanks for meeting our neighbor!

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Confessions of a Party Planner (continued)

March 12th, 2010
Melissa Martin Event Coordinator for the Great Southern Restaurant Group

Melissa Martin: Event Coordinator for the Great Southern Restaurant Group

As a party planner, I hear all kinds of crazy things that are said by our guests. The whole stories might be embarrassing, so I won’t go into all the details. The quotes are harmless and amusing, so in no particular order, this is a sampling of what I overheard last week.  

Me: It’s time for the bride to throw her bouquet… 
Bridesmaid:  Um, but I just got my cake.

With fifty people still at the party, bridesmaid to me: Would it be rude to start packing up our stuff now? I don’t want to be stuck here forever.

A guy walked into a closet instead of the room where his guests were waiting, and came out catatonic because the room was filled with stored Halloween decorations.

Beef satay in hand, the guest asks: I’m a vegetarian. Can I eat this?

Pregnant woman asks bartender: How many drinks am I allowed to have?

Lady: Sweetheart, please get me some more water.
Me (to bartender): I need to get her some more water.
Bartender: Here; use this bottle of vodka—she’s not drinking water.

Roomful of educators couldn’t get their projector to work and called me in. I push the giant button marked: “Power,” fixing the problem. Cheers and laughter ensued.

Preparing the table set up for a male guest, he said to me:  Miss, this just won’t work; I could really use six more inches…

When do you know your son’s hair needs a trim? When several people walk up while his back is turned to see if he’s a bridesmaid. 

Finally—and I can’t stress this one enough! DO NOT let your friends bring sparklers to a formal dinner party, particularly when you know they drink too much: 
Me to pyromaniac:  Sir! Please put that out. Sir, put out the sparkler now! No. NO! Don’t throw it in the bushes! Oh no! Help! The bushes are on fire… Here! Hand me those drinks… Whoosh!   Whoops, didn’t realize the drinks were straight Scotch. Note to self… 

Name the strangest thing you have heard someone say at a party (PG version only, please) and you will enter to win a $25 gift certificate to either the Fish House or Atlas and some sparklers if we can find some. 

Until next time,

Melissa

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Won’t you meet our neighbor? (continued)

March 5th, 2010

Lanier Sailing Academy is located in the Historic Downtown District, steps away from our restaurants.  American Sailing Association classes include Basic KeelBoat, Basic Coastal Cruising,Bareboat Chartering, Coastal Navigation, andAdvance Coastal Cruising.  Set your sails in the wide-open Pensacola Bay, secluded Wolf Bay & Perdido Bay, the Intracoastal Waterway, and the sparkling Gulf of Mexico.  Explore these beautiful waters by joining the “Buccaneer Sailing Club” where members sail as often as they like on the 22 – 25 foot boats in the Pensacola fleet.  Rentals are available for qualified sailors.   For a true sailing adventure, experience the pure joy of sailing aboard our Beneteau 331 or 343 or 393; Bareboat and Captained Charters are available.

This summer the Fish House will team up with Lanier to offer our guests sunset cruises on Pensacola Bay.  Make sure you are signed up on our website for more details as summer approaches.

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Grill the Chef (continues): Culinary Tips from Chef Irv Miller of Jackson’s Steakhouse

March 3rd, 2010

Have you ever wished you could sit down with one of the stars of the Food Network and quiz them on their top cooking tips?  Well we grilled Jackson’s own Chef Irv Miller for his expert advice and insider tips on some of the most common culinary queries. This is the first in a series, so stay tuned. 

Want to know more?  Leave a comment with your own culinary question and Chef Irv will pick one to answer next week!

  • When using salt, do you recommend sea salt, iodized salt or Kosher salt? Are there different uses for each?

I recommend Kosher Salt. It’s what I use at the restaurant and at home. Kosher salt is coarse and to easy control when seasoning a dish with your fingertips – it’s easy to just grab a pinch! It is additive free and reasonably priced. Due to iodized salt having a finer grain, it dissolves much more quickly – I would use this type of salt to season pasta water and as a measured baking ingredient.  Sea Salt, though pure in form, can be trendy and expensive due to the drying process.

  • Do you need to rinse pasta with water while straining?

If you are using pasta directly out of the pot, then there is no need to cool or rinse it. If you are preparing pasta for later use, boil it in lightly salted water until al dente. When done, strain it and transfer into a container with ice water, stirring well to cool completely. When completely cool, drain the water and transfer the cooled pasta to a storage container. Coat the pasta with a liberal amount of olive oil to keep it from sticking together. Store it in the refrigerator until needed. To reheat, dip the pasta into boiling water for 30 seconds

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